Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 kicks off with an exciting match in the Opening Stage, where the experienced team BIG will face the ambitious Passion UA. Both teams have shown good form recently, but their paths to success have been different.

BIG, with a strong lineup and top-level experience, will aim to confirm their reputation, while Passion UA, who surprised everyone at the RMR, will try to prove that their victories were not a fluke. Who will come out stronger in this clash? Let's examine the current form of the teams, their map pool, and recent head-to-head encounters.

Current Form of the Teams

BIG

BIG have been showing decent results in the latest tournaments. The team's average rating in S-tier events over the past month is 6.1. In the Thunderpick World Championship 2024 they emerged from the group stage with a 2-0 result but failed to overcome OG in the playoffs, losing 1-2. In YaLLa Compass Fall 2024 BIG started directly in the quarterfinals, where they lost to GUN5.

In the last five matches, the team secured three victories — against Sashi, HEROIC and Passion UA. Defeats were at the hands of OG and GUN5. A significant point: BIG unexpectedly passed the RMR with a score of 3-0, indicating their steady progress.

Passion UA

Passion UA is preparing for their debut in an S-tier tournament. Previously, the team participated in C- and B-tier competitions, where they consistently showed good results.

At the RMR, Passion UA surprised everyone, starting with two wins over the group favorites — Spirit and Virtus.pro, and managed to advance to the next stage. The last five matches of the team include three wins (Astralis, Spirit, and Virtus.pro) and two losses (BIG and HEROIC).

Team Map Pool

BIG

BIG prioritize banning Inferno (16 times), something to consider when choosing a map. They most frequently play Ancient (26 times, 58% win rate), Dust II (17 times, 53% win rate), and Mirage (13 times, 38% win rate). The most successful maps for BIG are Ancient and Dust II.

Passion UA

Passion UA most often bans Nuke (68 times) due to a lack of experience on this map. They prefer choosing opponents' weak maps. The most popular ones are Mirage (56 times, 50% win rate), Anubis (56 times, 64% win rate), and Ancient (50 times, 64% win rate). Leaders in win rate are Vertigo (79%) and Anubis (64%).

Map Prediction: With high probability, Inferno and Nuke will be banned. This leaves more likely options for play: Ancient or Vertigo. Considering the strengths of both teams, Ancient looks like the preferred choice.

Head-to-Head Matchups

In the past six months, BIG and Passion UA have faced each other twice.

• Three months ago, Passion UA claimed victory.
• Five days ago, BIG took revenge, winning 2-1.

Both teams have thoroughly studied each other's playstyle, adding intrigue to the upcoming match.

Match Prediction

BIG have a richer experience in S-tier tournaments and demonstrate stability in recent matches. However, Passion UA should not be underestimated: the team confidently advanced from a challenging group at the RMR, defeating Spirit and Virtus.pro.

Most likely, BIG will prevail thanks to their experience and strategic gameplay on strong maps. However, Passion UA has the potential to challenge and even surprise. 

Final Prediction: Victory for BIG.

Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 starts on November 30 and lasts until December 15. The tournament will feature 24 teams competing for a total prize pool of $1,250,000. More detailed information about the tournament and follow the competition can be found here.