Team Spirit wins 2024 Shanghai Counter-Strike Major

Team Spirit defeated FaZe Clan 2-1 to claim the crown at the 2024 Shanghai Counter-Strike Major on Sunday, the world's top-level CS tournament hosted by Perfect World Esports in Shanghai, with Danil "donk" Kryshkovets also winning the MVP award for the team.

As the highest-level Counter-Strike event and one of the most popular esports events in the world, the CS Shanghai Major marks the first time it was hosted in Asia and China. Running from Nov 30 to Dec 15, the Shanghai Major saw a total of 56 teams from across the world gather in the city to compete for the top honors of being the best CS team worldwide, along with a total prize pool of $1.25 million.

During the playoff stage starting on Thursday, Team Spirit, consisting of Danil "donk" Kryshkovets, Dmitry "sh1ro" Sokolov, Boris "magixx" Vorobiev, Leonid "Chopper" Vishnyakov and Myroslav "zont1x" Plakhotja, made their way to the grand final with victories over Team Liquid 2-0 and MOUZ 2-1. Opposing team, FaZe Clan, went through ups and downs during the Shanghai Major to solidly prove its resilience with tough fights in the quarterfinals and semifinals, defeating the favorites Vitality 2-1 and G2 Esports 2-0, to advance to the grand finale.

Seventeen-year-old superstar donk from Team Spirit took out the MVP title following their victory, carving his name in the history of Counter-Strike as the youngest player to win both a Major and the Major MVP title.

Dubbed a "genius", donk maintained his composure and remained cool about winning the title and attributed his success to abundant practice and his amazing teammates.

"I am so happy about my team and this win. I don't care (about the titles), I just played a lot and I am really enjoying the game with my teammates. The crowd (at the venue) is amazing and one of the best that I've faced. I'm very excited to play more Asian tournaments here," said donk at the press conference after the grand finale.

The team spent nearly a month in China and said they have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

"The people are really pleasant and the food at the hotel was really nice, which is very important. The audiences in China are very good, and we always felt supported. We were warmly greeted. So, thanks China," said Sergey "hally" Shavayev, coach of Team Spirit.

The Shanghai Major is not only a gala for global CS esports players, but a grand gathering for CS fans from across China and the world. Over 70,000 audiences joined the tournament offline onsite, including nearly 10,000 overseas audiences and millions of audiences who watched the tournament via online platforms, according to Perfect World Esports.

Danish journalist Niklas Poulsn said during the Major, "Chinese fans are very passionate and also, they are more passionate about all teams the whole game. I think maybe it's because they don't have home teams as much because Counter Strike is not a game where Asians are very thriving at the moment, but they're getting better. So, I think they're just cheering for good counter strike … like the culture that you show, and you cheer for everything and all the good count, like all the teams."

Shi Kangning, a 27-year-old CS fan from Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, was one of the Chinese audiences joining the tournament offline. As a fan who started playing CS since 2014, he described the game as the "purest and most hardcore FPS (first person shooting) game", adding that the fact the Major took place in Shanghai was like "a dream come true" for him.

"It feels incredibly great to watch our favorite players play at our doorstep. The game has taught me a lot about teamwork, not only in playing the game, but also about my thinking and life philosophy. It has become part of my life," said Shi.

Shanghai has been striving to become a global capital for the esports industry and has hosted three world's top esports tournaments so far, including the Dota2 championship 2019 International (TI9), the 2020 League of Legends World Championships (S10) and the CS Major.

"Esports integrates sports, art and culture. Hosting international esports tournaments like the CS Shanghai Major caters to the cultural demand of the young generation and offers them an immersive experience in digital consumption. Such events can comprehensively help enhance Shanghai's strengths in various sectors including cultural tourism, city building, cultural transmission and sci-tech development," said Gu Liming, chief executive of Perfect World.