Image: Perfect World Esports
Top APAC CS2 teams The Mongolz and FlyQuest advanced as expected while Rare Atom get to be the hometown team in the Major.
We now know the first set of teams to earn a spot in the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, as the tournament's Asia-Pacific Regional Major Ranking (RMR) event concluded on Wednesday (November 13).
Mongolia's 
The MongolZ, China's 
Rare Atom, and Australia's 
FlyQuest will be representing the Asia-Pacific in the Shanghai Major, after beating five other teams in the region's three-day RMR Playoffs. All three teams will be starting the Shanghai Major in the Opening Stage.
The MongolZ, Rare Atom, and FlyQuest will represent APAC in the Shanghai Major
Both The MongolZ and FlyQuest earned their spot in the Asia-Pacific RMR as the Top 2 teams in CS2 developer Valve Software's official regional standings. Meanwhile, Rare Atom first had to fight through the RMR's Chinese qualifier to get the chance to represent their country in the Major.
The MongolZ started their campaign by defeating Alter Ego, 13-8, in Nuke in the first round of the upper bracket. That pit them against DRILLAS, a team founded by popular CS2 streamer Mark “ohnePixel” that controversially landed a spot in the Asia-Pacific RMR through the Middle-Eastern Qualifier despite its roster having a majority of European players.
DRILLAS managed to draw first blood against The Mongolz with a 13-11 win in Mirage. However, the Mongolian squad were quick to bounce back with a 13-2 stomp in Ancient before dominating their opponents in Anubis, 13-5, to earn their spot in the Shanghai Major.
Next to qualify through the upper bracket was Rare Atom, kicking off their stint in the Asia-Pacific RMR with a 13-4 win over GR Gaming in Anubis. They then earned their spot in the Shanghai Major with a 2-0 sweep over Talon Esports, scoring back-to-back 13-8 wins in Vertigo and Inferno.
Meanwhile, FlyQuest took the long way through the lower bracket to qualify for the Shanghai Major, having lost their upper bracket round 1 match to Talon. FlyQuest were quick to bounce back by sweeping GR Gaming off of 13-8 wins in Ancient and Anubis.
FlyQuest next faced DRILLAS, starting the series strong with a 13-9 win in Anubis before DRILLAS struck back with a one-sided 13-2 win in Dust II. The series decider in Ancient came down to the wire and required three overtime periods, but FlyQuest ultimately emerged victorious with a 22-19 score to get one step closer to a spot in the Shanghai Major.
The last team that stood in FlyQuest's way was Lynn Vision Gaming, who had previously eliminated Alter Ego and Talon. But in stark contrast to their previous series versus DRILLAS, FlyQuest had a much easier time against Lynn Vision Gaming. The Australian squad took a 13-2 win in Nuke before closing out the series with a 13-8 rout in Vertigo, earning them the final spot for Asia-Pacific in the Shanghai Major.
The Shanghai Major RMR events will continue until November 24, with 21 other teams earning their spots in the tournament through the American and European RMR events. The Shanghai Major proper is set to kick off on November 30 and will conclude on December 15, with 24 teams fighting for the lion's share of $500,000 out of the $1.25 million prize pool, and a spot in the second CS2 Major championship.
