G2 Esports' miracle run at Champions Shanghai 2026 ends in the semifinals

G2 Esports entered this year’s VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai edition with low expectations. Rumors about Andrej "babybay" Francisty and Jacob "valyn" Batio's departure circulated before the event, and they seemed like the final step toward the team's collapse after struggling in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2.

But miracles are possible, and this roster has proven everyone wrong. G2 took down one team after another and fought their way out of a group with Team Liquid and Paper Rex, looking in their best shape in months.

Good stories don’t always have good endings, though. 100 Thieves, the favorites to win it all, took down G2 in the semifinal and wrote the words “THE END” over the beautiful story of "China's fifth seed."

The last dance for this G2 roster

This was almost certainly the last time we'd see this lineup play together under the same banner, with babybay and valyn rumored to depart as G2 looks to rebuild for next year. However, they ended their journey together in a great way, putting up a strong fight against the tournament favorite, 100 Thieves.

G2 started strong with a win on their map pick, Lotus, reigniting hope. A strong performance from the two players who had been struggling the most, Alexander "jawgemo" Mor and Nathan "leaf" Orf, gave fans hope of a possible upset in this Bo3. However, 100 Thieves’ consistency throughout the series was on another level.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Champions Shanghai

100 Thieves

2

X

1

G2 Esports

Lower Bracket Round 3 of 4, Best of 3 - October 16, 2026 - 10:00AM

10

Lotus

13

13

Ascent

10

13

Summit

7

100 Thieves

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Cryocells

1.21

243

59/42/11

+17

1.40

69.9%

156.3

29%

42%

8

11

bang

1.15

214

51/45/26

+6

1.13

77.2%

144.6

35%

50%

4

4

Timotino

1.12

239

51/49/20

+2

1.04

69.5%

156.2

26%

50%

11

11

Asuna

0.86

164

40/47/19

-7

0.85

67.2%

106.8

26%

40%

4

6

vora

0.78

141

34/48/22

-14

0.71

68.5%

94.4

28%

43%

3

4

G2 Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

leaf

1.11

233

53/51/19

+2

1.04

74.3%

146.4

30%

53%

9

8

trent

1.07

209

50/41/21

+9

1.22

80.1%

138.2

36%

50%

1

1

babybay

0.98

206

47/46/16

+1

1.02

74.1%

134.8

25%

58%

11

8

valyn

0.97

167

39/45/30

-6

0.87

75.1%

106.2

25%

56%

5

4

jawgemo

0.85

184

42/52/12

-10

0.81

66.6%

128.7

32%

53%

10

9

After a shaky map one, 100 Thieves regained control on Ascent thanks to strong performances from Matthew "Cryocells" Dylan Panganiban and Sean "bang" Bezerra, who were the best performers on the final two maps, finishing with 59 and 51 kills, respectively. Despite losing control of the series, G2 refused to go down without a fight.

They kept the game competitive on Ascent and showed the same resilience that had carried them through the tournament. The gap that had looked so wide on paper before the event was nowhere to be seen, as G2 once again proved their run to the semifinals wasn't a fluke.

A glorious elimination

In the end, 100 Thieves had too much firepower and consistency for G2 to overcome for a second time in a row, as they learned from their previous meeting and made the necessary adjustments to avoid the same mistakes.

The loss ends what looked like an unlikely Champions run only a few weeks ago, but it doesn't take away from what this roster managed to do in Shanghai. G2 arrived at Champions with questions about its future and can now exit from the tournament with their heads held high after reaching the top 4.

Even if this was the final chapter for this lineup, babybay, valyn, and the rest of G2 can look back at Shanghai knowing they turned a season that seemed destined to fall apart into a deep international run.

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Featured Image by Yicun Liu/Riot Games