Best CS2 Shanghai Major Pick’Ems

With each Counter-Strike Major, players have the chance to select their own Pick’Ems and earn prestigious awards if they’re correct. The case is no different with the Perfect World CS2 Shanghai Major, though, it feels like this time the predictions are tougher than ever.

The tournament is divided into two stages: Opening and Elimination, with the latter featuring both a Swiss System competition and single-elimination playoffs. Like always, players may pick their predictions in each of those stages, and if they get the majority of them right, their in-game Coin will be upgraded. A better Coin, on the other hand, means you receive more Souvenir Tokens to exchange for containers with sweet skins—if you purchase the viewer pass, that is.

If you don’t, you can enjoy the Pick’Ems challenge but without any rewards. More importantly, though, you’ll be able to show off your Coin to prove you’re a true expert in CS2 esports.

Here’s how you can make Pick’Ems for the CS2 Shanghai Major and the best ones to choose.

How to make Pick’Ems for Perfect World CS2 Shanghai Major

First things first, though. If you’re new to CS2, you may be out of the loop in terms of how to make the Pick’Ems themselves. To participate in the challenge and get rewards, you need to purchase the viewer pass.

The base version of the viewer pass costs $10. However, if you want to have three Souvenir Tokens at the start, you can pay $18 to purchase them alongside the Viewer Pass.

Buying the Pass is all but challenging. Simply turn on CS2 and head over to the left side of the screen, where the Major hub is located. Enter it, and you’ll see the option to buy the viewer pass once again on the left of your screen. If you proceed, you need to fill out your details to finish the Steam transaction.

Whether you have the viewer pass or not, you can make the Pick’Ems by dragging the teams’ logos into specific categories in the Major hub. It’s simple and intuitive, and you shouldn’t have any issues with this part.

Best Pick’Ems for the Opening Stage of Perfect World CS2 Shanghai Major

Now that we have the tutorial out of the way, let’s take a look at the best picks themselves. Those who don’t have Shanghai as their first Pick’Ems rodeo know claiming a Diamond Coin and nailing all three parts of the tournament is a tough nut to crack. That seems especially true this time around for the Opening Stage, since all the teams competing in it look to be somewhat equal in their quality and skill.

There are three categories you need to pick teams for: 3:0, 3:1 and 3:2, and 0:3. You need to select two squads who will go undefeated in the Opening Stage, two that won’t secure a single win, and six that will make it through despite experiencing losses. To upgrade your Coin, you need at least five correct picks out of 10. With that in mind, our Pick’Ems for the Opening Stage look as follows.

Why are Complexity and Virtus.pro the best picks for 3:0?

Picking 3:0 teams is always tricky, since one loss could ruin their chances of achieving that score and your Pick’Ems simultaneously. That is especially true in the first two Swiss rounds, which are played in BO1 format.

That’s why looking at the opening matches for all teams is important. Both Virtus.pro and Complexity have relatively easy opponents in their first games in the form of MIBR and FlyQuest, respectively. With high seeding, they shouldn’t face tough opposition in the second rounds as well, and there are few scenarios where they play each other in the first three rounds. That’s why we advise you to choose them. Other solid squads like Team Liquid, FURIA Esports, and The MongolZ are also fine.

Who will make it in the remaining six spots?

Now here’s a selection that should be a bit easier than the previous one. Although it’s vital to remember that if a team ends up being 3:0, but you have them as 3:1 or 3:2, you don’t get the point.

We advise you to go for FURIA and Liquid because they look overall as some of the strongest teams in the mix, with massive amount of talent in their rosters. However, they’re pretty inconsistent, so we wouldn’t be surprised if they drop a game or two, especially since they play GamerLegion and Cloud9 first, respectively.

BIG and The MongolZ are also solid choices. One could argue they are even viable 3:0 options, and that would make sense. In our eyes, they’re just a bit unpredictable in terms of form, but their prowess and experience should help them reach the Elimination Stage.

We chose FlyQuest and Cloud9 as the remaining two teams that will qualify, but we’re far from certain about them. They both have veterans who know how to compete at such a high level. They also performed fairly well recently. However, their consistency often leaves a lot to be desired. If you’re not sure about them, you can pick squads like Fnatic, MIBR, or GamerLegion, who are strong candidates as well.

Who will go 0:3?

No one would want to leave the most important tournament of a year early, but some teams will have to. Picking 0:3 squads is always tricky, especially since the weakest links on paper often pull off a surprise or two. But, if we were to point to the Opening Stage’s weakest links, we’d choose Rare Atom and Wildcard.

Despite both teams having a bit of experience, we feel like enduring the pressure of a Major stage might prove too much for them at the moment. Additionally, their weak seeding doesn’t improve their chances of facing opponents with a similar level in the following rounds of the Swiss Stage. However, similar cases could be made for Passion UA or Imperial, whom you may select as 0:3 as well.

Best Pick’Ems for the Elimination Stage of Perfect World CS2 Shanghai Major

As of now, we need to wait for the Opening Stage to conclude before we may participate further in the Pick’Ems challenge. We’ll update this section once the first part of the event is done and dusted. In the meantime, we’re crossing our fingers and hoping our Opening Pick’Ems land properly.