G2 Esports vs Team Heretics – VCT Masters Shanghai Swiss Stage: G2 holds on for a Map 3 win

We're on to our winners' matches at VCT Masters Shanghai. The second series of Day 3 decides one of the teams to qualify for playoffs in a highly anticipated G2 Esports vs Team Heretics contest.

We've got you covered with everything you need to know about the series, a recap of the action, and clips to highlight it all.

Both G2 Esports and Team Heretics came in second place during their respective Stage 1 Playoff bracket. G2 fell to 100 Thieves while TH were runners-up to FNATIC. Now, they'll look to end the VCT Masters Shanghai Swiss Stage flawlessly and move onto its playoffs.

If you ask valyn of G2, which we did after the Americas Grand Final, he'll tell you that Team Heretics is the team to beat in Shanghai. Well, now is his chance to do that in a contest that will have every VALORANT fan watching.

TH is full of young superstars, including benjyfishy, ready to prove they are the top team in EMEA. They look to repeat a strong showing in Madrid, and perhaps even expand on that. Whatever happens, both of these teams are ready to go deep in this tournament.

Every Masters tournament can be watched on official VALORANT channels. Co-streams take place as well on Twitch and YouTube. Otherwise, just stick with us as we recap the action and have a stream embedded below.

Read on for the recap and those clips we promised.

The first pistol round of this series went in favor of G2. The next round came easy for them. Team Heretics did steal away the bonus round, though, getting their first early. They tied it, but a Thrifty round soon came after for G2 to regain the lead.

From there, it was back and forth for some time before Heretics started to pull ahead. A benjyfishy 3K with the Operator as Cypher, including a collateral, really cemented their lead in the first half. The momentum was there to keep TH ahead.

Heretics was ready to put map one away, taking the second half pistol round. The next was a Team Ace that gave them double digits. The saving grace for G2 was taking TH's bonus round. G2 started to put together a solid economy, which gave way to a few more rounds.

Team Heretics finally stopped G2's streak and found themselves with 11 rounds. Map point was soon theirs, as Wo0t landed a 3K that included a double with the Showstopper. And while G2 made it a lot closer than expected after the halftime swap, TH put Lotus away.

The momentum from Lotus seemed to stay with Team Heretics on Bind. The first two rounds were quickly theirs. G2 took the third, but the early success for TH gave them a bolstered economy that allowed them to get right back in it.

The two teams remained close in the early goings of map two. G2 finally kicked it into gear, snagged the lead, and kept it leading into halftime. That was only extended further, and a 3K by valyn finished off the opening portion of the map.

G2 secured the second half pistol round to hit double digits quickly. The 9:3 curse was not going to work for Team Heretics, as G2 reached 11 with ease. A nasty round of Sheriff kills by Boo put TH at four, but it was still a long road to a comeback.

They put up a solid few rounds, but icy stopped them in their tracks with a 3K near A Short. It was map point for G2, and Icy finished that previous 3K with two more. He secured an Ace, the Spike was defused, and G2 forced a map three.

The pistol round was G2's in our final map of this series. That set them up for several rounds in a row. G2 converted their bonus, then overwhelmed the A Site for a fast lead. Soon that four in a row turned into five in a row, and then six in a row.

Nothing could stop G2 at this point. The seemingly never-ending extension of their lead continued. Well, scratch that, as it finally came to an end. A Flawless round for TH finally got them on the board. They'd get a second, but a 4K and Clutch from leaf put G2 at nine.

Again, Team Heretics had to hope the 9:3 curse activated. It wouldn't be, as benjyfishy had 7 HP and a dream. Trent turned it into a nightmare by taking G2 to 10 rounds. Soon after, they found themselves at 11.

The bonus round came and went in favor of Team Heretics, but the lead was much too large to overcome. A big Thrifty round for G2 from JonahP shuttered any chance of a comeback, getting G2 to map and series point. TH tried their hardest, but a JonahP Ace shut the door on this one.

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