PW Shanghai Major playoffs day 3 as it happened

Photos: G2 suffer elimination

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14/1213:49

rain: "We want to prove we are still one of the best teams in the world"

On beating FaZe in a post-match interview: "We're beating our former demons, and I'm really excited for Spirit tomorrow."

On celebrating at 12-12: "I was zoned in, and for some reason I started celebrating. I was very excited to make OT."

On what changed in the playoffs: "Every time we come here, the crowd is always chanting our name. We want to come here and prove we are still one of the best teams in the world. ropz is playing absolutely amazing, and that's helping us out a lot."

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14/1213:40

FaZe outlast G2 to secure Major grand final spot

G2 14-16 FaZe

FaZe have done it! They secured a 16-14 victory from 10-12 down on the Nuke T side to inflict heartbreak to G2 once again.

"Form is temporary, but class is permanent," says Janko "⁠YNk⁠" Paunović.

Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024Best of 3

G2

Matchpage

0

2

14th December 2024

FaZe

6

Ancient

13

14

Nuke

16

G2	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.1
Nemanja 'huNter-' Kovač huNter-	42 - 37	-0.59%	92.1	67.3%	1.14
Janusz 'Snax' Pogorzelski Snax	34 - 34	+0.99%	78.6	77.6%	1.06
Ilya 'm0NESY' Osipov m0NESY	27 - 33	-3.21%	70.9	65.3%	0.89
Nikola 'NiKo' Kovač NiKo	31 - 38	-3.48%	55.6	67.3%	0.87
Mario 'malbsMd' Samayoa malbsMd	24 - 39	-2.83%	67.1	69.4%	0.83

FaZe	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.1
Robin 'ropz' Kool ropz	50 - 35	+3.29%	104.6	77.6%	1.47
Helvijs 'broky' Saukants broky	42 - 28	+6.21%	77.3	81.6%	1.23
Håvard 'rain' Nygaard rain	36 - 31	+2.50%	87.2	83.7%	1.22
David 'frozen' Čerňanský frozen	31 - 32	-1.37%	72.7	79.6%	1.12
Finn 'karrigan' Andersen karrigan	20 - 35	-2.14%	53.1	71.4%	0.79

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14/1213:35

FaZe reach two grand final points

G2 13-15 FaZe

FaZe at 15?

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14/1213:25

G2 12-12 FaZe

Another crucial Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov whiff costs G2 as the game goes to overtime.

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14/1213:19

NiKo and m0NESY turn 2v4 to give two map points to G2

G2 12-10 FaZe

Cometh the hour, cometh the star duo. Or whatever they say. It looked grim for G2, but they pulled a 2v4 out of their hat.

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14/1213:09

G2's retake keeps them flawless on CT

G2 10-8 FaZe

Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač is nowhere to be seen, but Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač and Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski are dragging G2 to a third map. Just three rounds left, but FaZe have a buy in the next.

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14/1213:03

G2 win round in about five seconds

G2 7-8 FaZe

Who knew Janusz "⁠Snax⁠" Pogorzelski and Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač can hold a site like this. Just one round in it now, and the duo is sitting at the top of the scoreboard.

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14/1212:58

FaZe post eight on Nuke defense

G2 4-8 FaZe

FaZe are in the driver's seat for a grand final spot, but we saw what Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač can do on Nuke CT side yesterday.

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14/1212:53

FaZe answer with half-buy Lobby crunch

G2 3-6 FaZe

G2 drop a round in classic G2 fashion, as an MP9 Lobby crunch returns FaZe to winning ways.

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14/1212:49

G2 break FaZe's economy with upper rush

G2 2-5 FaZe

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14/1212:46

frozen denies m0NESY's clutch

G2 1-4 FaZe

Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov looks much better compared to Ancient, but he came just short of clutching the 1v3.

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14/1212:37

FaZe win 2v4 in pistol

G2 0-1 FaZe

A fantastic start to G2's pick for FaZe as David "⁠frozen⁠" Čerňanský and Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants convert a 2v4.

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14/1212:21

Scoreboard: m0NESY goes missing

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14/1212:18

broky triple secures Ancient for FaZe

G2 6-13 FaZe

FaZe put up a clinic on their map pick. Their 10-2 offense was more than enough despite a Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač-led fightback in the second half, and FaZe are 1-0 up after a statement 13-6 win.

Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool is keeping up his from yesterday and put up a 1.57 rating, with Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants not far behind at 1.51.

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14/1212:13

m0NESY whiff gives FaZe first CT round

G2 6-11 FaZe

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14/1212:12

huNter- leading G2 fightback

G2 6-10 FaZe

Four rounds in a row by a G2 that looks much more confident on the T side, with their efforts led by an unlikely source in Nemanja "⁠huNter-⁠" Kovač.

He was G2's lowest-rated player at the event coming into this game, but he is picking up the slack on Ancient.

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14/1212:05

FaZe run rings around G2 in 10-2 half

G2 2-10 FaZe

Well, that was a half of Counter-Strike. G2 are nowhere to be seen due to none of their individuals hitting shots, while Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool is running rampant.

The Estonian put up 17 kills and 136 ADR in the first half as his impactful flanks helped FaZe outrotate G2's defense, and FaZe are in the driver's seat to take Ancient.

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14/1211:55

G2 finally get on the board with half-buy

G2 1-8 FaZe

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14/1211:49

FaZe stay flawless thanks to Snax's TK

G2 0-6 FaZe

G2 are yet to get going on Ancient — Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač and Ilya "⁠m0NESY⁠" Osipov have combined for three kills so far.

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14/1211:43

ropz's flank gives FaZe first gun round

G2 0-4 FaZe

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14/1211:38

FaZe take first pistol

G2 0-1 FaZe

The match is underway, and the two heroes from their quarter-final, Helvijs "⁠broky⁠" Saukants and Robin "⁠ropz⁠" Kool, have combined for five kills in the pistol.

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14/1211:32

G2 ban Vertigo; Ancient and Nuke are the picks

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14/1211:07

Who will bite the bullet and ban Vertigo?

The second semi-final is just a couple of minutes away, and the veto provides the first interesting talking point of the series.

Both teams permaban Vertigo and neither have played it in the last three months, so it remains to be seen which team will decide to take it out of the pool.

Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen is no stranger to veto shenanigans, though, so it's doubtful that FaZe will be the ones to do it.

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14/1210:34

MOUZ's road ends here

Will they stick together? "No comment," Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek told James "⁠BanKs⁠" Banks on stage.

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14/1210:33

sh1ro sheds a tear as Spirit make the final

Meanwhile...

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14/1210:26

magixx on who we wants to face: "G2, because it's a cinema"

Speaking on stream: "The form of the team is great. But in a lot of tournaments we have good form, but in some specific matches you are kind of shitting your pants, things don't go your way, you;re not able to fight back and that's why we are losing. Team form is always good but sometimes we are losing momentum."

On who he wants to face: "G2, because it's a cinema [laughs]."

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14/1210:21

siuhy: "The pressure got to us"

Speaking on stream: "Ancient was clearly not our strongest map. We practiced a lot, preparing it for this Major, but it was not enough."

On Mirage: "We couldnt' stop them and the pressure got to us. We didn't play like we normally do. We could have played more aggressive."

On placing 3-4th: "Disappointment. The CS we've been playing, the effort we put in, we were aiming to win this championship."

On the year: "There were a lot of high moments. But our goal was to peak at the right time, for this Major, and we didn't satisfy ourselves with that."

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14/1210:06

Scoreboard: Spirit eliminate MOUZ

Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024Best of 3

MOUZ

Matchpage

1

2

14th December 2024

Spirit

13

Nuke

7

4

Ancient

13

7

Mirage

13

MOUZ	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.1
Ludvig 'Brollan' Brolin Brollan	37 - 42	-1.23%	76.6	66.7%	1.07
Kamil 'siuhy' Szkaradek siuhy	34 - 43	-0.23%	75.8	66.7%	0.98
Jimi 'Jimpphat' Salo Jimpphat	38 - 38	-3.12%	73.8	82.5%	0.97
Ádám 'torzsi' Torzsás torzsi	40 - 38	+0.70%	60.3	71.9%	0.92
Dorian 'xertioN' Berman xertioN	27 - 42	-1.91%	65.6	63.2%	0.85

Spirit	K - D	Swing	ADR	KAST	Rating2.1
Dmitry 'sh1ro' Sokolov sh1ro	54 - 31	+5.01%	82.2	86.0%	1.40
Boris 'magixx' Vorobiev magixx	41 - 30	+0.27%	83.3	84.2%	1.24
Danil 'donk' Kryshkovets donk	42 - 43	+0.24%	78.5	64.9%	1.05
Leonid 'chopper' Vishnyakov chopper	34 - 36	+1.38%	67.7	73.7%	0.98
Myroslav 'zont1x' Plakhotia zont1x	30 - 37	-1.43%	71.0	73.7%	0.95

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14/1210:06

Spirit advance to Major grand final

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14/1209:58

chopper destroys xertioN to keep Spirit's T side flawless

Spirit 10-6 MOUZ

Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman always has eyes on him on stage, being MOUZ's key underperformer in arenas. And this is not a pretty one.

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14/1209:50

donk goes quiet as half ends even

Spirit 6-6 MOUZ

10 kills so fast, but only 2 since for Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets as Mirage descends into its usual brawl status.

Good games for both Leonid "⁠chopper⁠" Vishnyakov and Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek individually as the pressure ramps up.

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14/1209:40

Spirit steal the eco after magixx double

Spirit 3-5 MOUZ

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14/1209:36

siuhy 1v2 keeps MOUZ in the lead

Spirit 2-4 MOUZ

Good trade on Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets and that's enough for a 2v2 post-plant that Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek converts.

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14/1209:32

donk's rampage continues in 3v5

donk's 4k not enough as torzsi 1v2s

Spirit 1-3 MOUZ

He's back!

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14/1209:27

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14/1209:26

Spirit 0-1 MOUZ

We've had some banger Mirages this Major and this one is off to a flyer!

Easy B hit for MOUZ gets a 5v3 before Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets finds four on the retake. The crowd are screaming, "ace, ace, ace!" but Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás is the librarian.

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14/1209:15

magixx posts his 3rd best LAN map of the year

Under fire, under pressure, and Boris "⁠magixx⁠" Vorobiev delivers.

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14/1209:07

magixx stars as Spirit stomp Ancient

Protocols (and Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets) looked much improved for Spirit on their map pick, as we move on to Ancient.

Sorry to anyone who got up early — this one might as well have been a BO1, those picks were so easy.

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14/1209:04

magixx outsmarts MOUZ for both in the 2v2

Spirit 11-4 MOUZ

Boris "⁠magixx⁠" Vorobiev continues a rare good game.Showing his worth at a crucial time!

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14/1208:52

Watch: Jimi knocks down four with the Five-SeveN

Spirit 8-3 MOUZ

But a Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets triple gets Spirit's confidence back one round later.

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14/1208:44

Brollan defuses in the smoke

Spirit 5-2 MOUZ

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14/1208:40

torzsi triple gets MOUZ on the board

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14/1208:36

sh1ro's MAC-10 melts the retake

Spirit 4-0 MOUZ

Quite a heavy A focus from Spirit early doors.

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14/1208:32

Spirit survive force-buy scare early on Ancient

Spirit 2-0 MOUZ

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14/1208:24

PC issues delay second map

Just to keep you updated, apparently Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás is having PC issues, which is delaying the second map.

He was also having some problems during Nuke.

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14/1208:19

Brollan batters Spirit on Nuke, whilst donk is dire

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14/1208:06

MOUZ dominate Nuke as donk sits at bottom of scoreboard

Spirit were completely outclassed in that map.

MOUZ put up a Nuke T half to be proud of, dominating Yard with excellent utility usage and decisive moves to take any gaps that opened up. Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets couldn't get into the game at all, usually such a presence in Yard.

Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin was in fine form, particularly in the first half, as he often is on Nuke.

Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov offered stiff resistance, but he was really the only one for Spirit.

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14/1207:51

torzsi 1v2 piles the pressure on Sprit

Spirit 4-9 MOUZ

Man, Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov is really trying, but he just doesn't have the support right now.

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14/1207:49

sh1ro clutch closes rough Spirit defense

Spirit 4-8 MOUZ

Doesn't feel like enough rounds.

Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets was getting bullied in Yard throughout that half, utility pushing him back and well-timed pushes catching him out.

Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov basically solo won the rounds Spirit did get on the board.

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14/1207:38

sh1ro 3k gives Spirit a second round

Spirit 2-6 MOUZ

It feels like Spirit need to wake up now, to prevent this getting completely out of hand.

Dmitry "⁠sh1ro⁠" Sokolov picked up the first two kills with his proactive AWPing, and needed to close it out after Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin's lurk through Secret nearly turned the round.

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14/1207:30

MOUZ in cruise control on Nuke T side

Spirit 1-4 MOUZ

MOUZ are dominating Nuke thus far. They are getting so much space in Yard, their utility has been on point in helping them find openings, and Ludvig "⁠Brollan⁠" Brolin is doing what he often does on Nuke and playing a blinder.

Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets hasn't gotten into the game yet, and in general Spirit look a little dizzy.

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14/1207:15

siuhy's flying MAC-10 kicks off force-buy win

Spirit 1-1 MOUZ

The game has just been paused due to a PC issue after a high-octane start.

Spirit pushed through a man-disadvantage retake on the lower site to open the series, before MOUZ melted them with a force-buy.

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14/1207:04

The veto is in for MOUZ vs. Spirit

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14/1206:49

The winners of the academy game clash as MOUZ take on Spirit

Two teams that are powered by academy graduates. They have proved that they were the winners of the academy game not only through their success at this Major, but through their success overall.

Danil "⁠donk⁠" Kryshkovets and Myroslav "⁠zont1x⁠" Plakhotia played for Spirit Academy for around two years, participating in three and four seasons of WePlay Academy League respectively.

Kamil "⁠siuhy⁠" Szkaradek, Ádám "⁠torzsi⁠" Torzsás and Dorian "⁠xertioN⁠" Berman were part of the MOUZ NXT team that won the first four Academy League titles (torzsi only playing the first two), and Jimi "⁠Jimpphat⁠" Salo came through the academy squad too.

Date	Matches
PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 Europe RMR Closed Qualifier B
20/01/2024	MOUZ Finished 0:2 Spirit	Match

Date	Matches
PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 Europe RMR B
20/02/2024	Spirit Finished 0:2 MOUZ	Match

Date	Matches
BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024
19/05/2024	Spirit Finished 0:3 MOUZ	Match

Date	Matches
BetBoom Dacha Belgrade Season 2
30/08/2024	Spirit Finished 2:1 MOUZ	Match

Spirit won the last matchup between these two sides this year, but otherwise, it's been a fairly event battle across the year.

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14/1206:34

Can FaZe stop the rot against G2?

The G2 matchup has not been kind to FaZe this year. They won the first matchup, back at Katowice, but have only picked up two maps since. Most tellingly, G2 completely outclassed FaZe in the Elimination Stage of this very tournament.

Date	Matches
IEM Katowice 2024
09/02/2024	FaZe Finished 2:0 G2	Match

Date	Matches
PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024 Europe RMR A
15/02/2024	FaZe Finished 0:2 G2	Match

Date	Matches
IEM Dallas 2024
31/05/2024	FaZe Finished 0:2 G2	Match

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2024
01/08/2024	FaZe Finished 1:2 G2	Match

Date	Matches
BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024
25/09/2024	G2 Finished 2:1 FaZe	Match

Date	Matches
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
07/12/2024	G2 Finished 2:0 FaZe	Match

Can FaZe stop the rot in this matchup? They cooked up some magic to get themselves past Vitality, but will that continue into the semi-finals?

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14/1206:22

Four of the top six fight for a grand final spot

The first full year of CS2 is drawing to a close, and only four teams are left fighting to be crowned the Major champions to end that year with a bang.

Date	Matches
Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024
14/12/2024	MOUZ 07:00 Spirit	Match
14/12/2024	G2 11:35 FaZe	Match

A young MOUZ squad are looking to truly cast off the label of stage chokers. Spirit are seeking to end their up-and-down year on a high. G2 are trying to earn Nikola "⁠NiKo⁠" Kovač his long-awaited Major title. FaZe are trying to cook up a magical winning run out of nowhere.

Make sure if you can't tune in to watch, you are following the live updates here, because it's all up for grabs as the final storylines of the year have their endings etched into CS history.

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