The last eight teams will battle it out in a double-elimination bracket from May 30 to June 9.
CHINA – VALORANT Masters Shanghai’s Swiss Stage has come to a close, giving way to the playoffs where eight teams will fight for the trophy and the US$350,000 top prize. The action will resume after a two-day break on Thursday, May 30, with the upper quarter-finals taking place inside the VCT CN Arena before moving to the grand Mercedes-Benz Arena for the final three days featuring the LB Semi-final, UB Final, LB Final, and Grand Final.
In the new playoff format, the top four teams from each region’s Stage 1 competition were randomly drawn to determine the pick order, giving them the power to choose their opponents. During the live draw event, representatives from Paper Rex, EDward Gaming, 100 Thieves, and FNATIC were present to shape their own destiny.
ALSO READ: Where and How to Watch VCT Masters Shanghai (Official & Watch Party)
Paper Rex selected G2 Esports as their initial opponent, setting the stage for a rematch from the 2022 Masters Reykjavík Playoffs, where the Southeast Asian team successfully ousted the North American squad to stave off elimination. G2 emerge as the underdog of Shanghai, having secured their playoff berth with wins over T1 and Team Heretics in the Swiss Stage.
On the same side of the bracket, EDward Gaming selected Team Heretics as their first opponent, with Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang and his teammates seeking revenge against the EMEA side, who previously defeated fellow CN teams Dragon Ranger Gaming and Team Heretics in the Swiss Stage. That also means EDG now stand as the sole remaining Chinese team with the chance to lift the trophy on home soil.
100 Thieves will compete against FUT Esports. Despite losing their opening match against FunPlus Phoenix, the Turkish squad bounced back with a victory over Dragon Ranger Gaming and wrapped their Swiss Stage campaign against Erick “aspas” Santos’ Leviatán to claim the final playoff berth.
The headline upper quarter-final matchup is a mouth-watering battle between FNATIC and Gen.G. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams, with FNATIC coming off of their victory at VCT EMEA Stage 1 while Gen.G making their way from the Swiss Stage defeating Leviatán and FunPlus Phoenix.
Despite being the Pacific region’s second seed, Gen.G are highly regarded as one of the tournament favorites due to their strong performance at the previous Masters event in Madrid and the fact that they were the last team to be picked leaving FNATIC, as EMEA’s top seed, no choice but to select them.
The draw for the playoffs can be found below:
- Thursday, May 30 (GMT +8)
- 4 PM – 🇺🇸 100 Thieves vs. 🇹🇷 FUT Esports
- 7 PM – 🇬🇧 FNATIC vs. 🇰🇷 Gen.G
- Friday, May 31 (GMT+8)
- 4 PM – 🇸🇬 Paper Rex vs. 🇺🇸 G2 Esports
- 7 PM – 🇨🇳 EDward Gaming vs. 🇪🇸 Team Heretics
For more insights on the Asian VALORANT scene and upcoming content like this, be sure to like and follow VALO2ASIA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Cover photo courtesy of Reece Martinez/Riot Games
