Image: Perfect World Esports
Tournament favourites like G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, and Team Spirit could only manage 1-1 records.
The Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Elimination Stage kicked off on Thursday (December 5) as eight teams that earned direct berths to this stage and eight others that survived the Opening Stage began the fight for eight spots in the Playoffs.
The MongolZ, 
Team Vitality, 
HEROIC, and 
MIBR are in prime position to advance to the Playoffs after they claimed victory in the first two rounds of the five-round Swiss format Elimination Stage. Meanwhile, other favourites 
Natus Vincere (NAVI), 
G2 Esports, and 
Team Spirit could only manage a 1-1 record in the first day of the stage.
Here's how all the action in the opening day of the CS2 Perfect World Shanghai Major Elimination Stage went down:
MongolZ, Vitality, HEROIC, MIBR lead after first day of Elimination Stage
The MongolZ have been the most impressive team in the Shanghai Major by far. After cruising through the Opening Stage, the Mongolian squad were also victorious in the first two rounds of the Elimination Stage – starting with a huge 13-10 upset in Inferno over G2 Esports followed by a 16-13 overtime win over 
MOUZ.
Team Vitality also looked strong as 
Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut continued to stake his claim as the best player in the world this year. The French squad started their Elimination Stage campaign by taking down 
GamerLegion (13-7 in Mirage) in round one and 
FURIA Esports (16-13 in overtime at Mirage) in round two.
HEROIC and MIBR rounded out the four teams to finish the opening day of the Elimination Stage with a 2-0 record. HEROIC defeated 
BIG (13-7 in Mirage) and 
FaZe Clan (13-8 in Ancient) while MIBR took down 
3DMAX (13-11 in Vertigo) and pulled off a huge upset over NAVI (13-11 in Inferno).
Eight teams also finished the first day with a 1-1 record, including G2, NAVI, Spirit, FURIA, MOUZ, FaZe, 3DMAX, and
Team Liquid. Meanwhile, GamerLegion, BIG, 
paiN Gaming, and 
Wildcard Gaming ended the day without a single win and are at risk of getting knocked out early from the Elimination Stage.
The second day of the Elimination Stage will see two teams qualify for the Playoffs through the round three high seed matches, while two others will be knocked out in the round three low seed matches. On the other hand, the round three mid seed matches will aim to separate the remaining eight teams with 1-1 records.
The CS2 Perfect World Shanghai Major is the second-ever Major Championship for CS2, and will feature 24 of the best teams from all across the globe gunning for the lion's share of a $1.25 million prize pool, as well as the prestigious right to be called CS2 Major champions. The tournament is split into three distinct stages: the Opening Stage from November 30 to December 3, the Elimination Stage from December 5 to 8, and the Playoff Stage from December 12 to 15.
For everything you need to know about the CS2 Perfect World Shanghai Major, check here.
