VCT Americas shines as all four teams reach VALORANT Champions Shanghai Playoffs

The top eight teams heading into the VALORANT Champions Shanghai Playoffs have been decided, and all four VCT Americas teams have powered through. Since the introduction of the Partnership Programme, this is the first time one region has advanced all of its representatives into the Playoffs.

100 Thieves, NRG, LOUD and G2 Esports all punched their tickets, giving the Americas half of the Playoff bracket. The rest of the Playoff spots were split between three Pacific teams and one EMEA representative, while all four Chinese teams were eliminated without winning a single series.

All VCT Americas teams established their dominance right from the opening matches, with four clean 2-0 sweeps. G2 Esports dismantled China’s first seed TYLOO, while defending champion NRG secured a comfortable victory over Masters Santiago winner Nongshim RedForce.

LOUD, the team with the youngest core in the tournament, took down the experienced Champions Seoul winner EDward Gaming. Americas’ first seed, 100 Thieves, put the final nail in the coffin by defeating T1.

Moreover, 100 Thieves didn’t drop a single map in Group A, while NRG also qualified for the final stage as the first seed from Group D. G2 and LOUD were kicked down to the Lower Bracket, but both regained their momentum to win their elimination matches with clean sweeps against Team Liquid and Global Esports, respectively.

The region is not just dominating in terms of team performances, but all of the top five highest-rated players in the tournament so far are also from the Americas:

100 Thieves entered VALORANT Champions Shanghai as one of the favorites to lift the trophy, and so far, based on the statistics and in-game performances, the team is on the right track.

lukxo from LOUD is having an incredible international VCT debut, and even though his teammate Enzo "tkzin" Zimiani is not in the top-five list, he set an international record with three aces in his debut series at Champions Shanghai. He currently also has the second-highest ACS (249) at the event, right after Timotino (253).

The Playoff bracket for Champions Shanghai has already been revealed by Riot Games, and fans will see G2 Esports take on 100 Thieves in a revenge match. Meanwhile, LOUD will be up against Paper Rex, while NRG will face T1.

The schedule for the opening matches is as follows:

The qualified teams will battle it out in a double-elimination bracket, and while Paper Rex is also one of the favorites to win the title, on paper, the Americas has a strong chance of making history by becoming the first region to lift back-to-back Champions trophies.