LEVIATÁN and G2 Esports already know their summer plans. Both locked in their VCT Masters London 2026 qualification before today’s Upper Final even begins, guaranteed at least a top-three finish in the VCT Americas Stage 1 bracket. The real question for Friday evening at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles is seeding. The winner secures a Grand Final berth on May 24 and likely claims the Americas’ first seed at Masters London, skipping the Swiss Stage entirely and entering the Playoffs bracket with full pick advantage.
The loser drops to Saturday’s Lower Final, still London-bound but forced to play an extra best-of-five before the title match.
G2’s Playoff Machine Keeps Grinding
G2 Esports enter the Upper Final with a playoff map record that borders on clinical: 4-0 across two series, never once facing a third map. Their demolition of 100 Thieves on opening day (2-0, with a 13-4 scoreline on Pearl and a 13-7 on Lotus) set the tone. The Upper Semifinal against KRÜ Esports told the same story, another 2-0 with KRÜ never building sustained pressure on either map.
jawgemo has been the catalyst. His rating across the playoff run puts him among the event’s top statistical performers, and his ability to create space for leaf and trent on Initiator setups gives G2 a layered attack structure that opponents have struggled to read. Captain valyn continues to call clean mid-rounds, and BABYBAY, now fully integrated after replacing JonahP in the offseason, has shown a comfort level on Duelist that suggests the team’s ceiling has room to grow.
G2’s seventh consecutive international qualification is confirmed. The question is whether they arrive in London as the region’s alpha seed or a team that stumbled at the final hurdle.
LEVIATÁN’s Bracket Has Been a Different Animal
Where G2 have been surgical, LEVIATÁN have been resilient. Both of their playoff series went the distance. Against FURIA in the Upper Round 1, kiNgg’s squad dropped the opening map before recovering to take the next two. The Upper Semifinal against MIBR followed an identical pattern, with LEVIATÁN losing map one and then adjusting their defensive structure to shut down aspas and zekken in the final two maps.
That adjustment capacity defines this version of Leviatán. The roster overhauled heading into 2026 around a core of young Brazilian talent, with spikeziN, blowz, and Neon all 18 or 19 years old. Three teenagers who had never played a VCT Americas playoff series before May 14 are now one win away from a Grand Final. Sato provides the Duelist firepower, while spikeziN operates as the team’s flex piece, rotating between agents depending on the map and composition. The real engine, though, has been kiNgg, who entered his fifth year with the organization as one of the longest-tenured IGLs in the Americas and has steered this squad back to the international stage for the first time since Champions 2024.
The Chilean org’s path through the Group Stage was uneven (losses to MIBR and LOUD, wins over G2, Cloud9, and ENVY), but their playoff performances suggest a team that peaks when elimination pressure arrives.
The LEVIATÁN vs G2 Head-to-Head in 2026
These two already met during Stage 1 groups, and LEVIATÁN took that series 2-1 on April 18. G2 are not the same team now. Their playoff form, particularly the defensive reads from valyn and the Initiator timings from trent, has improved over the past three weeks. LEVIATÁN, meanwhile, look more comfortable in third-map scenarios than any other Americas squad.
Map pool dynamics will shape the series. G2 have leaned on Lotus and Pearl through the bracket, while LEVIATÁN’s best maps have been Haven and Fracture. If Lotus makes the veto cut, expect the series’ most contested map. Both squads also hold strong opinions on Breeze, which could emerge as the decider if bans force teams into uncomfortable picks.
NRG vs 100 Thieves: Elimination and London on the Line
The second match of the day is the one that actually eliminates someone. NRG and 100 Thieves face off at 8:00 PM EDT in Lower Round 3, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s Lower Final and the loser going home without a Masters London slot.
NRG’s Lower Bracket Surge
NRG have been the most impressive lower bracket team in the tournament. After entering the bracket from a weaker playoff position, they ripped through two consecutive opponents without dropping a map. FURIA fell 2-0, with NRG’s Lotus defense holding FURIA to just 4 rounds. KRÜ Esports followed in another 2-0, with keiko and mada combining for a dominant performance that turned what should have been a competitive series into a blowout.
Ethan continues to anchor the squad’s execute timings, and brawk has quietly been one of the most consistent players in the entire bracket, posting positive differentials in every map. NRG’s form in the lower bracket echoes their Americas Kickoff run earlier this year, where they reached the Lower Final before falling to MIBR.
100 Thieves’ Redemption Arc
100 Thieves dropped to the lower bracket after a clean 0-2 loss to G2 in the opening round. Since then, they have responded with two dominant 2-0 victories of their own: a dismantling of LOUD (13-5, 13-4 across Breeze and Split) and a sweep of MIBR that ended aspas and zekken’s tournament. Asuna has been the offensive fulcrum, with Cryocells providing the kind of secondary firepower that makes 100T hard to contain when both players hit form simultaneously.
The head-to-head between these two rosters in 2026 favors NRG, who have not lost to 100 Thieves this season across multiple encounters. 100T’s challenge is mental as much as tactical: they need to break a pattern that has defined their year against this specific opponent.
Masters London Qualification Tracker
With nine of twelve Masters London slots already confirmed across regions, Friday’s Americas matches will bring the global field closer to completion. Here is where things stand as the final weekend of regional play approaches:
| Region | Qualified Teams | Seed |
| EMEA | Team Heretics | 1st (Stage 1 champion) |
| Team Vitality | 2nd | |
| FUT Esports | 3rd | |
| Pacific | Paper Rex | 1st (Stage 1 champion) |
| FULL SENSE | 2nd | |
| Global Esports | 3rd | |
| China | Xi Lai Gaming | 1st |
| EDward Gaming | 2nd | |
| Dragon Ranger Gaming | 3rd | |
| Americas | LEVIATÁN | TBD (confirmed top 3) |
| G2 Esports | TBD (confirmed top 3) | |
| TBD (NRG or 100 Thieves) | 3rd |
The Americas slot remains the final piece. By the end of Friday, we will know whether NRG or 100 Thieves joins LEVIATÁN and G2 on the flight to London.
What to Watch For
LEVIATÁN vs G2 Esports starts at 5:00 PM EDT / 2:00 PM PDT / 11:00 PM CEST. Best-of-three. The winner goes directly to the Grand Final on May 24.
NRG vs 100 Thieves follows at 8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT / 2:00 AM CEST (May 23). Best-of-three. The loser is eliminated. The winner faces the Upper Final loser in Saturday’s Lower Final (best-of-five).
Three Americas teams will play at Masters London, which begins June 6 at the Copper Box Arena in London. The total prize pool is $1,000,000. First seeds from each region skip the Swiss Stage and enter the Playoffs bracket directly. That first-seed advantage could prove decisive in a twelve-team field where every region has sent at least one roster making its international debut.
For the Americas, the final weekend begins now.
