As part of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024: Opening Stage for CS2, Passion UA and GamerLegion will compete for a spot in the main stage of the major. In this article, we present a preview, overview, and analysis of the upcoming match.

Current Form of the Teams

Passion UA is currently considered a dark horse in the tournament. Over the past month, the team has demonstrated an average rating of 5.9 at S-tier events, indicating a fairly confident form. The team performed well at the recent RMR tournament, where they secured two victories, including one against Astralis and one against Complexity. However, there were also defeats against BIG and HEROIC. Despite this, Passion UA can surprise in matches against strong opponents, and that's what will be interesting to watch at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Opening.

GamerLegion, on the other hand, showcased an average rating of 5.6 at S-tier events over the past month, which is worse than Passion UA. The team also participated in the RMR tournament, where they performed decently. GamerLegion won 4 out of their last 5 matches, including victories over teams such as SINNERS, BetBoom, PaiN, and FURIA. The only loss came against The Mongolz in the previous match for the main stage entry. 

Map Pool

Passion UA has some distinct preferences in their map choices. The team usually starts by banning the Nuke map (69 times), which they are not ready to play on. Then, depending on the opponent, they choose maps such as Anubis (57 times, win rate 65%), Ancient (49 times, win rate 63%), and Mirage (56 times, win rate 48%). The most successful maps for the team are Vertigo (win rate 79%), Anubis (65%), and Ancient (63%). This indicates that Passion UA will look for opportunities to select maps where they feel confident.

GamerLegion most frequently bans the Dust 2 map (20 times), which can be an important point in the match strategy. Like Passion UA, they select maps considering the opponent's weaknesses. Their preferred maps are Anubis (26 times, win rate 54%), Mirage (26 times, win rate 65%), and Ancient (17 times, win rate 59%). The maps with the highest win rate for GamerLegion are Mirage (65%), Vertigo (62%), and Ancient (59%). This suggests that GamerLegion will choose maps with good statistics and try to impose their game on strong maps.

1. Anubis - chosen by Passion UA 
2. Vertigo - chosen by GamerLegion 
3. Mirage - decider

Match Prediction

Both teams demonstrated confident play in the last RMR tournament but have different approaches to high-level tournaments. Passion UA could be an unexpected opponent for GamerLegion. Although they do not always perform steadily at a high level, the team has the potential for surprises. Considering their results against major teams like Astralis and Complexity, Passion UA might deliver an excellent game if they find their confidence and set up correctly for the match. 

GamerLegion has a slight advantage due to better stability and a higher level of play in major tournaments. However, Passion UA is a team that can surprise, and unpredictable twists are not excluded in the game. 

2:1 - Passion UA

READ ALSO: Match Prediction and Analysis of FlyQuest vs. paiN at Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 Opening

The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 started on November 30 and will run until December 15. The tournament gathered 24 teams competing for a total prize pool of $1,250,000. You can find more information about the tournament and follow it here.