EDward Gaming and G2 Esports qualify for VAORANT Masters Bangkok upper finals

The first round of the VALORANT Masters Bangkok playoffs has concluded, with EDward Gaming and G2 Esports securing victories over T1 and Team Vitality, respectively.

Both teams have now advanced to the upper finals. However, it’s not the end of the road for T1 and Vitality, as both teams will battle it out in the lower bracket to stay alive in the tournament.

Continuing the momentum from its previous win against G2, EDG came out swinging on Split, nearly pulling off the event’s first 13-0 sweep. However, after racing to a 10-0 lead, T1 started making a comeback, winning seven of the next nine rounds. Nevertheless, the Pacific representative fell a few rounds short as EDG secured a 13-7 victory on the first map. 

The second map, Bind, started off evenly, but T1 quickly took control of the map, dominating it by 13-6 to force a decider on Pearl. The final map was a neck-and-neck fight, with T1 holding a two-round lead before Wan ‘CHICHOO‘ Shunzhi stepped up by helping EDG secure four consecutive rounds, allowing the Chinese organisation to win 13-9 and take the series by 2-1.

“I think my confidence comes from our whole team—my teammates help me, their in-game actions enable my plays. Even when I want to take risks, they support me, which allows me to perform well individually,” stated CHICHOO after dropping 72 kills in the series — the second-highest in the event so far.

The matchup between G2 Esports and Team Vitality was one of the most anticipated clashes of Masters Bangkok, and it lived up to expectations.

Both teams continuously adapted to each other’s playstyles and strategies, resulting in a nail-biting first map that went to overtime. However, in the end, G2 sealed the win at 15-13.

On Lotus, G2 dominated early, putting a 6-1 lead on the board, making it seem like game over for Vitality. However, Vitality fought back, winning five consecutive rounds to tie the first half at 6-6. Still, it wasn’t enough to break G2’s momentum as the team rushed ahead to 10-6. While Vitality attempted to claw itself back into the game, the EMEA side could only push the score to 13-9, resulting in a 2-0 clean sweep for G2.

“It sucks to lose, but I think the healthiest thing that could have happened since this team started was us losing in an official match. Yeah, as simple as that,” noted Team Vitality’s Saif ‘Sayf‘ Jibraeel in the post-match press conference.

EDG and G2 Esports will now face off in the VALORANT Masters Bangkok upper finals on February 28th at 10 AM GMT. All matches will be streamed live on VCT’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.