Gen.G vs Leviatán – VCT Masters Shanghai Swiss Stage: Gen.G stuns LEV on Map 3 to win series

Day 2 of VCT Masters Shanghai begins with Gen.G vs Leviatán. This is a series that had everyone talking when the original group opening round draw was done. It should be a banger, as the kids say.

Gen.G seemingly came out of nowhere, winning the Pacific Kickoff tournament, and taking second place in the Stage 1 Playoffs. Since then, they've proven to be a calculated and determined team who just plain play good VALORANT.

For Leviatán, they were billed as a super team when 2024 began. The first portion of the year wasn't too kind, but they've certainly found their footing in Americas since. This is a team filled with superstars and they'll be looking to prove it.

The two face off in the opening rounds of VCT Masters Shanghai's Swiss Stage. Win or lose, whoever faces either next is going to have a fight on their hands. This has the makings of a barnburner in the early goings of the tournament.

You can catch Gen.G vs Leviatán on official VALORANT channels and co-streams on Twitch and YouTube. Or you can just stay here with us, as a stream is embedded for you to watch below.

Read on for a recap of the series and clips that highlight all of the action.

The opening round of Icebox went down to the wire, with LEV taking it. A Flawless round followed for them. Gen.G took the bonus with a Lakia 3K and the Wingman defuse to the delight of the crowd. That's all they'd get for a handful of rounds, as LEV executed their site pushes perfectly.

On the way to another Flawless round, aspas erupted with a 4K Bladestorm. Give it up to Gen.G, though, as a Flawless Thrifty went their way to prevent LEV from getting too far ahead. They closed the gap even further with a 3K defensive hold by Karon. LEV slowed them a bit, with kiNgg ensuring a halftime lead.

Mark another pistol round for LEV by way of C0M. They easily took the next, but again, the bonus was Gen.G's after Munchkin held on long enough for the Spike to detonate. This made Gen.G's economy hurt, though, as aspas went on a tear with the Outlaw to bring Leviatán to 10.

A timeout by Gen.G did them no favors, as LEV finished them for 11 in the blink-of-an-eye. And though a clutch followed where the Spike detonated once more, it cost Gen.G quite a lot for these single rounds. It wasn't difficult for LEV to hit map point, and then cross the finish line.

Another pistol round went in favor of LEV to get things started on map two. Again, Gen.G got the bonus round with hopes of gaining momentum. It worked for a moment, as they tied it early. Some Guardian spamming gave Gen.G their first lead in the series.

A 3K from Tex cut that short, putting LEV back in front. It was a back and forth affair from there, however, as Karon took down three of his own to keep the map even. With halftime approaching, Gen.G cemented at least a tie. And that soon became a two round lead while switching sides.

The fourth pistol round of the series was Gen.G's first to keep them ahead. The first map of the series was the aspas show, but t3xture finally showed up in the Duelist battle here. He picked up two more kills in the bonus to push Gen.G to 10 rounds.

The attacking side of Gen.G was dominant, as t3xture continued to roll through LEV. A Phantom spray by Munchkin started the next round, taking LEV by surprise and getting Gen.G to map point. With a Viper's Pit available, Gen.G planted the Spike and secured a series tie with map three ahead.

Onto map three, LEV got themselves another pistol round in this one. The next was a Flawless as Breeze started strong for the Americas team. A bonus round conversion for LEV looked possible, but instead, Gen.G get their first. That capitalized on that win to take a second and tie it at two.

And with that, Gen.G kept rolling. They quickly made sure that the score would at least be tied at halftime. LEV finally got into a groove, however, and pushed back with some great defensive plays. A nasty round by aspas wasn't enough as he couldn't secure the final kill, giving Gen.G a halftime lead.

A Team Ace went in favor of Gen.G to extend their lead late in the game. A Flawless was next to get them to double digits. LEV just could not get anything going on their attacking side, as Meteor took down three in what was the nail in the coffin.

While LEV managed to put some rounds together to try and stop the bleeding, the lead was much too large for Gen.G. It was not long until the Masters Madrid runners-up reached map and series point. A defensive hold on A Site saw Gen.G easily shut down LEV to notch their first W in Shanghai.

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