The Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 playoffs start with a clash between MOUZ and The MongolZ, marking a rematch from the elimination stage when MongolZ bested the European lineup 16-13. Nevertheless, MongolZ this match enter as underdogs with the best Counter-Strike betting sites.

The MongolZ have not lost a game at the Shanghai Major and are on a 13-game winning streak, which extends back to their title run at Thunderpick World Championship 2024. MOUZ have not been performing poorly, but they have looked a bit shaky in China.

MOUZ are a quality team with very strong teamwork, whereas MongolZ rely more on individual firepower. While this has helped the Asian squad make it this far, MOUZ are among the few teams who could punish MongolZ’s somewhat reckless playstyle.

While MongolZ are a more inviting bet at outsider odds, this should be a highly competitive game which can easily extend to three maps.

Team Liquid reverse-swept Team Spirit in September in a very competitive three-map game, winning 13-11 on Nuke and 13-10 on Anubis after dropping Dust2 3-13.

Team Spirit looked a bit shaky early into the Major but have found momentum in the latter stages — largely thanks to Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, who has been performing incredibly well. The young player has posted the tournament’s highest average performance rating at 1.55 over six maps played.

While Spirit are not at 100% yet, they are trending up and could reach top form in the playoffs. That does not do any favours for Team Liquid, who are arguably the weakest of the eight Counter-Strike teams to reach the knockout stage in Shanghai.

Liquid have had the easiest path to the playoffs, yet they did not look great in some of their wins. While Team Liquid are still a quality team, Team Spirit are rightly priced as favourites for this match.

Esports betting tips

Along with device’s reappearance, Astralis also revealed the departure of Alexander “br0” Bro, releasing him into free agency.

Br0 leaving the team comes as no surprise, as he was benched in September to make room for the controversial arrival of Casper “CadiaN” Møller.

However, the 22-year-old remained contracted with Astralis, who he helped through their Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 European RMR B campaign.

Dev1ce is back and ready for 2025

We're thrilled to announce that @dev1ce is officially returning to the team.

A huge thank you to @br0CSGO, who stepped in during a challenging period.

Together with Br0, we have agreed on a mutual termination of his contract with Astralis.…

— Astralis Counter-Strike (@AstralisCS) December 9, 2024

With br0, Astralis could not find the same traction they had shown at the start of November, when they reached the semifinals of BLAST Premier World Final 2024.

Despite being billed as one of the leading candidates to qualify for the Major, Astralis crashed out of the RMR in 9th-11th place after losses against 9Pandas, Sashi Esports, and Passion UA.

Br0 was the second-highest-rated player for Astralis at the RMR, averaging a 1.04 performance rating — behind only Jakob “jabbi” Nygaard at 1.10.

“While we look ahead with excitement, we also want to acknowledge the big contribution of br0, who stepped in for Astralis during a particularly challenging period,” the team said in a statement.

“Despite limited preparation, br0 rose to the occasion at the RMR and gave his all for the team.”

After a number of lacklustre tournament placements in the latter half of the season, Astralis are poised to finish the year outside the top 10 in the Counter-Strike world rankings.

With device back in the team, they are unlikely to make further roster changes for the 2025 CS2 season.

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The 26-year-old’s arrival was revealed just a day after JD Gaming confirmed the signing of former Gen.G ADC Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan, who stepped into the shoes of the recently departed Park “Ruler” Jae-hyu.

Scout replaces in-house talent Zeng “Yagao” Qi, who made his LoL Pro League (LPL) debut under the JD Gaming banner in December 2017 and has spent six seasons with the team between 2017-2022 and 2023-2024.

Regarded as one of the best mid laners in the world, Yagao failed to perform up to the expectations in his second stint with JD Gaming, who had an underwhelming run through the 2024 season.

JDG ended last season without a single trophy, while their best result was a third-place finish in the LPL 2024 Spring Playoffs.

The sub-standard results ushered in a major roster overhaul and the arrival of top laner Hu “Ale” Jia-Le along with Peyz and Scout.

Like his new teammates, Scout joins JDG with a plethora of accolades to his name, including four LPL MVP titles and an LoL Worlds 2021 MVP award.

Last season was not as fruitful for the former world champion, as his team, LNG Esports, won just the LPL 2024 Regional Finals and exited LoL Worlds 2024 in the quarterfinals.

With Scout’s arrival, JD Gaming now have locked-in players for all positions except for jungle.

Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok is still part of JDG’s LoL roster; however, he has yet to renew his contract and is rumoured to be on his way out.

Esports news

Peyz is JD Gaming’s second new signing of the offseason, following the arrival of Hu “Ale” Jia-Le, who joined the team at the end of November.

The unexpected arrival sees Peyz take over for Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk, who recently left JD Gaming to join Gen.G, replacing the 19-year-old as the new ADC of the Korean squad.

【JD Gaming Announcement】

After friendly negotiations, former GEN.G bot laner Kim Su-hwan (ID: Peyz) @peyz05 will officially join JDG Esports Club and compete alongside the team in the upcoming season.

Peyz made his debut in GEN.G’s main roster in 2022 and quickly rose to… pic.twitter.com/HR4KW8fJ7T

— JDG Esports (@JDGaming) December 7, 2024

This marks the second time Peyz will step in Ruler’s shoes after he got called up to Gen.G’s main roster in November 2022, following Ruler’s departure to JD Gaming.

Widely regarded as one of the most promising young ADC players in the world, Peyz’s rise to prominence started in 2020 when he joined Gen.G academy roster and in the span of two years climbed the ranks to Gen.G Challengers and the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) lineup.

In his debut year with Gen.G, Peyz won the LCK 2023 Spring Playoffs, placed fourth at the Mid-Season Invitational, and rounded up the year with LCK 2023 Summer Playoffs trophy and quarterfinals run at LoL World Championship 2023.

After an immaculate debut season, Peyz added LCK 2024 Spring and MSI 2024 trophies to his resume, as well as a silver medal from LCK 2024 Summer and a top-four finish at LoL Worlds 2024.

Joining the LoL Pro League (LPL) seems like an unlikely destination for the young player; however, with Ruler taking over his spot at Gen.G and other top contenders in the league already fielding an ADC player, Peyz signing for JD Gaming comes as no shock.

With the addition of Peyz, top laner Ale, an extension of Lou “MISSING” Yun-Feng’s contract, and the arrival of veteran coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho, JD Gaming have their eyes set on returning to the world’s elite and bounce-back following a rough season.

JD Gaming enjoyed a promising start to their 2024 LoL esports season campaign, placing third in the LPL 2024 Spring Playoffs.

However, they flopped in the season’s final stretch, with a seventh-eighth-place finish in the LPL 2024 Summer and a third-place finish in the LPL 2024 Regional Finals.

As a result, JD Gaming missed LoL World Championsip for the fourth time in the teams’ history.

The arrival of Peyz leaves JD Gaming with just two spots to fill, as they still need to announce their starting mid laner and jungler.

Esports news

According to Secret’s release, the new partnership will combine Secret’s competitive excellence with Team Whales’ regional prowess to create a team which will make waves in the Asia-Pacific LoL esports region.

“This partnership is a monumental step forward for both organisations. By joining forces, we aim to not only dominate the LCP but also inspire and engage the broader League of Legends community in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Team Secret CEO John Yao.

Time to make waves in the Pacific region!

We're joining forces with Team Whales for the LCP 2025: the road to Worlds 2025 starts here

https://t.co/iXwdxUnjzI pic.twitter.com/1b5JdDnuCz

— Team Secret (@teamsecret) December 6, 2024

“We are excited to partner with Team Secret, whose legacy and vision align perfectly with our ambition. Together, we will bring a new level of excitement and competitiveness to the LCP,” added Team Whales CEO Phạm Anh Tuấn.

Set to compete in the revamped league, Secret Whales will be one of four invited guest teams for the LCP 2025 season, joining MGN Vikings Esports (formerly Vikings Esports), DetonatioN FocusMe, and Chiefs Esports Club.

The rest of the LCP slots will be filled in by partner teams, including well-known names from Pacific Championship Series (PCS), CTBC Flying Oysters, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, PSG Talon, and Vietnam Championship Series (VCS), GAM Esports.

The league follows Riot Games’ new competitive structure for the 2025 season and beyond, featuring LoL esports teams from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Oceania, South-east Asia, and Vietnam.

As a new Asia-Pacific tier-one league from 2025 onwards, the LCP replaces PCS, which will, along with the VCS and LJL, become LCP’s secondary leagues with a path to promotion to the top flight.

With no set launch date yet – but expected to begin alongside other LoL leagues around the world in early January 2025 – the LCP will be an eight-team league, with most of the participating squads having yet to reveal their rosters.

The new joint venture between Secret and Whales currently has six players listed on their active lineup, including three ex-Secret players, top laner Trần “Hiro02” Lê Trung Hậu, support Đinh “Taki” Anh Tài, and ADC Hoàng “Eddie” Công Nghĩa.

The trio will link up with rookie top laner Lê “Steller” Quang Bình, and two ex-Baby Whales players, jungler Lê “Hizto” Văn Hoàng Hả and mid laner Trần “Tire” Duy Đức.

Secret Whales LoL 2025 Roster

• Trần “Hiro02” Lê Trung Hậu – top lane
• Lê “Steller” Quang Bình – top lane
• Lê “Hizto” Văn Hoàng Hả – jungle
• Trần “Tire” Duy Đức – mid lane
• Đinh “Taki” Anh Tài – support
• Hoàng “Eddie” Công Nghĩa – ADC

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Miami Heretics did not perform well on LAN last year, with a 3-10 record, and they were 14-14 online. Consistency was a major issue, and it led to some roster changes, including the arrival of Diego “SupeR” Escudero, David “RenKoR” Isern, and coach Gonzalo “Sikotik” Galán.

It is unclear whether the new-look lineup will manage to find more stability, but the Heretics have some upside, as long as they manage to improve on respawns and continue to post solid results on Search & Destroy.

Vegas Falcons’ lineup consists of former Call of Duty Challengers players who will likely struggle on respawns, but they have shown good things on Search & Destroy during the Esports World Cup. So, while their ceiling is lower, the Falcons match up well with Heretics.

Minnesota RØKKR’s new roster has a lot of firepower, although they lack strong leadership, which could become a problem later. On the other side, with Daniel “Loony” Loza as head coach, the RØKKR’s ceiling is very high.

Boston Breach, like RØKKR, freshened up their lineup after their shaky run through the 2024 Call of Duty League season. But even with the new signings, the Breach have some issues, mainly iffy firepower, which will show in respawns.

This is a winnable match for both teams and close to a coin flip, so we will gladly side with the underdogs at plus money.

Vancouver Surge enter the 2025 season with a much different roster compared to 2024, featuring two new pickups, Charlie “Hicksy” Hicks and Byron “Nastie” Plumridge. The core made the Esports World Cup 2024 semifinals, so there is some potential, but the Surge could struggle with their firepower this season.

This is where Jovan “04” Rodriguez will play a significant factor for the squad, who besides questionable firepower, have the tools to fight for a strong placement this year.

Like last season, the Surge could struggle against CDL’s top teams, which explains why they are priced as underdogs with the best Call of Duty betting sites. However, at this price and so early into the season, it is worth taking a shot with the underdogs.

Los Angeles Thieves replaced their entire lineup after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the CDL Championship 2024 and acquired Dylan “Envoy” Hannon, Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez, and Thomas “Scrappy” Ernst. While we have not seen the Thieves play yet, this is a very stacked lineup which should compete for a podium finish this season.

Cloud9 New York created an interesting roster, with players who competed together before, creating a powerful synergy with plenty of talent to bite at the heels of the top squads. Whether the project will work out remains to be seen, but it is also hard to say whether LA Thieves will perform as well as expected, especially so early.

Regardless of Thieves’ higher ceiling, Cloud9 New York can keep it close.

Esports betting tips

Minnesota RØKKR built a new CoD roster at the start of November, featuring a fairly young lineup of players with a very high ceiling. But the lack of leadership could be a massive problem, especially if RØKKR do not start strong.

Los Angeles Guerrillas blew up their 2024 lineup and rebuilt with former New York Subliners trio Preston “Priestahh” Greiner, Cesar “Skyz” Buen, and Matthew “KiSMET” Tinsley, who will link up with Thomas “Lynz” Gregorio from Minnesota. Essentially fielding the Modern Warfare II championship roster, the Guerrillas look strong on paper; individually, however, the four players did not look great last season.

The quality is still there, which explains why LAG are priced as favourites with the best Call of Duty betting sites. However, it is hard to look past Minnesota RØKKR’s upside, which is a good enough reason to take their side at outsider odds.

After winning the Call of Duty League Championship 2024, OpTic Texas kept their roster intact. OpTic were by far the best Hardpoint team in the league with a 70.11% win rate, while they also posted a positive win rates on Control (58%) and did slightly worse on Search & Destroy (47.83%).

Boston Breach made some roster changes at the end of the 2024 season and performed well at the Esports World Cup 2024, with a fifth-eighth finish. This is a well-rounded lineup, although there are some concerns with Eric “Snoopy” Pérez, who did not have the best year and enters the 2025 season with a chip on his shoulder.

Boston Breach could be better than they seem, but that does not make them a good pick against OpTic Texas’ proven lineup.

Vegas Falcons enter the 2025 season with a strange roster situation, having registered nine players. However, we will likely see the same lineup that represented Team Falcons at Esports World Cup 2024, finishing in last place.

While the Saudi team showed good things on Search & Destroy, respawns will be a major problem for the Call of Duty Challengers roster.

Carolina Royal Ravens are priced as massive favourites for this match, mainly due to the Falcons’ questionable quality. But like the Vegas Falcons, Royal Ravens lack firepower, which will likely lead to a much closer match than what the betting odds suggest.

Despite the painful ending to the 2024 CDL season, Atlanta FaZe decided to run it back with the same lineup, which won the Esports World Cup in August. While this roster does not lack quality, FaZe have became know to choke in important matches, but that is a problem for later.

Toronto Ultra signed two new players in October, Ben “Beans” McMellon and Joseph “JoeDeceives” Romero, creating a scary roster which should easily secure a winner’s bracket spot for the first Major.

While not as proven as that of Atlanta FaZe, you have to have a good reason to take the underdogs at this price at the start of a new season. A smaller position on Toronto Ultra to upset is worth a look.

Esports betting tips

The MongolZ cruised through the opening stage of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 with dominant victories against Rare Atom, MiBR, and GamerLegion while posting the stage’s highest average performance rating for a team at 1.50.

On Thursday, they will face a much tougher opponent in G2 Esports. But the Mongolian squad are in excellent form and they played a highly competitive game against Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and co. in July, so it is hard to doubt their ability to hold their own.

With momentum on their side, MongolZ have a realistic chance to upset G2 Esports.

Natus Vincere are billed as the team to beat in China, which comes as no surprise as they have posted incredible results over the last two months, including two titles from ESL Pro League Season 20 and Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024.

Team Liquid made it through the opening stage with wins against Cloud9, Wildcard, and FlyQuest, but they did not look great in either of the three victories – averaging a 1.11 performance rating as a unit. Moreover, TL are known for struggling when facing tougher opponents, which makes it hard to justify taking their side in this fixture.

GamerLegion exceeded expectations in the opening stage by beating FURIA Esports, paiN Gaming, and Passion UA. However, they also suffered a rough loss against The MongolZ, which should be a much better indication of how Erik “ztr” Gustafsson and co will perform when faced with an elite-tier team.

Team Vitality slipped at Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024, where they placed top six but have otherwise performed well in bigger events. More recently, Vitality made the final four at BLAST Premier: World Final 2024.

GamerLegion took a map off Vitality in July but have since slowed down and are sure to struggle on Thursday.

FURIA Esports did not look great in the first stage of the Major. But it’s not like Team Spirit have shown anything noteworthy or any form of consistency lately.

The Russian squad are 6-4 from their last 10, and recently, they have only performed well against weaker teams such as Aurora Gaming, Sashi Esports, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Their matches against Passion UA and G2 Esports were not as smooth.

While much stronger on paper, Team Spirt have yet to reach their final form and are vulnerable to upset in a best-of-one.

MOUZ are priced as heavy favourites with the best Counter-Strike betting sites to defeat paiN Gaming, which is not surprising. They beat the Brazilians in October and once before in August.

PaiN Gaming have had their moments in the first stage of the Major, yet they’ve only beaten Imperial Esports, Cloud9, and FlyQuest. Before the RMR, Rodrigo “biguzera” Bittencourt and co. have not found much success against other elite teams, and it is unlikely that will change.

Wildcard reaching the elimination stage of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 is a massive accomplishment. However, they have had a fairly easy path, beating the disjointed Fnatic and struggling Virtus.pro, to which they added a close 2-1 victory against Passion UA.

Despite their success, Wildcard are not at the level of FaZe Clan, who are objectively better and more experienced. Best-of-one games introduce some volatility, which benefits the underdogs, but Wildcard should never pose a threat to FaZe, who rarely slip as favourites.

BIG will clash with HEROIC for the first time since the European RMR when the German squad won 13-8. According to the latest betting odds, however, HEROIC should get their revenge.

BIG have not shown anything inspiring in the opening stage, posting a 1.00 performance average across the nine maps played. Rigon “rigoN” Gashi, in particular, has been struggling with a 0.89 average, but we can expect some improvement in this stage.

Even though BIG are not in top form, the same can be said for HEROIC who did not perform amazingly well in the RMR. As a clash between two shaky teams, this should be a scrappy affair, making the outsiders a more inviting pick.

3DMAX looked incredible during the European RMR with wins against TSM, Eternal Fire, and G2 Esports. Even before that, the French squad posted promising results at Thunderpick World Championship 2024, proving they belong among the world’s elite.

MiBR have had their moments over the last two months, but looked lacklustre in the opening stage, with rough losses against MongolZ and Passion UA.

While 3DMAX still have a lot to prove at the top level, this should be an easy match for them.

Esports betting tips

Itachi joined the Gentle Mates Alpine Rocket League roster as one of the inaugural members in January 2024 along with Enzo “Seikoo” Grondein, Charles “juicy” Sabiani, and coach Benjamin “Eversax” Wagner.

By putting together one of the most stacked lineups in Europe, Gentle Mates had high expectations entering the 2024 season; however, while they showed some glimpses of greatness, itachi and co. lost momentum towards the end of the year.

Au revoir @itachi_rl

Merci pour toutes les émotions que tu nous auras fait vivre cette année Capitaine pic.twitter.com/LTbHXRVUWX

— Gentle Mates (@gentlemates) December 2, 2024

With Gentle Mates, itachi won RLCS 2024 Major 1 Copenhagen, placed top four in three RLCS 2024 Major 2 EU Open Qualifiers, and reached the semifinals of the London Major.

After a strong start, the team failed to accomplish much in the season’s later events, finishing 9th-12th at Esports World Cup 2024 and placing seventh-eighth at the RLCS 2024 World Championship.

Despite the rough ending to the season, itachi has retained his tag as one of the best Rocket League players in Europe.

After starting his professional career in 2020 with FC Barcelona, itachi had a stint with Vodafone Giants before making his mark during a two-year stretch with Karmine Corp, where he won won three European championships, a Winter Major, and reached the semifinals of the RLCS 2022-23 World Championship.

Even in the 2024 season, itachi added another Major title to his resume and was declared European MVP at the 2024 RLCS World Championship — despite getting eliminated by Oxygen Esports in the first round of the playoffs.

Given his status as one of Europe’s best Rocket League players, the 21-year-old will not have a hard time finding a new home for the 2025 season.

The Moroccan player has yet to comment on his future; however, recent rumours have linked itachi — along with Oskar “Oski” Gozdowski and Nassim “nass” Bali — to Ninjas in Pyjamas and also G2 Esports, who released their entire lineup at the start of November.

Esports news

Labrov’s departure comes amid a major roster overhaul for Team BDS, who had already waved goodbye to top laner Adam “Adam” Maanane on Saturday.

The Greek player joined Team BDS in December 2022 after spending two years with Team Vitality, where he struggled to leave a lasting mark in the LoL EMEA Championship (LEC), with just a couple of playoff appearances.

Despite not accomplishing much with Vitality, Labrov proved his worth under the BDS banner, securing a silver medal from LEC 2023 Spring after winning the regular season with a 7-2 record.

Labrov at Team BDS:

164 Games
72% Kill Participation
3.1 KDA
21 Champions Played pic.twitter.com/cGhMmiHdZ9

— Team BDS (@TeamBDS) December 1, 2024

The same year Labrov reached his first LoL World Championship, where Team BDS placed 15th-16th after a 0-3 run in the Swiss Stage.

The 2024 season was a rollercoaster for Team BDS, who placed third in all three LEC playoffs but failed to book their tickets for LoL Worlds 2024 after a 2-3 loss to G2 Esports in the second round of the LEC 2024 Season Finals.

Over the last two years, Labrov formed a deadly pairing with ADC Yoon “Ice” Sang-hoon and established himself as one of the most promising young players in the region.

His departure from Team BDS is not a result of his individual performances, but rather that he drew the interest of LEC’s unchallenged kings, G2 Esports.

As rumoured after the conclusion of LoL World Championship 2024, where G2 Esports finished in a disappointing 9th-11th place, the reigning LEC champions set their sights on Labrov as a replacement for Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle, who left the team last week.

G2 Esports have yet to confirm the signing of Labrov; however, considering how the offseason is playing out, everything is falling into place for the 22-year-old to step into the shoes of one of the greatest Western supports.

With the departure of Adam and Labrov, Team BDS are down to three players: Ice, jungler Theo “Sheo” Borile, and mid laner Ilias “nuc” Bizriken.

None of the three players have extended their contracts, which ran out on November 18.

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