The upper semifinals of VALORANT Masters Santiago was a big day for Pacific fans as Nongshim go up against G2, and NRG book a rematch vs PRX.
The upper semifinals of VALORANT Masters Santiago saw Pacific champions Nongshim RedForce go against G2 Esports, while NRG avenged their earlier loss against Paper Rex. This day, it was Pacific vs. Americas, and it went even.
Dambi might be the best Neon in the world
G2 Esports was on the receiving end of another masterful performance from Lee “Dambi” Hyuk-kyu. The NS RedForce player is on a mission to prove himself as the best Neon in the entire world, and he is making a good case for himself.
Dambi may have been making frag movies against G2 as Neon, but NS didn’t put him on the Duelist immediately. On the first map, Abyss, they opted for the Waylay instead. They did drop this map, and Dambi was on Neon duty for Corrode (13-7) and Split (14-12) to clinch the win.
Nongshim RedForce gave Pacific fans hope for another international win as this moves them to the upper final. Meanwhile, G2 will have to fight for their lives in the lower bracket against the final EMEA team in the running, BBL Esports.
NRG’s revenge
NRG and Paper Rex came up next. We already saw this matchup earlier in the event, during Round 2 of the Swiss Stage post-reroll. That time, PRX took the win against the defending international champions, 2-1.
This time, though, it went 2-0 for the Americas team. They attributed the win to being better prepared, and it showed. Both Pearl (14-12) and Bind (13-11) were close calls and could’ve gone either way, but NRG’s preparation and read showed in the little things.
NRG will now face Nongshim RedForce for a battle of the regional champions, and Paper Rex has to go against All Gamers, the remaining bastion of the China region, for a do-or-die match.
VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 will crown the year’s first international champion in the grand final on March 15, 2026.