The 1-1 pool of the Perfect World Shanghai Major Opening Stage has concluded with Brazilian teams paiN and FURIA achieving critical victories in their best-of-one matches against Cloud9 and Wildcard. These wins place both teams alongside BIG and Passion UA in the 2-1 bracket, leaving the final two teams to be determined after completing the 2-0 pool.
FURIA faced a tightly contested match on Vertigo against Wildcard. After a balanced first half, Wildcard, led by Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz, surged ahead to a commanding 12-7 lead, appearing to have the game within their grasp. However, FURIA mounted an impressive comeback, with their offensive strategies and resilience carrying them into overtime. Despite the strong performances of Tim “susp” Ångström and Josh “JBa” Barutt for Wildcard, FURIA managed to clinch the match with a 16-14 victory, securing their spot in the 2-1 pool.
In the final 1-1 match, paiN battled Cloud9 on Anubis. paiN established an early advantage on the attacking side, but Cloud9 pushed back strongly after switching sides. In the end, Lucas “lux” Meneghini made the difference for paiN, delivering a standout performance that helped his team seal a narrow 13-11 win.
As the competition progresses, FURIA and paiN now have two opportunities to advance to the next stage, while Wildcard and Cloud9 face elimination in the coming matches.
