Who had the hardest run to Major playoffs?

We try to find a glimpse of meaning in the paths of the final eight teams at the Shanghai Major.

The Shanghai Major playoffs are as hard to call as any in recent memory. And, after reigning champions Natus Vincere were sent home early, the parity between our final eight only seems more narrow.

Still, eight of the best nine teams in the world are here. including World Final champions G2, Cologne victors Vitality, and Katowice winners Spirit.

But the outsiders have a level of intrigue to them, too. Can MOUZ banish their arena demons for good? Can FaZe wake up from their hibernation? Can HEROIC or Liquid break out of gatekeeper status?

And, naturally, all eyes will be on The MongolZ after they went 8-0 in series over the RMR, Opening, and Elimination stages of the Major.

To try and understand the outlook better before playoffs, we thought it was worth diving into each team's journey to this point. We'll find out who got the rub of the green in the draw, and who has had to battle the odds to even make it.

Let's start with the whole thing: Every opponent the teams have played during their stay in Shanghai.

Naturally, Asia's MongolZ and America's Liquid are at the bottom because of their 'easy' RMR (and being the only two to navigate the Opening stage).

MOUZ have had the toughest overall path by mean, with an average opponent rank of 15.3.

But by using median instead, we can see that FaZe might have actually had a tougher path with a median of 8.00. Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's men have played the World No. 3, 7, 5, 2, and 8 to make it here which could give them an edge in terms of battle readiness. Naturally, it's No. 2 Vitality that awaits them in quarters.

When we look at just the Elimination stage that all teams attended, FaZe stay in the top three.

But The MongolZ shoot up to top spot after going 3-0 past three playoff teams in the form of G2, MOUZ, and HEROIC.

Vitality and MOUZ were seeded No. 3 and No. 5 respectively but had the easiest runs on average, with top seed G2 in third.

Liquid are next, and deserve a bit of attention for their run. Despite being seeded No. 10 for this stage, they only had to beat GamerLegion, FURIA, and MIBR to make playoffs. Only their opening loss to Natus Vincere keeps their average at the mid-table spot of 11.5. Remove it, and their record jumps to 15 (the same as Vitality).

The best team Liquid have beaten is still FURIA, who they faced at the Americas RMR in a BO3 and at the Elimination stage in a BO1.

MOUZ also crop up again, earning their berth by defeating the world's number 15,16, and 17 teams; good news for The MongolZ pickers, perhaps.

On the flipside, HEROIC's run took them past plenty of the world's best and they boast wins over two top-6 teams (Natus Vincere and FaZe) going into their bout with G2.

There's lots of ways to look at this data. Vitality and Mathieu "⁠ZywOo⁠" Herbaut fans will be quick to trot out their usual line of 'you can only beat who is in front of you' they coined in the Paris Major. But it is important to note that there are lots of different ways to make playoffs.

A top-8 finish for Liquid and HEROIC here are the same on paper but they have had vastly different experiences to get there.

In the distant future, this nuance will disappear. We will only remember the winner, and maybe a team's placing if they're lucky.

But one thing's for sure: With a stacked playoffs, there are no flukes here. The winner must beat three top 9 teams to take the trophy home. Roll on Thursday.