The 24 teams participating in the Major have been divided into 2 stages.
G2 topped the VRS rankings heading into the Major
Valve has released the final regional rankings (VRS) update before the Shanghai Major begins. This update is used to determine the eight teams that advance to the Elimination Stage and the first round matches of the Opening Stage.
The seeding process is based on the results of the previous Major, with each region being allocated a certain number of seeds based on the performance of the teams in Copenhagen.
For this reason, the eight highest ranked teams in Europe will skip the Opening Stage. For example, The MongolZ are only 15th in overall seeding, even though they are ranked 5th in the world according to VRS.
3DMAX took the final spot into the Knockout Stage, taking advantage of Eternal Fire and SAW's failure in RMR. The highest-ranked team entering the Major was G2, followed by Natus Vincere and Vitality.
Knockout Stage Seeds:
1. G2
2. Natus Vincere
3. Vitality
4. Spirit
5. MOUZ
6. FaZe
7. HEROIC
8. 3DMAX
Opening Phase Seeds:
1. FURIA
2. Virtus.pro
3. Liquid
4. Complexity
5. BIG
6. fnatic
7. The MongolZ
8. paiN
9. GamerLegion
10. MIBR
11. Cloud9
12. FlyQuest
13. Passion UA
14. Wildcards
15. Rare Atom
16. Imperial
Based on this update, the first round matches in the Opening Stage will be as follows. Perfect World is expected to confirm this information soon:
• FURIA vs GamerLegion
• Virtus.pro vs MIBR
• Liquid vs Cloud9
• Complexity vs FlyQuest
• BIG vs Passion UA
• fnatic vs Wildcard
• The MongolZ vs Rare Atom
• paiN vs Imperial