G2 valyn on facing elimination from Stage 2: “We need to earn it back for ourselves”

The VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2 Play-Ins continue, and things are already taking a turn for some teams. One squad with a lot of eyes on them is G2 Esports, who, for the first time in a long time, aren’t guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs.

In their opening Play-Ins match against FURIA, G2’s defense was lacking to the point that they couldn’t close out the match. THESPIKE had the opportunity to speak to G2’s IGL, Jacob "valyn" Batio, after the game to discuss the loss and the team facing elimination from Stage 2.

A close brawl

While FURIA had a catastrophic start to Stage 2, going 0-5 in the Group Stage, they are putting up a much better fight in the Play-Ins, defeating 2GAME Esports and now G2. The FURIA and G2 battle was a close one, with plenty of back-and-forth between the teams.

The one thing valyn identified in the matchup was that G2 lost their spark on defense on both Haven and Breeze.

THESPIKE: Were you expecting such a close match against FURIA?

valyn: "Yeah, definitely. We expected it to be a close game. I think they found their footing in the recent weeks, changing to Neon and Phoenix a lot, so we knew it was going to be a hard game. We were saying going into it to just expect it. Not in a scary way, but we were ready to fight.

For the most part, I think we played pretty good. I felt like this loss kind of came down to us playing too indecisively on defense. We had pretty good attack halves on Haven and Breeze, and we were able to apply all the things we know in those situations.

But when it came to some of the defensive situations, we just stumbled on our feet and felt really unsure of what to do against them. So, I mean, that's maybe credit to them for playing in a good way, but honestly, it feels like we just kind of messed ourselves over."

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Stage 2

G2 Esports

1

X

2

FURIA

Upper Bracket Quarter Final, Best of 3 - August 16, 2026 - 9:00PM

14

Split

12

10

Haven

13

9

Breeze

13

G2 Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

leaf

1.17

230

59/52/20

+7

1.13

72.4%

146.1

23%

62%

8

5

trent

1.00

188

47/43/23

+4

1.09

74.6%

135.8

33%

78%

7

2

jawgemo

0.89

199

45/55/21

-10

0.82

65.7%

127.4

19%

42%

11

15

valyn

0.86

181

42/52/22

-10

0.81

74.5%

119.2

27%

25%

3

9

babybay

0.55

127

30/54/10

-24

0.56

60.5%

87.4

15%

55%

6

5

FURIA

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

koalanoob

1.14

247

61/54/13

+7

1.13

73.1%

147.9

24%

67%

16

8

basic

1.14

221

56/44/21

+12

1.27

82.3%

142.6

22%

39%

7

11

artzin

1.10

188

44/43/39

+1

1.02

79.2%

118.9

30%

56%

5

4

C0M

1.03

193

51/38/19

+13

1.34

80.1%

131.8

25%

63%

5

3

Shyy

0.90

185

44/44/22

0

1.00

78.6%

126.8

24%

25%

3

9

Facing elimination from Stage 2 and Champs

Last year, G2 was the first team across all regions to qualify to VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions through Championship Points. This time around, they are one loss away from being eliminated from Stage 2 and missing Champions Shanghai entirely.

Even though they are rarely in this position, valyn thinks the experience will benefit them in the long run.

THESPIKE: You're now in the lower bracket and facing elimination. How do you look at the situation?

valyn: "Obviously, it sucks when we haven't really had the experience of being this far down.

On a positive note, though, I think it's still an improvement for us. Ever since VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026 and EWC - Esports World Cup 2026, we've been trying to find ourselves again. I feel like every game we're getting better at something that we focus on during the week, but then what makes us lose is other small details that we thought used to be good but kind of fall off because we haven't had that much focus on them.

So it feels like a cycle of trying to improve. My hope is that every day, every match, we can try to put it all together and show our best selves. [...] Hopefully, it makes us even greater for Champions potentially, if we end up making it, because I think it'll pay off eventually."

THESPIKE: How do you look at the Tier 2 teams that you will face now that you're in the lower bracket? Do you see them as a threat?

valyn: "Every team is here for a reason. They're all threats in their own ways.

I don't think we're at a super confident point either where we feel like, "Oh, we'll just beat anybody." Every match, we're trying to earn it and rebuild ourselves into a spot where we can be confident going into any matchup.

Right now, I think any matchup for us is just something we treat as a hard game. It doesn't matter who it is. We've always given respect to our opponents, but right now it really feels like we need to earn it back for ourselves."

THESPIKE: Do you think being this close to missing an international event creates a new mindset in the team? Is that something everyone has to process?

valyn: "I mean, yes, it definitely creates thoughts. People are people, and humans are always going to think about some of the negatives.

But our team culture and the way that we try to approach these losses is to just be fighters. Don't give up on each other. That's the worst thing you can do."

Tougher competition in the Americas

In total, G2 have won four regional trophies over the last two years. They have constantly been at the top of the region and secured one international appearance after another. This year, however, other teams are rising to the top and beating G2, the region's previous champions.

THESPIKE : Do you feel like the overall competition in the Americas is getting harder with teams like 100 Thieves and Leviatán rising to the top?

valyn: "One hundred percent. This whole year, the teams were better than in previous years. It was just a matter of time until they all got their experience together.

100T at the beginning of the year was kind of decent, but they weren't that insane. With some time, they became good. I mean, same with all the guys on Leviatán. It was just a matter of time. Now they're able to show off their full potential, which is great for them.

I think for us, it's a combination of us not being as good as we used to be in some moments and other teams getting better. That's why we're not as dominant as before."

Fixing the defense side

G2’s next matchup is against the Tier 2 team M80 on August 20. Until then, valyn wants to focus on fixing their defense, as that was the main issue against FURIA. He also wants to remind his teammates that, even though they lost, he is happy with parts of their performance.

THESPIKE: Is the plan for the next matchup to get the confidence back and fix some of the smaller issues?

valyn: "Yeah. The plan for the next match is just to keep doing the good things we did this week in practice, but also have a bigger focus on the way our brains work on defense. I think we're being a bit too hesitant, and we're not sure of our place. There are other things, but that's for us to work out together.

We're just going to have that big focus and not forget the good things we do. Because when you lose, sometimes it really feels like you forget all the good things you've done.

I'm going to make sure the boys know, like, "Hey, it wasn't too bad. Just a couple of fixes here and there and we'll be much better.""

For more VCT interviews, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

Featured image source: Riot Games & THESPIKE.