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Top Teams Likely to Qualify for the Perfect World Shanghai Major via Asia RMRs
The Perfect World Shanghai Major RMRs are finally here, and Asian teams will be the first to deliver and represent their region in the Major with three teams in the opening stage.
While there are only eight teams, it's stacked with heavy hitters including The MongolZ who are making waves on the international stage and FlyQuest who are looking to bring back the golden age of Australian Counter-Strike.
Not only that, but other fierce underdogs such as ohnepixel’s DRILLAS will look forward to making history in Shanghai. So will the underdogs prevail, or will it be a smooth sail for the favorites in the APAC RMR?
The Favorites
The MongolZ
The Mongolians have proved their worth as formidable contenders against the best before. But recently, they reached new heights by climbing to fifth place on Valve’s Global ranking and fourth on overall earnings this year with 10 first placements, netting them $986,347 USD.
While their S-tier experience was often met by tougher opponents, The MongolZ hit their stride in the A-tier events including the latest Thunderpick World Championship 2024 where they defeated Heroic in the grand final.
Picking The Mongolz is a no brainer, especially with the team opting to practice in Europe for most of the time. This can only mean that their plans go further than RMR, and while reaching the Shanghai Major is inevitable, their goal this time around is to reach the Playoffs alongside the big dogs.
The PGL Major Copenhagen failure
The Mongolians entered the PGL Major Copenhagen with three players who were making their first appearance in a Major event. Consequently, they were eliminated without winning a single game, having faced the champions Natus Vincere, Team Vitality and paiN.
Making a breakthrough against such teams is almost impossible, especially when the average age for the lineup at the time was only 20 years old. However, in the upcoming Shanghai Major, they have the opportunity to make a dent, considering their latest success and momentum.
FlyQuest
2019 was Australia’s best year in Counter-Strike esports with Aaron "AZR" Ward’s Renegades. The team was a Major title contender after reaching the quarter finals of IEM Katowice and StarLadder Major Berlin. But, ever since then, the entire region was on a downward spiral with their brightest players leaving for other regions.
Despite being bested in the Valve Global ranking by lower-tier European teams, FlyQuest is in fact the second-best team in APAC after The Mongolz, which might be enough for them to prevail in the Shanghai RMR.
Opposite to the other regions, the Asian Counter-Strike scene is ‘unhealthy’ with fewer organizations investing in the region. That made it harder to track and predict teams on the international scale, hence, any team can come up victorious in the RMR.
Thanks to the "Regional Representation" of Valve's Major rulebook, Asia gained an extra spot for the Shanghai Major which is the sole reason why FlyQuest can qualify. Otherwise, The MongolZ and Lynn Vision are by far the most capable teams from the region.
Lynn Vision
The Chinese roster will look towards making their second Major appearance after PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. In the last RMR, they came second after losing to The MongolZ in the upper bracket final and managed to win against Twisted Minds, TYLOO and the current FlyQuest lineup.
Lynn Vision suffered with lackluster performances on the international stage at Intel Extreme Masters Chengdu 2024 and ESL Pro League Season 20. But they dominated the local scene, notably, at the ESL Challenger League Season 47: Asia which netted them a ticket to Pro League.
Overall, APAC remains the least competitive region heading the Major, with these three teams having the best odds to qualify. However, amongst these teams lies an unknown entity in DRILLAS, who might be the Asia-Pacific RMR’s dark horse.
DRILLAS: The Unexpected Underdog
The community’s favorites, DRILLAS, can flip the script as their capabilities remain shrouded in mystery. Although they passed with flying colors through the Middle Eastern qualifier, they’re yet to face a big challenge.
Ohnepixel’s team only lost to JiJieHao in their opening series in the closed qualifier, to complete a historic run through the lower bracket by defeating Bravado Gaming, Supferfkrs and later Onyx Ravens in the grand final.
Since then, the team replaced one of their worst performing members with ex-Guild Eagles player, Sener "SENER1" Mahmuti. Since joining the team, SENER1, played with DRILLAS in the United 21 League where they finished second after losing to NAVI Junior.
With Vertigo expert ohnepixel as the coach, the team flew to Germany where they practiced in BIG’s bootcamp to prepare for the RMR. Although they don’t match the big dogs’ firepower in the RMR, their strength comes from the mystery surrounding their gameplay and their status as a wildcard team.
For more news, check out the Strafe News page to stay updated with the latest RMR news starting the 11th of November.
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