Perfect World recently unveiled detailed plans for the RMR events for the Counter-Strike 2 Shanghai Major 2024, stirring debate with its decision to host all qualifying events exclusively in Shanghai, China. This move centralizes the competitive landscape but also eliminates the open qualifiers, traditionally a cornerstone for emerging teams to showcase their talent.
By focusing solely on closed qualifiers, invitations will now be issued based on Valve’s ranking system, ensuring only the top-ranked teams in Europe and America get a shot.
Additional context explains why the open qualifiers are being retained in Asia: due to the limited number of teams in the region, which is only 28. This decision allows for more participants and increased public engagement, especially since the Major itself will also be held in Asia. The open qualifiers will give local teams the opportunity to compete for a place on the world stage, adding emotional charge and hype to the event.
The qualifiers are scheduled as follows:
- Asia: November 11-14
- Americas: November 12-15
- Europe: Group A from November 17-20 and Group B from November 21-24
This shift by Valve to streamline the competition through closed qualifiers has raised concerns about limiting opportunities for lesser-known teams to enter the competitive scene. Perfect World and Valve hope this new format will enhance the overall quality of competition, yet it poses challenges for the community's openness and inclusivity.
As the esports community looks towards a 35-day grand event in Shanghai, the excitement is tempered with concerns over these significant changes to the competitive framework of the CS2 scene.
Source: X
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