G2 Earns First Grand Finals Spot at VCT Masters Bangkok

VCT Masters Bangkok has locked in its first Grand Finalists. After a clean 2-0 win over defending world champions EDward Gaming, G2 Esports will be the first team fighting for the trophy on Sunday. As the upper bracket winner, G2 will get a crucial two-map ban advantage for the Grand Finals.

It’s G2 VALORANT O’clock

G2 Esports has been a force to be reckoned with in VALORANT for over a year now. The Ascension team turned Americas favorites have battled into the top four at international events multiple times so far. With this victory over EDG, G2 has earned their first Grand Finals berth in VALORANT. This is a huge moment for the team and is already deserving of high praise.

As the VCT Masters Bangkok Playoffs were to feature the top team from each region, no match would be a gimme. After a scary map one against Team Vitality in round one, G2 dug in to close it out 2-0 and advance to winners’ finals. Their opponent, EDG, are regarded as the best team in the world right now.

EDG already beat G2 soundly once in the Group Stage, leading everyone to believe that this rematch would be more of the same. Surely the world champions would advance to their second straight international final and prepare to defend their crown.

However, that was the opposite of what actually happened. G2 systematically dismantled EDG on both their home map of Lotus and EDG’s favored Split. The high-flying confidence of the Chinese side was nowhere to be found as G2 bested them with both brains and brawn. With 13-8 and 13-7 victories for G2, the Americas side earned their place on the Grand Finals stage come Sunday.

Chances for an EDG Rebound?

Suffice to say, EDG did not look like themselves today. They quite frankly got outplayed at every juncture. Their moments of individual brilliance were few and far between, and their tactical depth was nowhere near G2’s. Even their amazing pistol round favor was negated, both teams winning two in the end.

Usually, a team as good as EDG would have no trouble bouncing back in the losers’ bracket. They should be able to beat whoever comes up to meet them between Vitality or T1. That said, I feel like this might be a more difficult task for EDG than most would expect.

T1 already made the round one playoff match against EDG look incredibly tight, and Vitality is even fancied over the Korean side in terms of ranking. Make no mistake, EDG got exposed today, and every team left is good enough to take advantage of that.

For EDG’s sake, this one day break is hopefully enough to give them a mental reset. They still have some of the best, if not the best firepower in the world. They should be able to make it to Grand Finals for round three against G2. Whether or not they can win against that oppressive G2 map pool however, is another story.