Time for the Playoffs at VCT 2024: Shanghai Masters!

Time for the Playoffs at VCT 2024: Shanghai Masters!

28 May 2024

With Team Heretics beating FunPlus Phoenix and with FUT Esports overcoming Leviatán on that same day, the third and final round of the Swiss Stage of the Valorant Championship Tour (VCT) 2024: Shanghai Masters came to an end on Monday, May 27th. This means that the eight teams that managed to qualify for the Playoff Stage now have a few days to rest and re-group. On Thursday, May 30th, the 2024 Shanghai Masters will resume with the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals and in this piece, we’re taking a quick look at which teams are still involved and what we can expect from the battle for a spot in the Grand Final on June, 7th.

4 qualifiers from Shanghai Masters

The Swiss Stage of the VCT 2024: Shanghai Masters consisted of eight teams and four of those teams qualified for the Playoff Stage that is set to kick off in a few days’ time. German team G2 Esports managed to clinch first place, thanks to an unbeaten run, followed by American/South Korean organization Gen.G Esports. Turkish side FUT Esports and Spanish side Team Heretics finished third and fourth, respectively.

In the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, the first round of the Playoff Stage, the four teams mentioned above will be meeting four sides that already managed to qualify via other paths. These are:

  • Southeast Asian collective Paper Rex, who managed to qualify by winning the VCT Pacific Split 1.
  • Chinese esports organization EDward Gaming, who managed to qualify by winning the VCT China League Split 1.
  • American team 100 Thieves, who managed to qualify by winning the VCT Americas League Split 1.
  • International esports organization Fnatic, who managed to qualify by winning the VCT EMEA League Split 1.

Big matchups in Quarterfinals

As you may expect from one of the biggest Valorant events of the year, the start of the Playoff Stage has gifted us a host of high-profile matchups. On May 30th, reigning Pacific champions Paper Rex are battling it out with Swiss Stage champions G2 Esports, followed by a Quarterfinal between Chinese champions EDward Gaming and Team Heretics. After that, it’s time for the American champions of 100 Thieves versus FUT Esports and then EMEA champions Fnatic face Swiss Stage runners-up Gen.G Esports.

$ 1 million worth of prize money

As far as the prize pool goes, organizer Riot Games has included a guaranteed $ 1.000.000 with $ 350.000 going to the eventual VCT 2024: Shanghai Masters champion. The runner-up pockets $ 200.000 in prize money, while the number three will take home $ 125.000. On top of the prize money, the winner of the tournament also receives 3 VCT Points, which count towards the VCT 2024 Championship standings.

All of the action can be followed live via the official Riot Games channels on Twitch and Youtube. The livestreams will be available in dozens of languages, including English, Spanish and Arabic, in order to be able to cater as well as possible to the international Valorant community.

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