From Haven to Bind: The best team on every map at Masters Santiago

A key win condition at global events like VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026 is having a strong map pool. Time and time again, teams with shallow pools fall short against squads with deeper reps across all maps. Of course, no team can dominate every map but being solid across most of them can take you deep in a tournament. It’s also crucial to understand your opponents’ weaknesses: do you want to avoid certain maps, or are you confident enough to challenge them on their home turf?

We analyzed the maps played at Masters Santiago and put together the top-performing team on each map. These squads thrived across the seven-map pool at the event.

Haven - G2 Esports

• Attack win rate: 76%
• Defence win rate: 48%

Haven was one of the most-played maps at the event, appearing eleven times. The team that found the most success here was G2 Esports. They picked Haven four times and won every single one. Two wins came during the Swiss Stage against XLG Esports and T1, with the other two in playoffs against BBL Esports and Paper Rex. No other team came close to having the same kind of record on Haven as G2.

G2’s strength lies on attack, where they posted a 76% win rate. Their double-Duelist comp, with Nathan "leaf" Orf on Yoru and Alexander "jawgemo" Mor dominating on Phoenix, was nearly impossible to shut down.

Split - Paper Rex

• Attack win rate: 60%
• Defence win rate: 55%

Split was also played eleven times. Paper Rex heavily favored the map, picking it four times and playing it twice as a decider. Out of six total appearances, they won five. Even though Split wasn't PRX’s first choice in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Pacific Kickoff, it quickly became their favorite at Santiago.

Their double-duelist setup, with Ilya "something" Petrov on Yoru and Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie on Raze, proved effective almost every time. Jiggs Adrian "invy" Reyes also found consistent value on Fade. PRX’s strongest side was attack at 60%, but their defense held up well too. The only team to take them down on Split was Nongshim RedForce in the grand final, where PRX fell 3–0.

Pearl - NRG

• Attack win rate: 61%
• Defence win rate: 57%

NRG were the standout team on Pearl. The map was played nine times during the event, with NRG accounting for four of those. They ended with a 100% win rate on the map. A standout fact was that three of the four matches were against PRX: once in Swiss and twice in playoffs.

Even after PRX adjusted their comps following the first loss, NRG continued to come out on top. Instead of running a double-Duelist comp like some of the other teams, NRG leaned on Ethan "Ethan" Cole Arnold’s Tejo pick to support Adam "mada" Pampuch on Waylay, enabling strong space-taking.

Corrode - Nongshim Redforce

• Attack win rate: 62%
• Defence win rate: 53%

Corrode were played seven times and the team with the best record on the map was Nongshim Redforce. They picked the map three times and won them all, making their winrate on the map 100%. PRX also secured three wins on Corrode but dropped two matches, leaving them at 60%.

Lee "Dambi" Hyuk-kyu was a key factor in NS’s success on Corrode. His Neon entries averaged six first bloods per map, making him incredibly difficult to contain. This also resulted in NS being the strongest on the attack side, having a 62% win rate.

Abyss - G2 Esports

• Attack win rate: 58%
• Defence win rate: 75%

Abyss was another strong map for G2. Out of nine total games played, G2 accounted for three and won all of them. Their 3–0 record made them the best team on the map.

Their comp featured two controllers and two duelists, notably skipping a sentinel entirely. Jacob "valyn" Batio’s Harbor had a huge impact, and while other teams tried to replicate the setup, none found the same success. G2’s defense was especially dominant, boasting a 75% win rate.

NS also performed well on Abyss with wins over NRG and PRX, but G2’s victory over the Pacific top seed sealed their spot as the top team on the map.

Breeze - Paper Rex

• Attack win rate: 66%
• Defence win rate: 61%

Alongside Split, Breeze was another map dominated by PRX. They played it three times and won every match. PRX were strong on both sides, maintaining over a 60% win rate on attack and defense.

Breeze is the only map where we saw something on Jett and Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto on Yoru. The duo made a massive impact, with f0rsakeN showcasing his flexibility. The three teams falling on Breeze against PRX were all the teams from the Americas—G2, NRG, and CES Wolves. All of them had wins against other teams but could not compete against PRX.

Bind - T1

• Attack win rate: 91%
• Defence win rate: 100%

Bind was the least-played map at Masters Santiago, appearing only five times. Since each team only secured a single win on the map, the top performer came down to scoreline.

T1 stood out with a dominant showing against EDward Gaming, crushing them 13–1. This resulted in extremely high attack and defense win rates. Bind was one of T1’s strongest maps in Kickoff, where they ended with a 3-0 record. They played the same comp at both events. Yu "BuZz" Byung-chul led the charge on Waylay, and the entire squad delivered, overwhelming the Chinese side with sheer firepower.

Strong map pool brings success

One common trend across all maps is that the top-performing teams are strongest on attack. The ability to consistently execute game plans gives teams a clear edge. Across the seven maps, only two regions are represented at the top. Three Pacific teams and two from the Americas dominate the pool, with four of them finishing in the top four at the event.

That’s all the proof you need—a deep and reliable map pool is a major key to going far.

New map pool incoming

With Masters Santiago wrapped up, all eyes turn to Stage 1. Patch 12.05 introduced changes to the map pool: Abyss and Corrode are out, while Fracture and Lotus return. Lotus comes back with several updates, particularly on A site, aimed at reducing spam and improving overall map flow.

With two maps entering the rotation, teams have plenty of work ahead as they prep for the next VCT event.

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

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