FURIA, G2 Esports and NRG Qualify for Masters Santiago After VCT Americas Kickoff

After four weeks of competition, VCT Americas has concluded on Sunday, with FURIA, G2 Esports and NRG qualifying for Masters Santiago. The first LAN of the year, set to take place in Chile from February 28 to March 15, will feature twelve teams, three from each of VALORANT’s four major regions, with a trophy and prize money on the line, but above all, crucial points to secure an early qualification for the Champions Shanghai.

The first surprise came from Brazilian organization FURIA, which was clearly not among the favorites at the start of the season but, thanks to a strategic shift, managed to claim the first seed by dominating everyone in its path. After three years with fully Brazilian rosters and no LAN qualification, Neymar’s club went international, signing three North American players and a Kyrgyz player who had already been competing in the United States in recent years.

After defeating KRÜ Esports 2-1, the Brazilian side then rolled over Sentinels, one of the league’s favorites, notably thanks to an imperial Gianfranco “koalanoob” Potestio on his Duelists. FURIA followed that up with a 2-1 win over G2 Esports, the Americas juggernaut of the 2025 season, before meeting MIBR in the Winner Bracket final. Against another Brazilian club, Torogul “alym” Baidyldaev and his teammates were pushed to the brink, trailing 2-1 after the third map of the best-of-five, before turning things around to secure their qualification for Santiago.

For their part, MIBR were sent down to the middle bracket final. Having defeated Cloud9 and ENVY prior to that first loss, the Brazilian organization had been in great form and building momentum, but it was not enough against a fired-up G2 Esports. Against Nathan “leaf” Orf and company, Erick “aspas” Santos and his teammates were overwhelmed, swept 0-3 while managing just 17 rounds in total. Led by an unstoppable Jacob “valyn” Batio on Astra, who finished with a +32 kill-death differential, G2 booked their ticket to Chile without much surprise and continued their dominant run.

Like Rex Regum Qeon in Pacific, MIBR then found themselves playing three decisive best-of-fives in three days, all of which ended in defeat. Against NRG in the final match of Kickoff Americas, the Brazilian side built a significant early lead, winning Bind and Corrode back-to-back to go up 2-0 in the series. However, as mentioned earlier, they ultimately fell short, losing three maps in a row, including 5-13 and 4-13 scorelines on the final two. The comeback went NRG’s way, the reigning world champions after their victory in Paris last September, who will now attend the first LAN of the year.