It’s RMR season in Counter-Strike 2 and we’re fast approaching the final RMR for the Perfect World Shanghai Major.
A group that looks ripe for giving tier two teams their best ever opportunity and making a Major, let’s take a look at the, the favorites, the teams you should be concerned for, and those you should consider as the biggest dark horses to get their stickers in the game.
The favorites
Without a doubt, the two favorites for this RMR are G2 and Spirit. G2 have won two of the last three tier one events, while Spirit remain one of the most dangerous teams in the world even when they’re not at their best.
The big narrative with G2 is the fact that this will be their ‘last dance’ with NiKo, but the question is how much that affects them, and if it does, when that effect kicks in.
In the past few Majors we’ve seen G2 crash out in the Legends Stage and miss one altogether, so we know that this team is capable of crumbling under pressure if the moment gets too big for them.
However, with m0NESY, NiKo, and now malbsMd, they have one of the best star trios in the world, and it’s completely impossible to think that they won’t book their place at the Major with ease.
As for Spirit, they may been struggling against other elite teams in recent months, but fields like the one in European RMR B should be a playground for them. The question isn’t whether they’ll make it to the Major, it’s whether their recent woes will catch up to them when they do.
The question marks
A few years ago, Astralis were a guarantee for every Major, if not a guarantee to go on and win the whole thing. However, that hasn’t been the case for a while now. That should have been rectified this time around with renewed faith after their showing at BLAST Premier World Final over in Singapore, but the announcement device will be missing in Shanghai has raised some concerns.
Looking at the rest of the field, Astralis should still have enough to make it to the Major, but they could easily have the rug pulled out from under them in their opening game against 9 Pandas, and a negative result there could see them snowball.
The other team we’re really concerned for is NIP. Let’s face it, NIP are really bad right now, and given that they’re also technically playing with a stand-in, that doesn’t give us any confidence in them to make it to the Major.
They still might, they’re in the middle of the pack in terms of seeding, but they couldn’t ask for a harder game in their opener than G2. If they lose that and get an unfavorable game in their next match, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see them 0-2 by the end of day one.
The Dark Horses
Everyone loves an underdog story at the Major, and if we get one from this Major, we’re willing to bet that it will come from a team in this RMR.
Our biggest hope for that is B8, the Ukrainian organisation who have been unlucky to not yet make a Major since their entrance to CS.
A team that features former NIP player headtr1ck and a young captain in the form of former NAVI player npl, B8 have been quietly impressing for a while and now find themselves inside both Valve and HLTVs’ top 20s after recently finishing second at ESL Challenger Katowice 2022.
Spirit isn’t a pleasant opening game for them, but if there’s any team in this group we have the faith in to actually be able to pull off an upset against them, it’s B8. But, even if they don’t we’re still confident they can pull it back and make it to the Major.
Another potential dark horse comes in the shape of another Ukrainian team, Passion UA. Owned by Arsenal player Oleksandr Zinchenko, they’re a bit further down the rankings than B8, but the fact the Arsenal man has occasionally stood in for them has made them infamous.
The big thing though is that they’re also a decent team, and in Virtus.pro, they have an opening match that we think is a perfect game for them to cause an upset in. If they are to win that game against VP, it might just be the confidence boost they need, and from there they could do some real damage.
Images credit: ESL
