Team Vitality knocked out top seed Global Esports with a 2-1 victory, and LOUD swept local favorite EDward Gaming 2-0. The second day of the Group Stage at Valorant Champions 2026 in Shanghai was packed with action.
Since September 24th, 16 teams have been battling it out at the Jing’an Sports Center for the most prestigious title of the Valorant season. Today, September 26th, Group B featured two absolute blockbusters: First, Pacific top seed Global Esports fell to Team Vitality, followed by Americas representative LOUD sweeping Chinese local favorite EDward Gaming on their home turf.
How Did Team Vitality Knock Out Top Seed Global Esports from 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 of Team Vitality. But it wasn't to be: Vitality snatched the first map, Abyss, 13-10, had to concede Ascent 9-13 to Global Esports, and narrowly clinched the series 13-11 on the decider map, Summit. The result: a genuine upset to kick things off, showing just how close the competition is in the Shanghai Group Stage.
How Dominantly Did LOUD Win Against Local Favorite EDward Gaming?
For LOUD, on the other hand, things went according to plan. The Brazilians cleanly 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 the break with a halftime 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 These Results Mean for Group B in Shanghai?
The Group Stage at Valorant Champions 2026 operates in 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. Thanks to today's results, Team Vitality and LOUD will next face each other in Group B's Winners' Match – the winner will then need just one more victory for direct qualification. Global Esports and EDward Gaming, however, must battle it out in a direct elimination match to stay in the tournament; for the loser, their journey at Champions 2026 will immediately end. For those who missed yesterday's opening match: Paper Rex had already 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 over Global Esports is particularly the bigger surprise of the day: As the Pacific top seed, GES had actually expected a calmer opening series – instead, they're already nervously fighting their way 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 as the tournament progresses? Let us know in the comments!
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