Masters Santiago First-Seeds: Comparing Key Stats of the 2026 Kickoff Winners

No one could have expected the four regional Kickoff winners of 2026. Even if just one of the four had emerged victorious, that would still have been hard to believe. Instead, this year saw the BBL PCIFIC roster, a newly ascended roster competing under the BBL banner, dominate the competition in EMEA, and two middle-of-the-pack teams in 2025, Nongshim RedForce and All Gamers, reinvent themselves to claim their first trophy in Pacific and China respectively. Yet the real star of the show is FURIA, an organisation that lost almost every game last season. In a complete reversal of expectations, the Furia rebuild tore through the Upper Bracket in Americas to claim the organisation's first trophy.

As unexpected as the outcome of the Kickoff bracket was, it would be unfair to call any four of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026-bound first seeds' victories a fluke. Almost every team was statistically the best in their region. Stacking the numbers up against one another from Nongshim's clear attack round proficiency to FURIA's incredible Split round winrate, here is a breakdown of the key statistics from Santiago's first seeds.

FURIA: From worst to best in the region

The new kings of Americas certainly have the stats to back their rise to stardom. FURIA boast the highest attack round winrate in the region at 57.81%, looking extremely well drilled under the leadership of Arthur "artzin" Araujo, a player who finds himself in the IGL spot once again. The team has an impressive pistol round win rate at 69.23%, the second highest in the region, once again speaking to the team's strong preparation.

Throughout Kickoff, FURIA made Split and Abyss their homeground, winning all three games played on each map. In particular, FURIA's stats on Split prove their dominance on the map, having a 74.7% attack and 67.9% defense win rate on the map. With a week of extra preparation compared to the Swiss Stage teams, FURIA's fine-tuning of their most proven maps could lead to an even more dangerous team.

BBL: Fearless all the way to the top

This BBL roster has been grinding in Tier 2 for the past two years, coming close to the Ascension trophy in VCT 2024 - Ascension: EMEA and finally lifting the following year. Throughout their time, and even coming into VCT, one simple mantra has carried them through their victories: they are not afraid to face anyone.

That attitude showed during Kickoff, carrying them through a spectacular run through the upper bracket, and is reflected in the statistics: at a 53.23% attack and 56.52% defense winrate, the rookies have the second-highest and highest winrates respectively.

Unlike FURIA who have select maps which they are highly comfortable on, BBL's map pool is spread across all seven, while winning all their games on Breeze and Pearl. Their use of Yoru on every map is what potentially allows for such an even spread, with Umut "lovers rock" Pekdoğan being exceptional on the agent.

Nongshim RedForce: fueled by pure aggression

Nongshim's time in VCT Pacific was cut short in 2025 when they were relegated to VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Ascension Pacific having failed to secure qualification to VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions. Climbing back up and winning the Ascension trophy once again, Nongshim looked hungrier to do make an impact on Pacific during their second stint, starting their year off strong with the Kickoff trophy.

That hunger is truly reflected in their playstyle, being unafraid to hit their opponents hard on their attack rounds. Nongshim have a whopping 66.42% attack round winrate, the highest across all four regions. The next highest was not even close at 61.21% from T1, the second Pacific representative at Santiago. Looks like Pacific still has the most aggressive teams by far!

Nongshim's absolutely impressive 70.83% pistol winrate must also be mentioned, also being the highest across all four regions. Almost always starting with an advantage going into halves allows Nongshim the chance to snowball rounds to singlehandedly take maps off their opponents, especially with their aggressive playstyle.

Taking BBL's Yoru-wide approach to the next level, Nongshim have been running Yoru and Neon on every single map they have played, with both duelists powering Nongshim's aggression. One player in particular is pivotal to the style of the team: Lee "Dambi" Hyuk-kyu, Nongshim's Neon player. Sliding into sites with shotguns, rifles, or any weapon in his hand, Dambi never fails to crack open sites for his team.

All Gamers: standing atop of China

All Gamers have slowly and quietly upgraded their roster throughout their time in VCT China. A consistent 5-6th team in China, the organisation truly skyrocketed this Kickoff. Despite their success in the region, AG was never statistically the best team in the tournament. Their 48.32% defense winrate is the second-best in the region, yet have a middling attack winrate at 46.98% and below average pistol winrate at 45.83%.

In terms of map pool, All Gamers have an impressive Split that somewhat alleviates their overall stats, winning 3 out of 3 of their games with convincing attack and defense winrates at 55.6% and 61.3% respectively. If All Gamers can take advantage of the month they have in between Kickoff and refine the other maps in their pool, they might be able to look competitive as China's first seed heading into Santiago.

Looking at the stats, FURIA and BBL look like the most statistically impressive teams, leading their respective regions in attack and defense winrates. Meanwhile, Nongshim shines on attack and pistol, having the highest winrates in the world in those categories. All Gamers pales slightly in comparison, but the extra week they have for preparation compared to the other three teams might be crucial to get their game up to par and do damage in the playoffs in Santiago.

Catch these teams in Santiago when playoffs start on 6 March! For more VALORANT analysis, tune into THESPIKE.GG.