The American RMR for the Shanghai Major is finally over and most of the favorites managed to qualify.
The Qualified Teams
Some teams, like FURIA Esports, barely made it and had to win some really stressful matches to earn their ticket for the Major. Others had an easy path despite being regarded as underdogs.
Nobody expected Wildcard and MIBR to win with perfect scores but they did. Fortunately for Team Liquid, Complexity, and paiN Gaming, who were among the favorites at the start of the race, they also qualified with a 3 W – 1 L score.
Until the Major, they have ample time to train and adjust the weaknesses their opponents exploited in this qualifier. Both Liquid and paiN Gaming lost against Wildcard, a team that climbed nearly 40 positions since the end of Summer.
The last team that finished the American RMR for the Shanghai Major in the top seven was Imperial Esports. At one point, the Brazilians had a score of 1 W – 2 L and looked destined for elimination. But they won their final two matches, eliminating Marcelo “coldzera” David’s team in the fifth round.
The Eliminated Teams
Here are the nine teams that failed to qualify for the Shanghai Major:
- M80
- 9z Team
- BESTIA
- RED Canids
- BOSS
- KRU Esports
- Legacy
- Case Esports
- Nouns Esports
The first four of these teams had the potential to get a much better result but under-performed. Or perhaps, the likes of Wildcard and MIBR played far better than expected.
In moments like this, veteran players like coldzera need to stay strong if they want to not give in to the inner voice that whispers: “I guess it’s time to retire.”
The next big tournament is several months away. But starting with 2025, the rules will change completely. Smaller teams will have fewer opportunities to qualify for $1 million events. So, for a lot of players, this Major could have been their last, and they missed it.
