100 Thieves & Gen. G Advance To Masters Shanghai Upper Semi-Finals

The first day of the Valorant Masters Shanghai Playoff Stage is over, and we have the first matchup set for the Upper Semi-Final. 100 Thieves and Gen.G have defeated FUT Esports and Fnatic, respectively, and will face each other for a spot in the Upper Final.

Two teams advanced in the Playoffs Stage.

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— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) May 30, 2024

100 Thieves played their first series in a Masters event after two and a half years and secured another comfortable win this season. The first map, Icebox, was FUT's pick, but they only managed to win two rounds on the map—one on attack and one on defense.

The story for the next map, Bind, was similar. Although it was 100 Thieves' pick, FUT Esports secured more rounds than on the first map; however, it was still a one-sided game as 100 Thieves won the map 13-5 and the series 2-0.

The second series of the day, Fnatic vs. Gen.G, was a roller coaster of emotions. Contrary to the belief that Lotus is an attack dominated map, the first half went Fnatic's way (on defense), as they took a seven-round lead. However, they couldn't close the map out easily as Gen.G made a comeback on defense as well, balancing the scoreline at 10-10. Fnatic then won the next three rounds consecutively to secure a win on Lotus, 13-10. 

The next map, Bind (Fnatic's pick), was just as interesting as Lotus. Gen.G started strong by winning five of the first six rounds; however, Fnatic tied the scoreline and ended the half at 6-6. Fnatic also won the first two rounds of the second half, but starting from the bonus round, Gen.G allowed them to win only two more rounds, taking the map by 13-10.

The decider map, Breeze, was the closest of all. Gen.G won the first three rounds on defense, including the bonus round, showcasing their confidence coming into the final map. However, the situation turned around completely as Fnatic won five back to back rounds, taking the lead. The first half ended with a 7-5 score in favor of Fnatic. 

Fnatic extended their lead by winning the first two rounds in the second half, but Gen.G pulled off another comeback, and Fnatic couldn't find an answer in time. Gen.G registered a win by taking the final close round that could lead to overtime, reverse sweeping Fnatic to secure the series 2-1.

Day 6 set the tone for the rest of the Playoffs Stage.

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— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) May 30, 2024

Gen. G will go up against 100 Thieves on June 2, while Fnatic will battle FUT Esports on June 1 to keep their hopes alive in Masters Shanghai.