On Sunday, in the lower bracket quarterfinals of VALORANT Champions Shanghai, 100 Thieves and G2 Esports secured victories over NRG and T1, respectively. These results guarantee the VCT Americas region at least one representative in the Grand Final of the tournament, as three of the remaining teams (LOUD, 100 Thieves, and G2) represent the Americas league.
The North American derby between 100 Thieves and the reigning world champions NRG ended in a confident victory for the former. A tense battle unfolded on the first map (Sunset), which went into overtime and ended with a score of 14-12 in favor of 100T. The decisive moment was a 2v4 clutch won by Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk and Matthew "Cryo" Panganiban at a score of 11-10. The second map, Haven, was completely dominated by 100 Thieves: the tactical preparations of Malcolm "bonkar" Rench's team allowed NRG to take only four rounds on attack and none on defense. This defeat concluded a difficult season for the reigning champions, who consistently faced setbacks in matches against teams from their own region at international events throughout 2026.
In the second matchup of the day, G2 Esports defeated the Korean squad T1. The match began with a very close victory for G2 on Lotus (13-11), where the duelists of both teams—Alexander "jawgemo" Mor and Kim "Meteor" Tae-O—stood out brightly, each securing 27 kills. On the second map, Abyss, T1 managed to seize the initiative and tie the series (13-10) thanks to an effective performance by Ham "iZu" Woo-ju. The fate of the match was decided on Ascent: after an even first half (6-6), G2 demonstrated flawless defense after the side switch and left their opponents with no chances, confidently closing the map with a score of 13-6.
The next matches of the tournament will take place on October 16. 100 Thieves and G2 Esports will face each other in a head-to-head match for a spot in the lower bracket final. The teams already played against each other on October 8 in the first round of the playoffs, where 100 Thieves secured a comfortable 2-0 victory.
The winner of this match will play against the team that loses the upper bracket final between Team Vitality and LOUD. The Grand Final of the tournament is scheduled for October 18.
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