VALORANT Champions Shanghai: Americas Teams Go 4-0

!games@lemmy.world Four series, four sweeps, not a single map dropped. The Americas had a perfect opening week at VALORANT Champions Shanghai. G2 Esports, NRG, LOUD and 100 Thieves each won their first group-stage series 2-0, and each is now one victory away from the playoffs bracket.

G2 opened against TYLOO. Lotus was level at the half before G2 pulled away 13-6, and Sunset was a 13-3 rout. Trent led the way with 38 kills, 17 deaths and 20 assists, 287 ACS, 174 ADR and a 91 percent KAST. Valyn and BABYBAY each added more than 24 kills.

Defending champions NRG arguably had the hardest draw. Its opponent was Nongshim RedForce, winners of Masters Santiago earlier this year. NRG still never needed a third map and took Lotus 13-5. Mada, back from a recent wrist injury, posted 34 kills against 23 deaths, and Brawk and keiko added 32 kills each.

LOUD's 2-0 over EDward Gaming belonged to Tkzin. He landed three aces across two maps, a record for a player on his Champions debut, and finished with 47 kills, 24 deaths, 321 ACS and 208 ADR. LOUD closed it out 13-5 on Summit.

100 Thieves had the tightest match. It beat T1 13-8 on T1's own pick, Summit, then took Ascent 13-9. Cryocells topped the board with 45 kills, 283 ACS and 86 percent KAST, while Asuna put up 22 kills on Ascent alone. The win extends the momentum from 100 Thieves' Americas Stage 2 title and pushes T1 into an elimination match.

The four teams are spread across all four groups, so every Americas side avoids the longer lower-bracket route for now. The next round pits 100 Thieves against FUT Esports, LOUD against Team Vitality, G2 against Paper Rex, and NRG against Karmine Corp.

The Americas arrived with strong seeding, so some of this was expected. Still, beating a Masters champion and T1 without dropping a map suggests the region's depth is real and not just a product of the draw. But openers only prove so much. Vitality, Karmine Corp, Paper Rex and FUT are a far sterner test. If even two Americas teams stumble, this dominant start could look much less decisive once the playoffs begin. Is this the region setting the pace in Shanghai, or just a kind first week?

https://gampcc.online/2026/09/29/valorant-champions-shanghai-americas-teams-go-4-0/

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