by in
The second day of VCT Masters Shanghai delivered intense matchups, starting with the Pacific second seed facing off against the Americas Superteam.
This fixture highlighted two exceptionally strong duellists, Erick “aspas” Santos and Kim “t3xture” Na-ra, and proved to be the best game of the opening Swiss stage, stretching to three maps with standout performances from both players.
The map veto began with Leviatán banning Ascent and Split, while Gen.G removed Sunset and Bind, setting the stage for an exciting VALORANT series.
The first map, Icebox, was Leviatán’s choice.
Leviatán started strong on the attack, dismantling Gen.G’s defense and taking an early lead.
Although Gen.G managed to rally towards the end, the first half concluded at 7-5 in favour of Leviatán.
On defence, Leviatán continued their dominance, shutting down Gen.G to close the map 13-7, and taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
Gen.G bounced back on Lotus.
Despite a rough start, they finished the first half with a two-round lead.
In the second half, Gen.G dominated, winning the map 13-5 and forcing a decisive third map.
Gen.G dominated Breeze, securing a commanding 8-4 lead by halftime.
They maintained their momentum, closing out the map 13-7 and winning the series 2-1.
Gen.G Esports secure their first series win at #VALORANTMasters Shanghai! #GenGWIN pic.twitter.com/7J1ogVSaM2
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) May 24, 2024
The second match featured Team Heretics against Dragon Ranger Gaming.
Team Heretics, the EMEA second seed, entered the tournament with a substitute, as their main duelist, Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius, took a break.
Dragon Ranger Gaming, having qualified via the VALORANT Champions Tour: Ascension China tournament, faced a tough challenge.
Starting on DRG’s map pick, Team Heretics came in hot, quickly securing an 8-2 lead.
DRG managed to win the last two rounds of the half, reducing the deficit to 8-4.
However, Team Heretics extended their lead in the second half, winning the first two rounds and using that momentum to close out the map 13-5.
DRG showed more resilience on Sunset, going toe to toe with Team Heretics in the first half.
Despite this effort, Team Heretics came back strong in the second half, shutting down DRG’s attack and winning the map 13-5, thereby finishing the series with a swift 2-0 victory.
Team Heretics get the series win against the home team! #VALORANTMasters #VamosHeretics pic.twitter.com/yiGAvmLFKg
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) May 24, 2024
Saturday’s VCT Masters Shanghai fixtures
- FunPlus Phoenix (+275) vs Gen.G (-400) @ 4pm CST
- G2 Esports (+175) vs Team Heretics (-250) @ 7pm CST
