LEVIATÁN and G2 Esports meet tonight in the VCT Americas Stage 1 Upper Bracket Final at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles (5:00 PM EDT / 23:00 CET). Both teams have already secured Masters London qualification through their upper bracket wins. Tonight’s winner advances to Sunday’s Grand Final; the loser drops to Saturday’s Lower Final.

Three hours later, NRG face 100 Thieves in a lower bracket elimination match (8:00 PM EDT / 02:00 CET). The winner stays alive for the third and final Americas slot at Masters London. The loser goes home.

Americas is the last region still playing. EMEA crowned Team Heretics last weekend after a 3-2 Grand Final over Team Vitality. Paper Rex swept FULL SENSE 3-0 to take the Pacific title in Ho Chi Minh City. Three VCT Masters London Americas slots remain open, two already claimed by LEVIATÁN and G2, with tonight’s lower bracket match beginning the fight for the last one.

How LEVIATÁN and G2 Got Here

LEVIATÁN took the longer route. They opened playoffs with a 2-1 grind over FURIA, the Kickoff champions, and followed it with another 2-1 win over MIBR in the Upper Semifinals. Both series went the distance, both required composure under pressure on deciding maps. LEV have not been dominant. They have been resilient.

G2 Esports made it look easy. A 2-0 sweep of 100 Thieves in the Upper Round 1 was followed by a 2-0 demolition of KRÜ Esports in the semis. Four maps played, four maps won. jawgemo earned series MVP against KRÜ after a stat line that left few questions about G2’s firepower ceiling. Where LEVIATÁN ground their way through tight series, G2 cut through the bracket without dropping a single map.

The two squads met once during the Group Stage. LEVIATÁN took that one 2-1 in April, but G2’s playoff form looks like a different team. Betting lines have G2 as slight favorites.

NRG vs 100 Thieves: Last Chance for London

The second match carries a simpler narrative. Lose and you’re done.

NRG entered the playoffs as a lower seed and started in the bottom bracket, then ripped through two elimination rounds without conceding a map. A 2-0 over FURIA. A 2-0 over KRÜ. Four maps, four wins, an identical clean sheet to G2’s upper bracket run. keiko and Ethan have anchored a roster that performs better with its back against the wall.

100 Thieves dropped to the lower bracket on Day 1 after G2 swept them. From there, they matched NRG’s efficiency: 2-0 over LOUD, 2-0 over MIBR. Asuna and Cryocells carried the firepower across both series, and 100T’s map control looked far more structured than anything they showed in the upper bracket loss.

NRG hold a 3-0 head-to-head record against 100 Thieves in 2026. That stat matters, but elimination matches tend to rewrite form lines.

VCT Americas Stage 1 Bracket Status

The playoff picture heading into Friday night:

Eliminated in playoffs: FURIA, LOUD, KRÜ Esports, MIBR. Eliminated in groups: Sentinels, Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, ENVY.

FURIA, who won Americas Kickoff in February and qualified for Masters Santiago, could not carry that momentum into Stage 1 playoffs. Sentinels and Cloud9, two of the region’s most popular organizations, failed to advance past the Group Stage. MIBR, built around aspas and zekken, went out with back-to-back 0-2 losses in the lower bracket.

Saturday, May 23: Lower Final (Bo5). The LEVIATÁN/G2 loser faces the NRG/100T winner for the third and final London slot. Sunday, May 24: Grand Final (Bo5).

What London Looks Like

Masters London runs June 6-21 at the Copper Box Arena. Nine of twelve slots are filled. Team Heretics, Team Vitality, and FUT Esports represent EMEA. Paper Rex, FULL SENSE, and Global Esports come from Pacific. EDward Gaming, Xi Lai Gaming, and Dragon Ranger Gaming locked the three China spots. Americas fills the final three.

For LEVIATÁN and G2, tonight’s VCT Americas Stage 1 upper final is about seeding and momentum heading into the Grand Final. For NRG and 100 Thieves, the stakes are binary. Win or watch London from home.