100 Thieves Win VCT Americas Stage 2, Face T1 at Champions
100 Thieves secured the title of VCT 2026: Americas Stage 2 by defeating LOUD 3-2 in the grand final. The victory earned the team $100,000 and a direct qualification spot for VALORANT Champions 2026, where they will open their campaign against T1.
The decisive series unfolded across five maps: Split, Sunset, Ascent, Summit, and Haven. LOUD took the first map 13-7 after establishing a 9-3 lead in the first half. 100 Thieves responded on Sunset to level the series at 1-1. On Ascent, LOUD led 10-2 at halftime but failed to close out the map, allowing 100 Thieves to complete a comeback and win in overtime. LOUD then conceded only one round on Summit to force a decider. On Haven, 100 Thieves trailed 5-7 at halftime before taking the game to overtime and closing the series 3-2.
Roberto "erde" Lobos from LOUD was named the best player of the match, recording 243 ACS, 98 kills, 64 deaths, and 22 assists. His performance was 20% above his average over the past six months. 100 Thieves claimed the $100,000 first-place prize, while LOUD received $65,000 for finishing second. The tournament, which ran from July 16 to September 6 with finals held at Suhai Music Hall in São Paulo, Brazil, distributed a total prize pool of $250,000 and awarded two direct spots to VALORANT Champions 2026.
Following the conclusion of the stage, organizers held the group-stage draw for VALORANT Champions 2026. In the opening round, 100 Thieves will face T1, while defending world champions NRG will play against Nongshim RedForce. The group stage begins on September 24. The remaining opening-round matchups are JD Gaming against FUT Esports, Global Esports against Team Vitality, LOUD against EDward Gaming, TYLOO against G2 Esports, Team Liquid against Paper Rex, and Karmine Corp against XLG Esports.
Participants were divided into four pools based on regional seeding, with each group receiving one team from every pool. Teams from the same region were not drawn together. In the opening matches, first seeds faced fourth seeds, and second seeds played third seeds. All series are best-of-three, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the playoffs. VALORANT Champions 2026 will take place from September 24 to October 18 in Shanghai, China, where sixteen teams will compete for a $2,250,000 prize pool.
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