G2 Esports is two wins from the VALORANT Champions 2026 grand final after a 2-0 sweep of 100 Thieves in the upper bracket quarterfinals at the Jing’an Sports Center in Shanghai on October 8. Trent Cairns paced the server with 38 kills and a 1.28 rating as G2 closed out Abyss 13-5 and Ascent 13-11 to extend their all-time lead over 100 Thieves to 6-4.
It was the first loss for 100 Thieves since early August, snapping a six-match winning streak that ran through the Americas Stage 2 playoffs and into Shanghai. For G2, who had finished 7th-8th at the last two Champions events, the win locks in a top-six finish.
What happened on the server
G2 set the tone with a pistol-round win on Abyss, racing to a 4-1 lead and an 8-4 halftime edge behind Trent and leaf, who combined for 25 first-half kills. 100T took the second-half pistol but couldn’t keep the lead, and a G2 eco round featuring a triple kill from Trent sealed the 13-5 close.
Ascent was a tighter fight. 100T’s Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk went 17-7 on the attack to keep the half tied at six rounds, and the second half turned into a back-and-forth series of clutch rounds. A 2v5 hold from BABYBAY and Jacob “valyn” Batio swung a key round, and G2 closed with four of the last five rounds for the 13-11 map. Asuna and Timotino finished with 36 kills apiece, but it wasn’t enough in the losing effort.
What the teams said
G2’s BABYBAY credited the Shanghai crowd after the win. “I think we earn the crowd buff, you know? We come out and we interact with the fans, we play our best, we have big moments, and we share those moments with the crowd.”
G2 head coach JoshRT pointed to the familiarity between the two Americas squads. “Regional opponents are always crazier. There’s a lot more mind games. We know each other so well. It’s kind of funny that in this playoff bracket there’s more Americas teams now.”
100T coach d00mbr0s blamed G2’s tempo. “G2 is on a little bit of relaxation and roll, and they’re playing very well. I think their style today was very slow, taking timings, doing personal plays, and when a team does that, it’s very hard to play against.”
The Shanghai bracket ahead
The lower bracket round 1 opens on October 9 with T1 vs Paper Rex and 100 Thieves vs Nongshim RedForce, both at 4 a.m. CT. The upper bracket semifinals on October 10 send G2 Esports against Team Vitality (who beat Nongshim 2-1 in the other upper QF) and defending champion NRG against LOUD, also at 4 a.m. CT. The grand final is October 18 at the 18,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Arena, with $1 million on the line for the winner of a $2.25 million prize pool.
Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report
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