Valorant Champions: G2 Sweep 100 Thieves, Vitality Advance

G2 just got the answer they needed in Shanghai.

The Valorant Champions 2026 Upper Bracket quarter-finals produced one clean statement and one near-collapse. G2 swept 100 Thieves 2-0, while Vitality needed three maps and overtime to get past Nongshim RedForce. Both winners stay in the upper bracket. 100 Thieves and Nongshim drop to the lower bracket, where one more loss ends their run. The results were first reported by Insider Gaming.

G2 settle an old score

This one had some history behind it. 100 Thieves beat G2 in VCT Americas Stage 2 (VCT is the Valorant Champions Tour, Riot's official competitive circuit). They also arrived in Shanghai holding that regional title and an EWC win. G2 came in with a less comfortable reputation. Strong at home, but unable to carry that form to international events.

You wouldn't have guessed it from the opening map. Abyss was 100 Thieves' own pick, and G2 took it 13-5. Nathan 'leaf' Orf finished on 19 kills, 11 deaths and 6 assists. Trent 'trent' Cairns was even more efficient at 18/9/2. It was a fast, decisive start, and it put 100 Thieves under pressure straight away.

Ascent was a much tighter affair. 100 Thieves kept finding ways to knock G2 off balance, and the map stayed close throughout. But G2 didn't crack. They won the tight rounds, outclutched their opponents when it mattered, and closed it out 13-11 to finish the sweep.

That second map matters more than the scoreline suggests. Blowing a team out on one map is one thing. Holding your nerve in a close one, on the international stage, is exactly what G2 have struggled to do in the past.

Vitality survive the swing

Vitality's series started like it might be a formality. On Split, they went into the break 7-5 up and then shut Nongshim down, giving up only one round in the second half to win 13-6. Nikita 'Derke' Sirmitev was the standout, posting 280 ACS (average combat score, a common measure of individual impact) on the defensive half.

Then Abyss happened. Nongshim took it 13-4 and didn't drop a single round in the second half. That's not a small wobble. That's a team getting completely outplayed, and it sent the series to a deciding third map.

Haven was where things got messy. Nongshim led 7-5 at the interval, and the teams were level at 9-9 later on. Nongshim kept pushing and dragged the map into overtime. Elias 'Jamppi' Olkkonen won a 1v1 clutch to give Vitality map and series point. Nongshim answered with a retake to keep themselves alive. Derke helped set up another match point, and Timofey 'Chronicle' Khromov's late individual play finally got Vitality over the line.

It wasn't pretty. But Vitality adjusted after a heavy loss, found their footing on Haven, and are now through to the upper semi-final.

Where the bracket stands

The quarter-finals have split the eight-team field down the middle. In the upper bracket, G2 and Vitality join NRG and LOUD. Down in the lower bracket, 100 Thieves and Nongshim RedForce now sit alongside Paper Rex and T1. If you want a refresher on how the field took shape, our earlier look at the Champions Shanghai playoff picture covers the group stage results.

Champions uses a double-elimination format. Winning in the upper bracket keeps a team moving forward without the immediate threat of elimination, while lower bracket teams are playing for survival every time they load in. The report did not say who 100 Thieves and Nongshim will face next, or when those matches take place.

Our Take

The G2 result is the one that stands out. For a team that has been criticised for failing to translate domestic form abroad, beating the reigning Americas champions 2-0 is a meaningful shift. The more telling part is Ascent rather than Abyss. Close-map composure is what separated G2 from contenders before, and this suggests that gap may be closing. It is worth watching whether that holds up against stronger upper bracket opposition, rather than a single good day.

Vitality's win raises different questions. A 13-4 loss with a flawless second half for the opponent is a real warning sign, even if they recovered. Their ability to reset on Haven is encouraging, but it is fair to wonder how they would cope if another opponent finds a similar answer.

For 100 Thieves, the lower bracket is now a test of whether their domestic and EWC success can survive a long, unforgiving road. With Paper Rex and T1 also in that half, it looks likely to be a tough path.