G2 Esports and T1 get off to a rough start at VALORANT Masters Santiago

The second day is VALORANT Masters Santiago saw the giant VCT Americas G2 Sports and the Pacific T1 they were swept 0-2 in their first matches.

Currently, Paper Rex (Pacific) and Team Liquid (EMEA) secured their first win in Chile and will face NRG and Gentle Mates in their finals at the Swiss Stage on March 2.

The day started with an epic match between three-time VCT Americas 2025 champion G2 Esports and Masters Toronto winner Paper Rex. The two have faced off at several VCT events around the world, with Paper Rex coming out on top this time (2-0).

The first map saw G2 lose momentum despite good starts in both halves Separate. In their attack, the second seeded Americans converted their bonus round, but quickly lost control of the map after a Paper Rex timeout. From there on, PRX looked fearless in their quick recovery and back-to-back attacks (8-4). While G2 went on to win five rounds in the second half, heroic plays from Paper Rex ended up eating the Americas map (9-13).

On the G2 map select, RustPaper Rex had another solid first half, using their Vyse utility on the defensive end. Meanwhile, his opponent could scrape five rounds together thanks to a few impactful mid-round calls and over-adds from Paper Rex. In the second half, however, G2 looked disjointed. Paper Rex changed its attack bonus cycle and immediately secured the series 13-5.

The dynamic player of the third seed of the Pacific, Jason ‘f0rsakeN‘ Susanto, tore both halves of Corrode while showing off his Viper for the first time in a pro game. With a KDA of 41/26/16, he was once again the best player in the series.

In the second series of the day, VCT EMEA’s Team Liquid released a 2-0 upset against Masters Bangkok champion T1.

Team Liquid chose The wind as the first map of the series, where the third seed of EMEA surpassed T1 in terms of the main game. On defense, Team Liquid mixed aggressive sets with ratty plays. T1, on the other hand, relies heavily on individual hero plays to turn the rounds, while showing a pitiful use in both halves. After an 8-4 halftime lead, Team Liquid confidently defended their map pick 13-8.

The port started with a very competitive first half. While T1 struggled against Team Liquid’s pressing double dive, impact pieces and a Fade assist from Kim’a taxi‘ Gu-taek helped the team finish its defensive half with 7-5. The Pacific side then defeated its rival in the attack. However, Team Liquid eventually figured out how to shut down T1’s push and win the series 15-13 in overtime.

With the first round of Swiss Stage matches completed, Masters Santiago now turns to the winners and losers matches.

The draw for the next batch of games took place after the opening round; however, it was caught again five hours later at the hotel due to an error during the broadcast.

As a result, the following top matches for Round 2 will take place on March 2, starting at 6 PM BST:

On March 3, the lower seeds will be fighting for survival in the tournament:

All Swiss Stage matches will be streamed via the official VALORANT esports Twitch and YouTube channels.