G2 Esports reclaim the throne: VCT Americas 2026 Stage 1 champions

A full week after every other region wrapped up their Stage 1 tournaments, VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1 has finally drawn to a close, and G2 Esports have reminded the world exactly why they're the benchmark for this region. With a hard-fought Grand Finals victory over Leviatán, G2 claimed their fourth Americas title and booked their ticket to VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026 as the top seed.

A Five-Map Thriller in the Grand Finals

If fans wanted drama, the Grand Finals delivered in full. G2 and Leviatan were locked in a near-equal battle from the very first map, setting the stage for one of the most competitive series in recent Americas history.

G2 drew first blood on Fracture, edging out a 14-12 overtime win. It was unmistakably the Nathan "leaf" Orf and Trent "trent" Cairns show, with both players racking up 24 kills apiece to give their side the early advantage. Leviatan hit back immediately on Haven, where Brazilians Guilherme "blowz" Oliveira and Eduardo "Sato" Nagahama turned in standout performances on defence to secure a composed 13-11 win and level the series at 1-1.

Ascent tilted things further in Leviatan's favor. Despite leaf and Sato both playing at a high level, Lev managed to close it out 13-9 and take a 2-1 series lead. G2 steadied the ship on Pearl, with Alexander "jawgemo" Mor stepping up to help his team grind out a 13-10 win and force a decider.

Split was the final battleground, and it went the distance just as the crowd would have wanted. Regulation ran its full course before G2 found their footing, with jawgemo delivering some incredible clutch plays at the end to help his team close it out 13-11 and claim the championship.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 1

Leviatán

2

X

3

G2 Esports

Grand Final, Best of 5 - May 24, 2026 - 9:00PM

12

Fracture

14

13

Haven

11

13

Ascent

9

10

Pearl

13

11

Split

13

Leviatán

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Sato

1.17

227

94/88/41

+6

1.07

77.5%

151.8

31%

69%

20

9

Neon

1.08

208

91/72/29

+19

1.26

72.3%

141.7

28%

55%

12

10

blowz

1.04

212

84/69/36

+15

1.22

84.2%

150.1

33%

88%

7

1

spikeziN

0.98

212

87/97/21

-10

0.90

67.5%

119.8

17%

52%

25

23

kiNgg

0.94

171

76/75/42

+1

1.01

77.9%

116.1

27%

54%

7

6

G2 Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

leaf

1.06

208

87/87/43

0

1.00

70.8%

142.2

22%

22%

5

18

jawgemo

1.05

217

89/89/31

0

1.00

68.8%

136.4

18%

52%

22

20

trent

0.90

181

75/84/35

-9

0.89

77.3%

129.6

32%

45%

5

6

babybay

0.89

189

77/90/27

-13

0.86

70.5%

124.0

21%

52%

11

10

valyn

0.88

167

73/82/40

-9

0.89

70.2%

108.3

29%

26%

6

17

What This Means Going Forward

G2 may have missed out on a second three-peat after finishing second at Kickoff, but this Stage 1 title firmly re-establishes their dominance at the top of the Americas. Heading into Masters London as the top seed, they earn a direct playoff spot—a meaningful advantage given that Americas teams are already arriving a week behind every other region. The rest of the Americas field will need to fight through the Swiss Stage with virtually no breathing room.

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

Featured Image Source: Riot Games