Team Vitality defeats top seed Global Esports 2-1, while LOUD sweeps local favorites EDward Gaming 2-0. Day two of the group stage at Valorant Champions 2026 in Shanghai is packed with action.
Since September 24, 16 teams have been battling it out at the Jing'an Sports Center for the most important title of the Valorant season. Today, September 26, Group B featured two genuine blockbusters: First, Pacific top seed Global Esports had to concede defeat to Team Vitality, then Americas representative LOUD swept Chinese local favorites EDward Gaming on their home turf.
How did Team Vitality knock top seed Global Esports out of the group stage?
Global Esports entered the tournament as the number one seed from the Pacific region and was generally considered the favorite against the Europeans from Team Vitality. That didn't materialize: Vitality snatched the first map, Abyss, with a 13:10 score, had to give up Ascent 9:13 to Global Esports, and narrowly decided the series on the decider map Summit with a 13:11 victory. The result: a genuine upset to kick things off, demonstrating how close the group stage in Shanghai is.
How dominant was LOUD's win against local favorites EDward Gaming?
For LOUD, on the other hand, things went according to plan. The Brazilians swept EDward Gaming 2-0 in front of their home crowd in Shanghai: 13:8 on Lotus, 13:5 on Summit. Newcomer tkzin's performance was particularly memorable: The Duelist celebrated his international debut with three aces (two of them on Lotus alone) and went into halftime with a score of 22 kills, 5 deaths, and 1 assist. EDward Gaming had no answer and now faces a tense journey through the Lower Bracket.
What do the results mean for Group B in Shanghai?
The group stage at Valorant Champions 2026 follows a GSL format: Each of the four groups is a double-elimination bracket, with only the top two teams per group advancing to the playoff bracket. Due to today's results, Team Vitality and LOUD will face each other next in the Group B Winners' Match – the winner will then need only one more victory for direct qualification. Global Esports and EDward Gaming, however, must compete in a direct duel for survival in the tournament; for the loser, the journey at Champions 2026 will end immediately. For those who missed yesterday's opening match of the tournament: Paper Rex defeated Team Liquid 2-1 in the opening match the day before – so Shanghai has been delivering exciting content from day one.
From our perspective, Vitality's victory against Global Esports is the bigger surprise of the day: As the Pacific top seed, GES likely expected a calmer opening series – instead, they are now battling through the Lower Bracket, while Vitality enters the Winners' Match with confidence.
Source: VLR.gg (Global Esports vs. Team Vitality), VLR.gg (LOUD vs. EDward Gaming)
How do you rate Vitality's and LOUD's chances for the rest of the tournament? Let us know in the comments!
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