BBL Esports & All Gamers sent to VALORANT Masters Santiago lower bracket

During the second day of playoff competition at VALORANT Masters Santiago, the top regional contenders, BBL Esports from EMEA and All Gamers representing China, both experienced defeats in their initial matches.

Concurrently, NRG, the current VALORANT Champions titleholder, and G2 Esports, another team from the Americas region, are slated to compete against Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce, respectively, in upcoming upper bracket confrontations.

The competitive day commenced with an intensely contested series featuring NRG, the current VALORANT Champion, and BBL Esports, a new EMEA team. Ultimately, the more seasoned squad secured victory with a **2-1** scoreline.

The initial map of the series strongly suggested that EMEA teams continue to struggle with **Pearl**. Although BBL Esports demonstrated strong domestic performance on this map, they were convincingly outplayed by their Americas rival in the global competition. Conversely, NRG experienced a flawless run. With two pistol-round victories, a commanding offensive surge, exceptional individual plays, and well-timed pauses, the third seed from the Americas secured BBL Esports’ map choice with a **13-6** win.

Surprisingly, BBL Esports appeared considerably more at ease on NRG’s chosen map, **Abyss**. During the first half, the Turkish squad surprised NRG with their characteristic dispersed offensive strategies, establishing a 9-3 advantage. Subsequently, the EMEA top seed endured several tightly contested rounds to equalize the series with a **13-6** triumph. Yusuf ‘Lar0k’ Kanber was a crucial factor in his team’s success, achieving an impressive kill-death-assist ratio (KDA) of 27/9/5 solely on Abyss.

The decisive match unfolded on **Split**, where BBL Esports required some initial rounds to devise a counter for NRG’s consistent direct site assaults, narrowly concluding the first half with a 7-5 lead. Likewise, BBL Esports initiated their offensive half dynamically but were subsequently hampered by the adversary’s Vyse thorns and Odin suppressive fire. Even though they pushed the map into overtime, BBL Esports eventually fell to NRG with a **15-17** score.

The day’s subsequent fixture witnessed G2 Esports, three-time champions of VCT Americas 2025, achieve a clean **2-0** sweep over All Gamers, the premier seed from VCT China.

All Gamers found themselves at a disadvantage from the very beginning of **Split**. After G2 secured a pistol-round victory and a subsequent bonus conversion, All Gamers struggled to accumulate even four defensive rounds. While Roman ‘f4ngeer’ Smirnov managed to secure some significant eliminations, his squad was severely hampered by an absence of aggressive defensive plays. G2, conversely, achieved considerable success through their assertive defensive configurations, clinching the map **13-6**.

On **Abyss**, both competing teams selected the recently enhanced Harbor as their secondary smoke agent. All Gamers demonstrated robust offensive tactics utilizing this character, further strengthened by the exceptional marksmanship of each team member. Nevertheless, G2 quickly regained control, leveraging impeccable site defenses and overwhelming retake maneuvers. Following a 9-3 lead at halftime, it became inevitable that the Americas’ second seed would close out the series with a **13-4** victory.

Andrej ‘babybay’ Francisty from G2 emerged as the player with the most eliminations in the series. Utilizing Waylay throughout both maps, babybay accomplished an impressive KDA of 34/17/9 and an average combat score (ACS) of 254.

Having secured wins today, NRG and G2 Esports will maintain their positions in the upper Playoffs bracket at Masters Santiago. On March 9th, these two squads are scheduled to compete against Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce, in that order.

Conversely, BBL Esports and All Gamers are set to contend in the opening round of Playoffs elimination matches later today (March 8th). At 5 PM BST, BBL Esports will challenge FURIA, followed by a confrontation between All Gamers and Gentle Mates.

For those keen to discover which teams will advance from these intense competitions, VCT enthusiasts can access the authorized Masters Santiago streams on Twitch and YouTube.