VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 Swiss Stage betting predictions – Saturday, February 28

The wait for VALORANT Masters Santiago 2026 is finally over, with the world’s top teams set to start their campaign for the Masters trophy on Saturday, February 28, in the opening round of the Swiss Stage.

The action begins with a clash between Gentle Mates and Edward Gaming, followed by a meeting between XLG Esports and NRG, promising two exciting affairs, offering a pair of betting opportunities.

Esportbet brings you free VALORANT betting predictions and expert picks for Saturday’s games, along with esports odds, courtesy of the top-rated bookmakers.

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GENTLE MATES vs EDWARD GAMING

Gentle Mates enter their first match of VALORANT Masters Santiago as firm favorites to defeat EDward Gaming. The best esports bookmakers are giving VCT EMEA representatives an implied probability of winning the series of 65.4%, which does not sound wrong.

Gentle Mates hail from a much stronger region and have been playing better than EDG. Despite winning five of seven games during VCT China Kickoff, EDward Gaming did not look convincing, with several close victories over JD Gaming, TYLOO, and Dragon Ranger Gaming.

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  The bookies' bookie

Besides competing in a tougher league, Gentle Mates have also managed to produce a much more compelling record, dropping just one series in the Kickoff event. Even that was a map-five defeat to the eventual champions, BBL Esports.

While Chinese teams are known to surprise in international events, this is Gentle Mates’ game to lose.

XLG ESPORTS vs NRG

XLG Esports qualified for the Masters Santiago as China’s No.2 seed, having managed a 3-1 record in the Kickoff tournament. That includes two 2-0 sweeps of EDward Gaming and Wolves Esports, a 2-3 defeat to All Gamers, and a closely-fought 3-2 victory over Bilibili Gaming.

Despite securing a silver medal, XLG Esports haven’t shown much. It is also hard to draw any conclusions on how strong this team is, as they have played just four games this season.

That said, XLG have looked very good in some of their wins, and seemed to be well-prepared, so it is fair to expect them to have a solid gameplan for Masters Santiago.

NRG finished VCT Americas in third place with losses to G2 Esports and MIBR, and victories against Cloud9, 100 Thieves (twice), and MIBR in the decider. While a third-place finish is praiseworthy, NRG seemed to have struggled a bit, largely because they do not have a strong read on the meta.

Even though playing off-meta worked for them, it also raises concerns about whether NRG will be punished for it. They also tend to struggle against teams who start fast and gain an early lead, which is a style XLG Esports have shown they are capable of playing.

On paper, NRG look stronger, but this game has serious upset potential.