G2 Esports continue to exceed expectations, as they’re now just two steps away from securing the VALORANT Champions Tour 2024 Masters Shanghai title. They fought through the group stage with two close victories against T1 and Team Heretics but shifted into a higher gear in the playoffs, beating Paper Rex and Team Heretics for the second time.

Gen.G also had a bumpy road to the upper-bracket final. They had to reverse-sweep Fnatic in the first round and took down 100 Thieves in two maps. Gen.G were already serious title contenders before their first match, and so far, they’ve looked good. But they’re a bit too pricey.

G2 Esports have proven to be a very resilient team, capable of playing to their opponent’s level. And while this will be their toughest test yet, VCT 2024 Americas runners-up can push Gen.G to their limits.

100 Thieves entered VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai in excellent form and were even favourites to defeat Gen.G in the upper bracket semifinal. But they ran out of steam and lost in two maps.

Since then, 100 Thieves added another huge scalp to their collection with a 2-1 victory against Paper Rex, which put them back in the conversation of potential champions. Likewise, Team Heretics have looked a bit up and down so far this tournament.

They clawed their way through the group stage, defeated EDward Gaming, and got reverse swept by G2 Esports before crushing their regional rivals, FUT Esports, in the lower bracket. Even in VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1, Heretics needed some time to warm up and now seem to be playing at their best.

Even though 100T are a strong team, they’ve not shown enough for the esports betting sites to price them as such big favourites. This fixture is closer to a coin flip than what the VALORANT odds suggest.

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G2 Esports fought their way through the Swiss stage of VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai with a 2-0 record. The North American second seed defeated T1 and Team Heretics, earning their spot among the top eight VALORANT teams — but according to the esports betting odds, their Cinderella story ends here.

Paper Rex have yet to play a game in Shanghai, having earned a direct bye into the playoffs by winning VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 1. This means the Pacific champions haven��t played an official match in two weeks, but they also have plenty of film to look over to prepare for this affair.

Paper Rex are the same core of players who placed third in VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo and reached the finals of VALORANT Champions in August. Even this season, Paper Rex have already accomplished plenty, with a bronze medal from the Madrid Masters and two finals appearances in VCT Pacific.

Even though G2 Esports deserve a lot of respect for what they��ve shown in the first split of the season, they had some struggles making it past T1 and Heretics. And if that��s any indication, Paper Rex should be too much for them to handle.

Team Heretics have proved themselves to be a competitive side in this VALORANT Champions Tour season. They placed second in the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff and Stage 1 and performed well in Madrid, even though they exited the Masters tournament in last place with two close defeats against Sentinels and Paper Rex.

EDward Gaming are the undisputed best VALORANT esports team from China, and they didn��t look too bad in Madrid, with a victory over Paper Rex and losses against LOUD and Gen.G. Yet the top esports betting sites have them priced as underdogs for this match, which mainly has to do with the fact that they hail from a weaker region.

Even though Team Heretics have reached higher highs this season, they hardly looked much more potent than EDward Gaming. Bet on this one going to three maps.

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The news comes just short of three weeks before the start of VALORANT Champions Tour 2024 Pacific Stage 2, leaving DRX with one slot open while stax remains with the team as an inactive member.

In the announcement post on X, DRX explained that the decision was made after careful and lengthy consideration — likely tied to the team’s disappointing fourth-place finish at VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 1 earlier this month.

Stax joined DRX in January 2022 as one of the inaugural members of the team’s VALORANT lineup. In his first season with the team, he helped DRX win both VCT 2022 Korea Challengers stages and claim a bronze medal from VALORANT Champions 2022.

Announcement from DRX VALORANT pic.twitter.com/M9GMZiXUH1

— DRX VS (@DRX_VS) May 27, 2024

The following season was less fruitful for DRX. While they retained their tag as one of the top Pacific League squads and placed top six at VALORANT Champions 2023, DRX didn’t win a single event.

DRX have showed some glimpses of greatness early into the 2024 VALORANT esports season, but they’ve failed to establish themselves as one of the top contenders from the region.

With stax’s departure, DRX will have to find a new in-game leader to take over for VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 2. Despite having just three weeks left to find a replacement, DRX have refrained from revealing who might replace the 24-year-old.

Stax’s stepping down from DRX’s active roster marks the third roster change of 2024. In January, DRX parted ways with Goo “Rb” Sang-min and Kim “Zest” Gi-seok, who left for Titan Esports Club and IAM, respectively.

In April, DRX also moved Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk to the reserve roster after he asked for indefinite leave for personal reasons.

While the Korean side has yet to reveal who will take over for stax, Flashback’s return remains a possibility.

This would allow Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan or Kang “BeYN” Ha-bin to take over the IGL role and help DRX field a complete lineup without needing to explore the free-agent market.

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Although T1 placed third in VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 1, they were clearly weaker than Paper Rex and Gen.G. However, since Kevin “xccurate” Susanto took over as in-game leader, T1 seem much more capable of competing at the top level.

Esports betting sites have G2 Esports priced as strong favourites for this match. G2 earned their ticket to Shanghai by placing second in VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1, proving to be very resilient and able to deal with teams that boast strong firepower.

Their display in the VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1 finals showed G2 Esports can take on strong teams, but they tend to play to the level of their opponents. Considering T1’s recent improvement and G2’s style of play, this looks like a close game.

FunPlus Phoenix claimed a silver medal in VCT 2024 China Stage 1, and even though they and EDward Gaming were a class above everyone else, FPX aren’t expected to do well in the second VCT Masters event of the year. This mainly has to do with a lack of consistency.

FPX lost just one series throughout VCT 2024 China Stage 1, but in some of their wins, even against lesser opponents, they showed cracks. On a more positive note, they can play some unusual compositions which might catch other VALORANT esports teams off guard.

FUT Esports looked great in VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 but then fell apart in the playoffs. That’s not surprising; they didn’t show anything spectacular in their wins and instead relied on their opponents making mistakes, baiting them into favourable duels.

Like in the VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 Playoffs, FUT will get figured out, and since there’s a lot of film available on them, we can expect FPX to prepare for this fixture and force a closer series.

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Cloud9 have done well in the group stage, winning five out of six games. However, they have managed just one clean sweep — against MiBR — and haven’t looked amazing in any of their wins.

G2 Esports managed just three wins in the group stage, beating Evil Geniuses in the first week, FURIA in the third, and MiBR in the fourth. But even though they won all three games without dropping a map, those victories don’t count for much.

None of those three teams made it to the playoffs, suggesting that G2 Esports are hardly more than gatekeepers. However, Cloud9 haven’t looked amazing in their victories either and have hardly shown more over the last two weeks than G2.

This match looks much closer to 50-50 than what the esports betting odds suggest, making G2 Esports a solid bet at outsider odds.

LOUD made a miraculous comeback in the final two weeks of VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1 to secure the spot in the playoffs. After going 0-3 with defeats against NRG, Cloud9 and KRU Esports, LOUD took down Sentinels and G2 Esports with two dominant performances.

Much of LOUD’s late resurgence can be attributed to Felipe “Less” Basso, who posted 1.20 and 1.67 performance ratings across the last two series. But he isn’t the only LOUD player who has started playing better recently.

100 Thieves looked very competitive throughout the group stage with wins against G2 Esports, Cloud9, and NRG. While they have been more consistent than LOUD, they’ve not shown the same heights.

100 Thieves can be considered the safer pick, but LOUD’s recent resurgence makes them a scary team to bet against. With their high ceiling and improved form, -135.14 is more than a fair offer.

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Gentle Mates suffered their first defeat of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 on Friday when they lost against Karmine Corp 6-13 on both maps. It wasn’t a good showing from the newly promoted side, but it’s also unfair to expect Gentle Mates to do well against the no.1 VALORANT esports team in Europe.

After losing against Team Heretics in the first week of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1, Fnatic added another underwhelming performance against GIANTX last Friday. Even though Fnatic won the series, they lost Breeze with just five rounds, suggesting they struggle with their map pool.

Fnatic should win games like this, but they’ve not looked great lately, so it’s fair to expect Gentle Mates to exploit their pool and take one map.

Karmine Corp stumbled at the start of Week 2 when they lost to FUT Esports. But the French side bounced back with a convincing 2-0 sweep of Gentle Mates last Friday.

Natus Vincere have also had a bit of an up-and-down road on the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour. They defeated Team Vitality and needed a reverse sweep to make it past the unconvincing Team Liquid last week. Still, NaVi are improving, and considering they’re 4-1 on the season, it’s fair to say they’re in a good spot.

Karmine Corp are priced as favourites with VALORANT betting sites, which makes sense as they won the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff. However, they’ve not looked much better than Natus Vincere over the last two weeks. At plus money, Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov and co. are an obvious choice.

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After a promising start to the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour, T1 find themselves in a tough spot ahead of Tuesday’s clash. With three defeats against Paper Rex, DetonatioN FocusMe and DRX, they rank last in Group Alpha with just three games left to catch up.

Rex Regum Qeon are in a much better spot after winning their last two series against Team Secret and BLEED Esports. And while they had to dig deep to make it past Secret, RRQ performed admirably against BLEED, winning the series with a combined round record of 26-7.

T1 are still a capable lineup, which explains why they��re priced as favourites for this match; however, recent form suggests the teams should be priced much closer to even money, so Rex Regum Qeon to win at +175 with BetOnline is an excellent offer.

With a 0-2 record, BLEED Esports must start winning if they wish to end Group Alpha in the top three. So far in VCT 2024 Pacific Stage 1, they have already lost to Talon Esports and Rex Regum Qeon, and while they took a map from Talon, BLEED have not shown much.

ZETA DIVISION are 1-1 after two weeks of action, with a 2-1 victory against Global Esports and a 1-2 loss against Team Secret. That record is an underwhelming outcome for the Japanese side, although it��s not like ZETA DIVISION were ever considered a strong VCT Pacific team.

At +125 with the top esports betting sites, ZETA DIVISION are expected to struggle against BLEED Esports. However, this is a 50-50 match at best, so we��ll side with the underdogs at plus money.

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After a humiliating display at VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, Fnatic suffered another embarrassing loss in the first week of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 against Team Heretics. The series ended in two maps; however, while Fnatic looked terrible on Icebox, they played well on Lotus.

Even though Fnatic are not nearly as dominant as last season, a 1-2 start to the year is no reason for panic – especially since their only two defeats came against the current top two teams in the region.
GIANTX are in a similar spot as they��ve yet to find much success this season, with one loss against FUT Esports and two defeats against Karmine Corp. During VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff, GIANTX played reasonably well and took maps from FUT and KC, but last week they got stomped with a combined round record of 13-26.

Fnatic don��t seem as dangerous as in 2023, but this is the same roster that terrorised the entire VALORANT esports scene last season. So, while they��ll need to find more traction, Fnatic are significantly stronger than GIANTX, and it should show on Friday.

The newly promoted side, Gentle Mates, enter the second week of VCT 2024 EMEA Stage 1 following a 2-0 sweep of BBL Esports. It marked their first season victory after losing both clashes with Team Vitality in February.

By beating BBL Esports, Gentle Mates got their name on the board, but that victory is not worth celebrating too much. BBL Esports are not a very strong team, and still, they took 11 rounds on Sunset, which tells us more about Gentle Mates than it does about BBL.

Karmine Corp enter this match after getting reverse-swept by FUT Esports, who proved just how vulnerable Karmine Corp are. Still, they��ve only looked weak against other top teams, including Sentinels, Paper Rex, Team Heretics, and FUT Esports.

The loss against FUT Esports proves that Karmine Corp can fall. But regardless of their doubtful status as EMEA��s top dogs, Karmine Corp are very consistent in crushing weaker teams.

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Gen.G have done exceptionally well over the last month. They first won the VCT 2024 Pacific Kickoff without losing a single series and then made the finals of Masters Madrid, where they lost in a close five-map contest.

On the other side, Talon Esports have played just three games this year and won just one. They didn��t accomplish much during the Pacific Kickoff, beating Team Secret but losing the next two games against DRX and Secret.

Gen.G have played 12 games this season, which gives Talon Esports plenty of tape to work with. However, even with that advantage, the underdogs will have a hard time against the top dogs in VCT Pacific.

Despite replacing most of their roster before the 2024 VALORANT season, T1 performed well at the VCT Pacific Kickoff. They topped Group A with victories against Bleed Esports and ZETA DIVISION, and even though they lost against Paper Rex in the semifinals, T1 played a very competitive game and showed enough to suggest they can hang with the big boys.

DetonatioN FocusMe acquired the core of Crazy Racoon in February, but even with a new roster, success has been hard to come by for the Japanese side. They ended the Pacific Kickoff in last place, with two losses against DRX and Team Secret and the league��s worst map record (-18).

We haven��t seen enough from most VCT Pacific teams to say how good they are. However, DetonatioN FocusMe have shown very little in their two outings, making it difficult to believe they��ll stand a chance against T1.

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Cloud9 finalised their roster at the end of March, with the signing of Dylan “runi” Cade and Kaleb “moose” Jayne. The roster changes were expected to happen following Cloud9’s poor showing at VCT 2024: Americas Kickoff, where they barely made it past MiBR in the first round and lost against NRG and in the rematch against MiBR.

Things can only go up from here for Cloud9. But adding two new players less than a week before the first round of VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1 raises the question of poor synergy.

Leviatan have not signed any new players, despite winning just one of three series played at VCT 2024: Americas Kickoff. However, Leviatan still held on well. They defeated 100 Thieves and played close three-map games against LOUD and Sentinels.

Leviatan are in a much better spot than Cloud9, but having them priced as $1.10 with esports betting sites is too much. Despite the roster changes and poor record from the first VALORANT esports event of the season, Cloud9 to win a map is a more appealing option than trusting a team that has shown some glimpses of greatness to sweep.

LOUD’s situation ahead of their first match of VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1 is a bit concerning. According to recent Twitter posts, LOUD players were unable to get their visas sorted due to Easter Holidays and are stuck in Ireland, which might mean they won’t be able to play the matches on LAN. And even if they manage to sort things out and travel back, LOUD won’t have a chance to scrim with other teams.

NRG are priced as the second favourites to win VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1 on the outright betting markets, which makes sense. They looked great in the Kickoff tournament and nearly defeated Sentinels in the semifinals.

Having signed the former Evil Geniuses core, NRG not only have one of the most stacked rosters in the league but they already proved they can play at a high level. Raw talent-wise, LOUD are not to be ignored, but due to their visa issues and lack of time they had to get ready for this series, fading them sounds like the right choice.

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