China finally has something to celebrate at the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Santiago 2026. After a rough start for the region, All Gamers (AG) has managed to get a win in the lower bracket, defeating Gentle Mates 2-1 and securing China’s first match victory of the tournament.
CN LIVES ON! #VALORANTMasters pic.twitter.com/haemYjjb9k
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) March 8, 2026
With this win, the Chinese squad stays alive in the playoffs and has secured a top-6 finish. China’s other teams had mediocre showings in the Swiss stage, with both EDward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming getting eliminated.
AG Turns the Series Around on M8 In the Lower Bracket
All Gamers (AG) and Gentle Mates (M8) played three full maps in the first round of Lowers, and the match had several big moments.
Map 1
The series opened on Pearl, where Gentle Mates looked firmly in control early on. After winning the pistol round, the European team quickly built a comfortable lead and kept AG on the back foot for most of the map.
All Gamers managed to recover a few rounds late in the half, but it wasn’t enough to slow down M8, who eventually closed Pearl 13-5 to take the early series lead.
Map 2
The AG squad bounced back on their map pick, Split. The Chinese team easily built a lead with aggressive defensive setups and quickly stacked rounds together. By halftime, AG had built an 8-4 advantage, putting Gentle Mates under pressure.
The team then secured the pistol and converted the bonus round in the second house and won five rounds in a row to a dominant 13-4 victory. With this win, China has finally gotten its first map win of the entire event.
Map 3
The deciding map was Bind, and this is where it went unexpectedly south for the Mates. The European team initially had great success on the map. After AG claimed the pistol round, M8 won eight consecutive rounds, finishing the first half with a commanding 8-4 lead.
However, after winning the last two rounds of the first half, AG turned it around completely in the second half. Round by round, the Chinese squad clawed back into the game, eventually tying the score before taking control late in the map. AG completed the comeback with a 13-8 win on Bind.
China Is on Its Last Legs at Valorant Masters Santiago
This win is big for China’s presence at VCT Masters Santiago. Just last week, both EDward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming were eliminated during the Swiss Stage with 0-2 series losses. Neither team won a single map before exiting the event.
Check out how the #VALORANTMasters Santiago Playoffs Bracket is looking like after today's matches! pic.twitter.com/WHNNwnxAMx
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) March 8, 2026
With that, All Gamers has ended up as the region’s final representative, making their victory over Gentle Mates even more important. Not only did AG claim China’s first series win, but they were also responsible for every map victory the region has earned at the tournament so far.
With this win, the team also guarantees at least a top-six finish in their first international appearance. Looking ahead, the team will continue its lower-bracket run at Masters Santiago. They are scheduled to play in Lower Round 2 on March 10, where they will face the loser of Nongshim Redforce vs G2 Esports.
The next matches in VCT Masters Santiago are the two Upper Bracket Semi-Finals, with Nongshim Redforce facing G2 Esports on one side, and NRG facing PRX in a rematch.
Have you been tuning in to Masters Santiago? Let us know in the comments!
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
from FandomWire https://ift.tt/kuGfQnX
No comments: