Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: European RMR B will open with a BO1 match between Team Spirit and B8. This is the first round of the Swiss system, and a victory will give the team an advantage in the fight for the Major. Spirit, as favorites, will try to continue their streak of consistent performances, while B8 will strive to prove that they can compete with the top-level teams.

Current form of the teams

Team Spirit is showing strong form. They took 2nd place at the BLAST Premier: World Final 2024, beating Astralis, FaZe, and Vitality, but losing to G2 in the final. Their performance at the ESL Pro League Season 20 and BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 was also stable, confirming their status as a top team. Spirit are one of the favorites of this tournament due to their experience, quality mapping, and high level of play.

B8 has had some success at the lower level, including a 2nd place finish at ESL Challenger Katowice 2024, but their performance at other tournaments is less stable. Recent victories over paiN and Eternal Fire show their potential, but defeats against SAW and GamerLegion indicate a lack of stability at the highest level. The team will try to surprise in BO1 format.

Map Pool

Team Spirit has a wide and strong mapped roster, which gives them a significant advantage, with Inferno being their usual ban.

• Vertigo is their strongest card with 80% of wins (5 games). The team makes good use of aggressive strategies and has excellent control over key areas of the map.
• Nuke is another strong Spirit map with 82% of wins on 17 games. It is their favorite choice due to its strong defense position.
• Ancient and Anubis are also good Spirit cards, with 63% and 59% win rates respectively.

B8 has another mappool that they use to neutralize their opponents, primarily banning Vertigo.

• Ancient is the strongest B8 card with 71% of wins (16 games). They rely on precise timing and strong defense.
• Anubis - 61% of wins in 23 games. B8 often choose this map to play against teams that do not have a stable strategy on it.
• Mirage - 62% win rate in 47 games. This is their classic card where they show reliability in clutches.
• Vertigo and Nuke are the weaknesses of B8, where they have 0% and 57% wins respectively. They will ban Vertigo to prevent the strongest card, Spirit, from playing.

Probable map choice

• Bans: Spirit will be banned for Inferno, and B8 will be banned for Vertigo.
• Map choice: Ancient will remain, which is comfortable for Spirit, but is also played by B8.

Prediction:

On Ancient , Team Spirit looks to be the clear favorites thanks to their experience and strong defense. B8 can put up a fight thanks to their good adaptation, but their instability and less experience at S-tier will be decisive factors.

Prediction: Spirit will win the match on Ancient if they can use their advantages in tactics and teamwork.

This is the first meeting between Spirit and B8 in the last six months, which adds to the intrigue of this matchup. Spirit are trying to confirm their status as favorites, while B8 are looking to surprise. This match will be an important test for both teams and will determine their readiness to continue fighting for a slot at the Major.

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.