While no result is guaranteed in competition, G2’s possible route to the VALORANT Masters London upper final is as good as any team could wish for. For a team that’s notorious for its failure to win globally, now is the perfect chance to change the narrative.
G2’s final hurdle
It’s no secret that G2 should be global winners by now. Four Americas titles in a year and a half shows that they’re a cut above their regional competition, and their sustained elite level during that period can only be rivalled by Paper Rex and Fnatic, both of whom had much more defined peaks and valleys than the steady G2.
When they lost to T1 in the Bangkok final last year, while disappointing, it felt like it was going to be a matter of time before they got one over the line. After all, they were one map win from glory, and the final two map losses that cemented their defeat were both overtime nailbiters. Had the wind blown a different direction, G2 would easily have clinched an international trophy at the very beginning of their now-barren run.
Fast forward to London and the conversation has become a question of if rather than when. With every event they enter amongst favourites and fail to win, the burden on G2 grows, as do the doubts.
VALORANT Masters London the perfect chance to right those wrongs
While hope for a G2 global win has not disappeared, it’s certainly somewhat dwindled. However, Masters London presented the ideal opportunity to dream once again. Not only are they back as Americas champs after only finishing second place in Kickoff, but the meta shift also plays into their favour.
This time last year, G2 headed to Toronto as Tejo merchants, but his pre-tournament nerf halted their momentum and undoubtedly played a part in their fourth-place finish; a great result for the majority of VCT sides but underwhelming for one with G2’s aspirations.
Now in London the nerf is working in their favour. While many sides excelled on the overtuned Neon — some having been middling teams prior — G2 did not rely on the agent. While they did play it during Stage 1, it was not a crutch in all of their comps as was the case for some others. G2 were already primed for a Neon-free meta.
That’s not to say that others can’t adapt though. FUT were one of the biggest question marks in this regard after playing Neon in 100% of their Stage 1 games, but s0pp has quickly shown in London that Neon abuse alone was not what made them a top team. LEV are a similar example.
The ideal playoffs draw
To top things off for G2, their playoffs bracket draw could hardly have gone any better. Granted first pick of their opponent, JoshRT unsurprisingly opted into facing China’s Xi Lai Gaming for their opening game, as any of the other first seeds would have likely done.
Given China’s recent outings at international events, XLG’s two wins so far — one against fellow Chinese opposition — already make their London performance a positive one even if they’re to quickly crash out of playoffs. While G2 should obviously not underestimate any opponent, failure to beat XLG would be devastating.
Assuming G2 makes it through the first round, their next opponent would be either EDward Gaming or FUT Esports. EDG, rightly or wrongly, are also largely written off thanks to China’s global struggles since their own Champs win in 2024 — Wolves’ Toronto run the only highlight since.
FUT were dark horses entering London, and have proved their capability post-Neon nerf. They’re a fearless fast-paced team that would trouble G2, but are still much less intimidating than those on the other side of the bracket.
G2’s route to the upper-bracket final avoids heavyweights Paper Rex, Team Heretics, and Team Vitality, all of whom host star-filled rosters and will be hoping for deep tournament runs themselves. Only Leviatán appears as an easier opponent, but they’re still of a similar flavour to FUT — the most difficult opponent on G2’s side.
For a team of G2’s level, reaching the top three should now be an expectation, and would immediately improve upon their last three global results. Once they get there, there’ll be plenty of work to do with stacked opponents guaranteed. That’s when they’ll need to prove themselves as deserved winners and will have to do so fair and square.
The lucky draw will get them most of the way, but it’s still only so far. They must take the opportunity with both hands and finally get one over the line.
