G2 Esports and Team Vitality have both won their upper bracket quarter-finals at VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai. G2 beat 100 Thieves 2-0. Vitality needed all three maps to get past Nongshim RedForce. Neither loser is out yet: 100 Thieves and Nongshim RedForce both continue in the lower bracket.
The G2 result is the more striking of the two. 100 Thieves came into the series having beaten G2 in VCT Americas Stage 2, and as winners of both that regional title and the Esports World Cup. G2, for their part, had struggled to carry their domestic form into international events, a pattern this Shanghai run is starting to break.
The first map left little doubt. On Abyss, which 100 Thieves had picked, G2 won 13-5. Nathan ‘leaf’ Orf led the way with a 19/11/6 line, and Trent ‘trent’ Cairns added 18/9/2.
Ascent was far tighter. 100 Thieves pushed the map deep, but G2 came out ahead in the close rounds and closed it 13-11 to finish the sweep.
Vitality’s route through was less comfortable. The European side started well on Split, going into the break 7-5 up and then giving away just one round in the second half to win 13-6. Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev posted 280 ACS across Vitality’s defensive half as they pulled clear.
Nongshim RedForce then took the series to a decider before Vitality finally secured their place in the next upper bracket round. Esports Insider, citing Insider Gaming, described the Korean side’s response as a comeback attempt that ultimately fell short.
For both losing teams, the margin for error has now gone. In the double-elimination playoff, one more defeat for either 100 Thieves or Nongshim RedForce ends their Champions campaign. G2 and Vitality need two more upper bracket wins to reach the grand final without a detour.
G2’s progress carries extra weight for the Americas after an earlier group stage that saw them top Group C with a sweep of TYLOO. Their quarter-final win over the reigning Americas champions now puts them among the last teams standing in Shanghai’s upper half.
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