Four Teams, One Trophy: Breaking Down the VCT Masters Santiago Top Four

After days of Swiss Stage warfare and a brutal opening playoff bracket, VCT Masters Santiago has its final four: Nongshim RedForce, NRG, Paper Rex, and G2 Esports. Four teams. Four stories. One trophy on the line, and for two of them, it would be the first international title of their careers. Here’s where each side stands heading into the final stretch.

Nongshim RedForce: The Undefeated Squad

The story of Masters Santiago, if not the story of 2026 so far, belongs to Nongshim RedForce. They are the only team at this event without a series loss. They are the only team in the entire VCT circuit without a series loss this year. From Premier to Ascension titles in 2024 and 2025, from Kickoff champions to playoff frontrunners in Santiago, the trajectory of this organisation has been one of the most remarkable in recent memory.

Veteran IGL Rb has given this roster a clarity of purpose that few teams at the international level can match, with decisive executes, smart util, and the tactical flexibility to adapt mid-series. Under his leadership, Nongshim have dispatched Gentle Mates and G2 on their way to the Upper Final.

The rest of the team back it up at every position with star player Dambi being a nightmare on Neon. He is an entry player whose speed and aggression don’t just open sites, they break opponent’s game plans entirely. Francis, Ivy, and xross have been reliable and explosive in equal measure, ready to capitalise on every inch of space Dambi creates. If Nongshim win this event, it is their first international title. At the rate they’re going, it feels less like a question of if and more of when.

NRG: The Champions Chasing History

Last year’s Champions winners arrive in Santiago with history in their crosshairs. No team has ever won a Masters and Champions both, let alone consecutively. NRG have a real shot at doing exactly that, and they know it.

Their road to the Upper Final hasn’t been perfectly clean. A loss to Paper Rex in the Swiss Stage was the one blemish, but NRG responded with conviction in the playoffs: a close, grinding series win over BBL that went deep into overtime on map three, followed by a composed 2-0 revenge victory over PRX to seal a guaranteed top-three finish. That bounce-back quality is a hallmark of this team.

What makes NRG genuinely dangerous is how different they look from the rest of the field. In an era defined by double-duelist compositions, they continue to operate with their own tactical identity, playing disciplined, and ready to adapt to whatever their opponents have been throwing at them, including comp changes and pace adaptations. Mada has been the consistent fragger this event, but the depth runs through every player on the roster; anyone can and will step up in a clutch moment.

Flex player Keiko, stepping in the boots of s0m who retired after the team’s Paris victory, has slotted in smoothly and given the team the adaptability they need be it as a secondary duelist or as a controller. A Masters Santiago title would make them back-to-back international champions. The upper final against Nongshim is their first step.

Paper Rex: The Perennial X Factor

Few teams have been as present on the international stage as Paper Rex. The Masters Toronto winners have qualified for nearly every international event in VCT history, and they arrive in Santiago still hunting for trophy number two.

This event has been a study in peaks and valleys. Their Swiss Stage run was clean with wins over G2 and NRG and a hard-fought victory over FURIA in the playoffs kept them moving. Then came the NRG rematch, and even an altered composition couldn’t flip the result, PRX falling 0-2. A lower bracket win over All Gamers steadied the ship and secured a top-four finish, but the next obstacle is a familiar one: G2 Esports, the team they beat in the Swiss Stage.

When Paper Rex are at their best, it can look effortless. Something and Jingg firing in tandem is as good if not better than any other duelist pairing at this tournament. Newest addition Invy has quietly been one of the team’s most consistent performers: steady in the frag column, disciplined with utility, and always there on the reswings and trades. IGL f0rsakeN and sentinel/flex d4v41 round out a squad that has the firepower to beat anyone on a given day. The question, as it often is with PRX, is which version shows up.

G2 Esports: Playing With Everything on the Line

G2 have been playing, in their own words, like every game is their last. That mindset has carried them further than the bracket might have suggested at various points.

Their Swiss Stage run was far from smooth: an opening loss to Paper Rex forced them to grind through wins over XLG and T1 just to advance. In the playoffs, they beat All Gamers before falling to Nongshim, then bounced back in the lower bracket with a clean 2-0 over BBL to guarantee a top-four finish, this being their best result at an international event since a Grand Final appearance at Masters Bangkok.

The hardware has eluded G2 at the international level despite their regional success, and a Masters Santiago title would be the biggest win of the organisation’s VALORANT history. Their next match is a rematch against Paper Rex, a team they lost to in the Swiss Stage. Whether G2 can find the same kind of adaptation NRG showed against PRX remains one of the biggest questions of the weekend.

The top 4 is set.

Here’s the updated #VALORANTMasters Santiago Playoffs Bracket! pic.twitter.com/jJbdrq8NfY

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) March 10, 2026

What’s Left at VCT Masters Santiago

Four games stand between here and a champion. On Friday, NRG and Nongshim RedForce meet in the Upper Final, a best-of-three with a Grand Final spot on the line. Below them, Paper Rex and G2 clash in Lower Round 3, an elimination match where the loser goes home. On Saturday, the Upper Final loser faces the PRX-G2 winner in a best-of-five Lower Final. And on Sunday, Santiago crowns its champion in the Grand Final.

For G2 and Nongshim, it would be their first international title. For Paper Rex and NRG, it would be number two. Someone’s story ends this weekend. Someone else’s is just getting started.