Don’t settle for bronze — with our guide, you can go for gold!
The Shanghai Major PickEm Challenge is now open with the main tournament beginning on November 30. This doesn't give you much time to make your selections, which is necessary if you're hunting for that elusive Diamond Coin!
Here's our guide to the Shanghai Major PickEm Challenge including our picks for each stage.
How to play Shanghai Major 2024 PickEm
To play the Shanghai Major PickEm Challenge, you must first purchase the Event Pass. Doing so allows you to save your PickEm's and earn Souvenir Tokens to spend during the Shanghai Major.
The pass can be purchased for around $10 USD from the Shanghai Major hub, found on the CS2 main menu. Once purchased, you'll immediately receive the Shanghai Major Bronze Coin which you can display on your profile.
You then level up the coin by completing the tasks in the bottom-left. You'll need three points for Silver, six points for Gold, and nine points for Diamond. You receive a point just by activating the pass on your account.
If you want that coveted Diamond Coin, you'll need to place your picks for each stage of the Shanghai Major. Of those picks, you'll need:
- Five correct in the Opening Stage;
- Five correct in the Elimination Stage;
- Two correct in the Quarterfinals;
- Two correct in the Semifinals, and;
- One correct in the Grand Final.
It's not easy, that's for sure! Very few players get the Diamond Coin for a major, so put your thinking caps on! We've included our picks below for each stage in case you're struggling.
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How to use Souvenir Tokens for the Shanghai Major
Leveling up your coin also earns you Souvenir Tokens. These can be redeemed on a per-map basis during the major, unlocking unique skins with special gold versions of the stickers. You can't remove the stickers from the skin, so pick your map wisely!
To use Souvenir Tokens, simply select the match you want the skin for and the map that was played on the PickEm's screen. You'll then get a random skin from that map's skin collection with the participating team's sticker. The tokens can be earned by completing steps of the event pass, but they can also be purchased outright.
You can view each map's skin collection on CS2Skins under "Collections." Just pick the map you want to redeem and browse the skins available. It's entirely random with a reduced chance for a higher rarity skin, so good luck!
Our picks for the Shanghai Major
Opening Stage
It's never easy to make picks for the PickEm Challenge, but here's what I'm rocking for the Opening Stage.
I'm banking on Cloud9 and BIG to make a flawless run through the Swiss stage, while strong teams The MongolZ, FURIA, and Complexity I have penned for one or two losses on the way. Rounding out the 3-X picks are Team Liquid, Virtus.pro (but only just), and miracle makers Passion UA.
Many will be selecting Rare Atom for the 0-3 selection, but I think they're good enough for at least one win and will be encouraged given it's a home tournament for them.
As a result, I'm leaning toward Imperial and Wildcard to make winless exits in the Opening Stage. Best of luck!
Swing back between each stage if you're looking for our picks! The Shanghai Major begins November 30 — check back with esports.gg for the latest news and coverage.
