Pick’Em Challenge for the Playoffs of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: Who Will Win the Major in Shanghai?

Pick'Em Challenge for the Playoffs of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: Who Will Win the Major in Shanghai?

The group stage of the final and most important tournament of 2024 has concluded, leaving only one question: which team will lift the trophy? Among the eight playoff teams, the only real surprise was HEROIC advancing instead of NAVI. The reigning Major champions couldn’t escape the curse and fell short in China. Otherwise, the playoff lineup was quite predictable, making accurate forecasts challenging. In our opinion, the best strategy for securing the Diamond Coin is to remember the “Major magic” at every moment. Defining its role in the playoffs will be tough, as every team left has the potential to win in Shanghai.

Quarterfinals: The Most Crucial Choices

Making a mistake at this stage could mean losing all chances for a successful Pick’Em. Fortunately, the developers didn’t alter the points system, meaning we still only need to guess two winners out of four matches.

The Mongolz vs MOUZ

The Mongolz vs. MOUZ

The Mongolz are playing one of their best tournaments and, as the sole representatives of the Asian region, are performing admirably. MOUZ, in contrast, showed unusual nervousness during the group stage, raising concerns about their form. We’ve mentioned before that future roster changes might be looming for MOUZ, potentially distracting the players from their game. Meanwhile, The Mongolz seem emotionally uplifted and must seize this opportunity, knowing another one like this might not come again.

Both teams perform well on most maps, making this matchup look like a true 50-50 on paper. However, based on what we’ve seen so far, picking The Mongolz seems the most logical choice.

Liquid vs. Team Spirit

Liquid vs. Team Spirit

Liquid reached the playoffs from the Opening Stage, playing a few more matches than their opponents. This matters a lot for them, considering they’ve been together for less than six months and lack experience at top-tier events. Twistzz appears fully committed to his captaincy role, contributing more strategically even if it affects his personal stats. This approach has started paying off, as Liquid now looks like a cohesive team with many tactical surprises up their sleeve.

Team Spirit, on the other hand, reached the playoffs on donk’s shoulders and are their polar opposites gameplay-wise. The young Dragon star is in such great form that he can change games on his own, but we believe Liquid might be the least convenient opponent for him. We’ve already mentioned the “Major magic,” and this matchup could produce a sensation, with the tournament’s best player potentially exiting in the top 8. This is a risky pick, but if there’s any match where the magic might strike, it’s this one.

HEROIC vs. G2

HEROIC vs. G2

This is another matchup where an upset is possible. HEROIC faced tough opponents in the Elimination Stage, knocking out tournament favorites NAVI. They’ve shown unexpected synergy, helping them make the right decisions in critical moments and withstand pressure. The question is whether reaching the playoffs was already beyond their expectations. We can’t answer that yet, but the game itself will reveal the truth. However, we still favor G2 in this matchup.

There are ongoing rumors about NiKo’s departure and speculation surrounding m0NESY, but these factors don’t seem to affect the team’s morale. It seems like only the players directly involved in the transfer talks are concerned, while the rest of the team has found their rhythm and is ready to push for the championship. Expect a tight contest likely decided on the third map, but we’re still picking G2 to advance.

Vitality vs. FaZe Clan

Vitality vs. FaZe Clan

Looking at these names, it feels strange to talk about one team having a clear edge over the other. FaZe struggled to reach the top 8, doing so in such an unconvincing manner that it’s hard to favor karrigan’s squad against a powerful Vitality roster. FaZe’s only real shot at winning lies in the map veto, where Finn Andersen might pull off a trick and pick Vertigo as their map choice, just as they did against Team Spirit in the previous Major’s playoffs.

However, Vitality is in such great form that even if they drop one map, closing out FaZe on the remaining two shouldn’t be a problem. Every player under apEX’s leadership is performing well, and there’s no need to mention the ever-reliable ZywOo. This outcome feels too predictable to even consider “surprises” or “unexpected results.”

Final Thoughts: Who Will Win It All?

We won’t dive deeply into potential semifinal matchups, as the exact pairings are still uncertain. Instead, we’ll share our final Pick’Em Challenge selection.

The Mongolz seem like the dark horse that might unexpectedly make it to the finals, much like GamerLegion did in Paris, but ultimately fall short. As for the winner, we believe in a fairytale ending for NiKo, who appears to have decided his post-tournament future. It will be interesting to see how a Major victory could shake up the market and disrupt many organizations’ transfer plans.

The lower half of the playoff bracket looks stronger overall, so the winner will likely come from there, with Vitality being a very plausible candidate.

Final Pick’Em Challenge Prediction for the Playoffs:

Quarterfinals Winners: The Mongolz, Team Liquid, G2, Vitality
Semifinals Winners: The Mongolz, G2
Grand Final Winner: G2