On the ninth day of the VALORANT Champions 2026 tournament, two more participants for the playoff stage were determined. G2 Esports and Nongshim RedForce secured victories in their decider matches, ending Team Liquid's and Karmine Corp's runs in the championship.
Team Liquid once again leaves an international tournament with a 1-2 record. On their map pick (Split), the team lost too many winnable rounds, allowing G2 Esports to take the lead. On the second map, Abyss, despite winning four rounds on defense, Team Liquid could not stop their opponent. G2 confidently closed the series with a 2-0 score. Trent "trent" Cairns from G2 was the standout player of the match, while Team Liquid's IGL Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin had an underwhelming series, finishing with a -13 differential.
For the EMEA champions, Karmine Corp, the match against Nongshim RedForce ended in a 1-2 defeat. The European squad had a strong start on Sunset thanks to Marshall "N4RRATE" Massey and Dmitrii "SUYGETSU" Iliushin, who combined for 43 kills. However, Nongshim RedForce completely turned the tide on Summit and Haven, allowing KC to take only a single attacking round across both games. Masters MVP Lee "Dambi" Hyuk-kyu, alongside Goo "Rb" Sang-min, showcased flawless gameplay, while KC's controller Zhumagali "dos9" Dastan had a particularly rough match.
The results of the match day proved disappointing for the VCT EMEA region, which lost both its Stage 2 champion and runner-up in a single day. Currently, Team Vitality remains the only EMEA representative in the playoffs, although FUT Esports still retain chances to qualify.
In contrast, three teams from VCT Americas have already qualified for the final stage, and LOUD could become the fourth if they defeat Global Esports. Nongshim RedForce, in turn, became the second representative of the Pacific region (VCT Pacific) in the playoffs, and Global Esports still has a chance to join them.
As a reminder, Natus Vincere Suffer a Crushing Defeat at the Start of Demacia Cup 2026
