The best CS2 players and teams missing the Shanghai Major

As a longtime CS:GO fan and someone who has witnessed the highs and lows of this game, it’s always a bittersweet feeling to see teams that have shown promise falling short at the final hurdle. It’s like watching your favorite team lose in the championship game – you’re disappointed, but you also know there’s always next season.

24 top-tier global squads gather in Shanghai, however, some prominent figures will be absent from the journey.

As the Shanghai Major for Counter-Strike 2 draws near, the most significant event on the competitive calendar is almost upon us. Qualified players and teams are putting in the hard yards, honing their skills, while some unfortunate ones find themselves left out entirely.

As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but reflect on the journey to the Shanghai Major. While many teams made it to the finish line, there were numerous others who fell by the wayside. For some, the dream of competing in this major tournament is yet to come; for others, qualifying was expected, almost a given. Yet, fate had other plans, and not everyone could make it to the grand stage.

Here’s a look at the biggest names who won’t be competing at the CS2 Shanghai Major in 2024.

The biggest names absent from the Shanghai Major

s1mple, dupreeh & Team Falcons

GO player Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is likely to be greatly missed at the Shanghai Major due to his absence from the competition as a result of Falcons’ disappointing defeat in the EU RMR, which has kept him out of action.

A player aged 27, absent from any CS2 Major so far, is set to recover from recent events, joining forces with the Falcons team – many of whom are currently searching for new opportunities in the league, as they were let go by the organization following their defeat against GamerLegion (1-2).

It became clear that CS2 Falcons, who are financed by Saudi Arabia, struggled to make an impact since they took s1mple on loan from Na’Vi. They didn’t perform well in the Thunderpick World Championship and ESL Challenger Katowice, and despite low expectations for the EU RMR, some fans still hoped that s1mple would lead them to a major tournament.

Not to be forgotten is Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen. The Danish rifler was the only player in CS:GO history to attend every major, but he hasn’t appeared at a pinnacle event in CS2 either. A poor performance at the RMR saw him also cast out from the squad, who is reportedly set to acquire G2’s Nikola “NiKo” Kovac.

Dupreeh, along with his fellow Falcons teammates, are keeping a watchful eye on the outcome of The Major, eagerly waiting for the opportunity to explore fresh possibilities afterward.

device & Astralis

Without the dominant presence of Astralis, it has been four consecutive major tournaments where the Danish brand has not participated, following their elimination at the EU RMR B tournament last week.

With dev1ce (Nicolai Reedtz) unable to participate in the qualifier, there was a sense of modest anticipation surrounding the team, as Alexander “br0” Bro stepped in as his replacement, an unexpected move that felt somewhat awkward.

Right from the start, the Danish team found themselves in a challenging situation. Defeats against 9Pandas and Sashi Esport left them with a daunting task: they needed to win all of their remaining best-of-threes to make it to the main event. Unfortunately, they managed to secure victories in just two games; a 2-1 victory over underdogs B8 and an unexpected three-map triumph against Eternal Fire still left them tied at 2-2. However, Passion UA proved too strong for them, preventing them from reaching the required four wins.

After falling short of qualifying for the main event in Shanghai, Astralis have experienced a setback, but Casper “cadiaN” Møller maintains a positive outlook. Despite their brief stint as a five-man team and the high expectations for device following his impressive performance at the BLAST World Final three weeks prior, the RMR proved to be a significant challenge for the squad.

That said, how long can Astralis commit to a roster failing to qualify for the major?

ENCE

At least Astralis made it to the RMR stage.

formerly-promising ENCE struggled and were eliminated in the demanding EU RMR qualifier. To make matters worse, Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander’s team suffered losses against KOI, UNiTY, and Monte – teams that ultimately failed to qualify for the RMR as well.

Throughout 2024, the organization backed by Finland participated in various qualifiers and tier-two competitions, yet following their dismantling at the Copenhagen Major by a predominantly Polish team, ENCE has faced challenges in the areas that truly count.

Even though they were slightly behind the top 20 competitors in rankings before the RMR qualifiers, their victory against HEROIC at the Elisa Masters Espoo kept them competitive as we approach the 2025 schedule.

Eternal Fire

Eternal Fire’s exit from the RMR came as quite a shock.

2024 found me and my Turkish team on a roll, starting strong with a quarterfinal run at the Copenhagen Major in March. Since then, it’s been a rollercoaster ride – from sudden eliminations, such as at IEM Cologne, to reaching grand finals like at ESL Pro League Season 20.

The team Eternal Fire continues to heavily depend on the skilled rifleman Ismailcan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş, particularly during LAN events. It was almost certain that the Turkish team would participate in the Major in December.

Initially, Eternal Fire defeated Aurora, but later lost to 3DMAX, Sashi, and eventually Astralis – all of whom were ranked below them at the time. Interestingly, neither Eternal Fire nor Astralis, two top-10 teams, will receive a sticker for this major tournament.

TYLOO

For quite some time now, TYLOO has been closely associated with Chinese Counter-Strike, particularly in CS:GO, and their impressive performance before the RMR qualifier had many anticipating that they would represent the home audience with their “Red Dragon” prowess.

Nevertheless, since there were alterations in their roster and insufficient Valve ranking points, TYLOO found themselves required to compete in the Chinese qualifier for the RMR instead of receiving a direct invite. They made it seem effortless as they reached the final, losing only 11 rounds across three maps during their journey.

Once more this year, they faced defeat at the last obstacle against Rare Atom. Their 2-1 loss to their fierce opponents dashed TYLOO’s dreams of representing China in the first significant tournament on this side of the Pacific.

What can we expect for TYLOO moving forward? Despite the setback of losing their player, Yang “JamYoung” Yi, who is rumored to be switching to VALORANT, the organization remains dedicated and the team they’ve assembled has the potential to continue their progression. However, it’s unclear how this change will impact their performance in the immediate future.

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2024-11-26 18:11