G2 and Vitality Stay Unbeaten in Shanghai; 100 Thieves and Nongshim Now Fighting for Their Lives

Champions Shanghai now has its first two upper bracket semifinalists. G2 Esports and Team Vitality came through their upper bracket quarterfinals and remain undefeated in the playoff stage, while 100 Thieves and Nongshim RedForce drop to the lower bracket, where the margin for error disappears entirely. The core information in this story comes from Esports Insider, which describes the two series as very different in character but identical in practical outcome: two teams advancing comfortably through the bracket and two that now have to fight their way back upstream.

Why does this matter? Because Champions is the VALORANT world championship, the tournament that closes out the VCT circuit and the only title that truly defines a season. Having an Americas team like G2 and an EMEA team like Vitality settle into the top half of the bracket not only brings them closer to the final, but also grants them rest, intel on their opponents and, above all, a second life if they stumble. For the teams that dropped, the road is still open, but every series from here on is a straight elimination match.

What you need to know

• G2 Esports won its upper bracket quarterfinal and advances to the upper bracket semifinals of Champions Shanghai.
• Team Vitality did the same in the other series and also remains undefeated in the elimination stage.
• 100 Thieves and Nongshim RedForce are not eliminated: they move to the lower bracket, where one more loss means going home.
• According to Esports Insider, the two series played out very differently from each other, although the source does not provide scores or maps, so we will not make them up here.
• The upper bracket is starting to take shape with two representatives from different regions: Americas through G2 and EMEA through Vitality.

The upper bracket takes shape

Champions uses a double elimination format, and that completely changes how each result should be read. Winning in the upper bracket is not just advancing: it is buying an insurance policy. G2 and Vitality know that if they lose their semifinal, they will still get another shot from the lower bracket. 100 Thieves and Nongshim, on the other hand, have already cashed in that policy. From now on, every series they play will be their last if they do not win it, and they will also have to string together more matches than their rivals up top to reach the same destination.

What dropping to the lower bracket means

Beyond the pressure, the lower bracket is a matter of attrition. Teams that drop down play more series in fewer days, with less time to prepare for each opponent and the obligation to show their best cards from the very first map. Historically, champions who come out of the lower bracket do exist, but they are the exception, not the rule. That does not mean 100 Thieves or Nongshim are finished; it means their tournament just became a lot more expensive.

Four teams, four stories

For the Spanish-speaking community, this matchup has a special flavor. G2 represents Americas, the league followed closely by much of our audience in Latin America, and seeing them in the top half of the world bracket is a boost for the entire region. Vitality comes from EMEA, home to our followers in Spain, and confirms that the European bloc remains one of the strongest in the circuit. 100 Thieves, also from Americas, is perhaps the organization with the biggest media pull of the four, and its drop to the lower bracket is a blow to the region's narrative. Nongshim RedForce, for its part, represents Pacific, and its presence in these quarterfinals was already a sign that the Asian region did not come to Shanghai just to make up the numbers.

Our take

From the Underworld Lordz newsroom, we will say it plainly: what G2 and Vitality did is exactly what you expect from two serious title contenders. Getting past the upper bracket quarterfinals does not make you champion, but it puts you in the position from which world championships are won. What really interests us is the source describing two series so different from each other. If one was a stroll and the other a struggle, that says a lot about who arrived with the engine finely tuned and who is still adjusting parts mid-tournament.

We are harder on 100 Thieves. An organization of that size, with that structure and that budget, cannot afford to have its world championship depend on a comeback from below. Americas needed two teams in the top half of the bracket to sustain the narrative that the region now competes on equal footing with EMEA and Pacific, and for now only G2 is delivering. Nongshim faces less media pressure, but has more to prove: the lower bracket is the acid test for whether Pacific has real depth or just a couple of big names.

For the competitive players and content creators who follow us, there is a clear lesson here: the double elimination format rewards those who arrive prepared for the first playoff match, not those who wait to feel comfortable once the tournament is well underway. And for those who make content, the lower bracket is pure gold: that is where the stories people remember are born, far more than in a quiet upper bracket semifinal.

What do you think?

G2 and Vitality look to be on track, but the Champions lower bracket always has surprises in store. Do you think 100 Thieves or Nongshim RedForce can climb back from below and sneak into the final, or is the title already going to be decided between the two unbeaten teams? Let us know in the team chat or on our Discord.