It was a battle between the last two kings of VCT, with G2 Esports facing off against FNATIC.
The record between the two teams is tied at one, with their last encounter taking place at Red Bulls Home Ground 2024, where G2 Esports emerged victorious.
Both teams fought for a chance to face Wolves Esports in the loser’s final, which was one step closer to the grand finals.
Heading into the match, G2 Esports would have the first map pick, Lotus.
Lotus had been G2’s best map, as this season they played Lotus 13 times and have a win rate of 85 per cent, in comparison to FNATIC, who have a similar win rate of 83 per cent but have only played the map 6 times.
So heading into map one, they felt pretty confident in their ability to win this map, as they had more experience playing the map.
G2 would enter with a slow start, letting FNATIC gain the advantage at the start, but they would quickly make it an even affair as they ended the first half with a tie, 6-6.
Though it was tied, FNATIC’s Chronicle would be leading the pack on the defensive side with 16 kills, 9 deaths and 6 assists.
Going into the second half, FNATIC would take the lead, but G2 would make sure the EMEA champions fought for it.
Unfortunately for G2, they wouldn’t be able to mount a comeback, FNATIC would win the map, and Chronicle would get map MVP with a total of 27 kills, 13 deaths and 10 assists.
Heading into map two, the VCT Americas stage one champs would need to win the next map to keep their dreams of a grand final alive.
However, they wouldn’t have the map advantage, as it was FNATIC’s map pick of Split that would be the decider between an elimination or another breath of life for G2 Esports.
G2 Esports would get a strong start on the defensive side during the first half and earn themselves the lead, showing that even with a win rate of 56 per cent on Split, they can show up when it matters.
Going into the half, G2’s Leaf would have a strong showing before the switch with 14 kills, 11 deaths and two assists.
G2 would be on the attacking side this time and would win the first round of the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough, as FNATIC would lock in and lockdown on the defensive side and get the win.
FNATIC’s Alfajar would get map MVP with 21 kills, 13 deaths, 7 assists and would earn Match MVP with 46 kills, 27 deaths, and 9 assists.
With this win, they advanced to the Losers' final and would face Wolves Esports in the first Best of 5 match of the tournament.
As for the VCT Americas champions, they were eliminated but will keep their heads high as they had already qualified for VCT Champions in Paris.