The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR B will feature the opening match between G2 and Ninjas in Pyjamas  tomorrow. This game in BO1 format will be the first test for both teams in the Swiss system. Both teams are eager to win to ensure a good start in the fight to reach the Major, where they need to win three matches.

Current form of the teams

G2 is coming into the match in excellent form. They won the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024, where they defeated opponents such as Spirit, Vitality, and Liquid, and have not lost a single series at this tournament. However, at the Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024, G2 performed worse, taking only 13-16th place. Recent matches show that G2 is one of the favorites of this tournament, as their playstyle is aggressive and well adapted to the current metagame.

NiP have a less stable form, with mediocre performances at recent tournaments. They took 2nd place at the Svenska Cupen 2024, but failed to go further than 9-12th place at the Thunderpick World Championship 2024. NiP lost 3 of their last 5 matches, including defeats against BetBoom, MZP, and Imperial. The team looks weaker compared to G2, but the BO1 format may leave room for surprises.

Map Pool

G2 has a wide and strong mapped pool, and they are usually the first to ban Vertigo. Their strongest maps are:

• Ancient (71% win rate in 14 games),
• Nuke (69% win rate on 13 games),
• Mirage (67% win rate on 18 games).

Weaknesses of G2 include Vertigo (0% wins) and Anubis (50% wins), which are likely to be banned.

NiP always bans Inferno. NiP shows the best results on the following maps:

• Ancient (73% of wins on 26 games),
• Vertigo (64% of wins in 14 games).

However, their performance on Mirage, Inferno, and Dust II maps leaves much to be desired, which can create significant problems against G2.

Probable map choice

• Bans: G2 will be banned for Vertigo, NiP will be banned for Inferno.
• Decider: The only map to be played will be Ancient, where both teams have good performance.

Match prediction

G2 looks like a clear favorite due to their stable results at S-tier tournaments and stronger mappool. NiP can cause problems if they can impose their playstyle on Ancient, but it will be difficult for them to adapt to G2's aggressive style.

Prediction: G2 will win the match on Ancient if they can quickly seize the initiative.

G2 and NiP have met before at major tournaments, and both times G2 won with a score of 2:0. This adds to the psychological advantage of G2, who know how to play against NiP. This match will determine whether Ninjas in Pyjamas are ready to compete with the favorite or whether G2 will continue their winning ways in this tournament.

The matches of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR B will take place from November 21 to 24 in Shanghai, China. Teams will compete for 7 spots at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. Follow the championship's progress via this link.