The first series of VCT Masters Shanghai is G2 Esports vs T1, giving both the opportunity to start the tournament on the right foot.
The second 2024 international tournament of the VALORANT Champions Tour is here! VCT Masters Shanghai kicks off with a Swiss Stage contest of G2 Esports vs T1.
The Americas representative takes on the Pacific representative. We've got scores and all the clips to highlight the action for you.
G2 Esports vs 2:1 Breeze 13:7 Icebox 1:13 Lotus 14:12 |
G2 Esports vs T1 - Familiar foes looking to gain momentum
G2 Esports is looking to cement themselves as a top team after winning Ascension and being one of just two in all of the VCT to make an international event just far. The other is Dragon Ranger Gaming, from the China league.
The core of G2 were once The Guard. T1 is home to Sayaplayer and Rossy. The former spent nearly a year as a member of The Guard, while Rossy was a staple of the NA Challengers scene having played The Guard under the FaZe Clan and TSM banners.
It is a reunion of sorts, but it definitely won't be all smiles when G2 Esports vs T1 takes place. One team is destined to start their Swiss Stage run with a loss, putting them just one more loss away from elimination. This should be good.
G2 Esports VALORANT roster
- Jacob "valyn" Batio
- Jacob "icy" Lange
- Trent "trent" Cairns
- Jonah "JonahP" Pulice
- Nathan "leaf" Orf
T1 VALORANT roster
- Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok
- Ha "Sayaplayer" Jeong-woo
- Daniel "Rossy" Abedrabbo
- Ham "iZu" Woo-ju
- Kevin "xccurate" Susanto
How to watch G2 Esports vs T1 at VCT Masters Shanghai
The official VALORANT channel on Twitch and YouTube will host the actions. Various co-streams let you tune in with your favorite creators. And of course, there's always the stream embedded right below so you can watch along with us as we recap the series.
G2 Esports vs T1 - VCT Masters Shanghai Swiss Stage recap
When G2 Esports vs T1 begins, we'll recap each map and provide clips to show you highlights of what went down.
Map 1: Breeze
A close pistol round went down to just valyn to secure it for G2. After that, T1 looked for some early momentum by xccurate, who secured an Ace in just the second round of the tournament. That didn't do it, though, as G2 snagged a Thrifty and started to string rounds together in the first half.
G2 put up five before T1 got their second. A 4K by Carpe put another on the board, bringing it a lot closer than it looked. A great post-plant hold on B Site saw xccurate take down three and tie the game at five. That's all they'd get to start, though, as G2 went ahead at halftime.
G2 won another pistol round to extend their lead. The next round saw them flood onto B Site for an easy plant and round victory. Soon enough, G2 sat at double digits with T1 trailing. The Pacific team's defense could not do much to stop the Americas team's offense.
T1 managed to get another round to their name, followed by a 3K from Sayaplayer. They proved they weren't down and out just yet. Still, G2 were primed and ready. Another Ace came in this match, courtesy of leaf to get G2 to map point. And that was that.
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Map 2: Icebox
T1 started Icebox off hot with a quick two rounds as the attacking team. That soon turned into six quick rounds, not giving G2 any room to breathe. And they just kept rolling, getting eight rounds in a row before G2 could get one.
They finally did, with an A Site retake. That would be their only opportunity to score in the first half. T1 blew through their defense. A lot of that could be attributed to iZu's unpredictability as Reyna. With all eyes on him, it set his teammates up for plays.
G2 would have to make up a lot of ground after halftime. Down by double digits, T1 had a very comfortable lead. The was made even more comfortable as xccurate took down four in the pistol round with the Headhunter and the Sheriff.
At map point, T1 was at an anti-eco. G2 had no weapons that could match T1's firepower. They managed to get the Spike down, but the Pacific league team simply rushed them for a quick retake. That gave them a dominating map two win.
Map 3: Lotus
T1 kept the momentum going with the Lotus pistol round. This was Carpe's map to start, going 7-0 in the first three rounds. This time, G2 was able to get their first round much earlier, as T1's streak was stopped at four.
Well, they began another streak right after that. Three more in a row ensured a lead at halftime. G2 did get a Thrifty win where T1 ran out of time to defuse the Spike. A third came for G2, giving them hope for a 9:3 curse in their favor as the final map headed into the second half.
A much needed pistol round for G2 win came in the form of a Clutch by leaf. They'd put up two more, but T1 hit double digits. It wasn't over for G2, however, as they continued to claw back in hopes of catching up to T1's round count.
A 4k from leaf brought G2 to seven rounds. A Flawless followed to get them to eight. One round away from tying it at 10, and T1 had enough. A 3K from Carpe shut them down. Then, of course, G2 bounced back to finally tie with 11 rounds. Overtime was inevitable.
The first OT round went in favor of G2. It was leaf making the hero plays, much like he did earlier in the map. They moved to defense and T1 spread themselves across the map. G2 struck first, forcing T1 to make a play on A Site.
Aggression from T1 was their downfall. They took too much space without getting the Spike down and G2 met them with bullets. A 3K from icy helped G2 shut down T1 and secure the very first victory of Masters Shanghai.
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