VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai hit the first of two decider days on October 3, and Group C is already settled. G2 Esports beat Team Liquid 2-0 — Split 13-10, Abyss 13-7 — locking the second Americas playoff ticket out of Group C and ending Liquid’s Champions run. Later the same day, Nongshim RedForce beat Karmine Corp 2-1 in the Group D decider — Sunset KC 13-9, Summit NS 13-5, Haven NS 13-6 — booking the last Group D playoff berth and ending KC’s Champions run.
This Day 9 guide locks the finished G2–Liquid series from VLR’s Group C decider page and esports.gg’s same-day deciders write-up, locks the finished KC–NS series from VLR’s Group D page, and maps what still sits between Shanghai’s groups and the October 7 playoffs.
Catch-up reading if you missed midweek: Day 8 eliminations (Oct 2) — GE 2-0 EDG, T1 2-1 JDG, Day 7 eliminations (Oct 1) — Liquid 2-1 TYLOO, NS 2-0 XLG, Day 6 winners (Sept 30) — Vitality 2-0 LOUD, 100T 2-0 FUT, Day 5 winners (Sept 29) — PRX 2-1 G2, NRG 2-1 KC.
How a Champions decider day works
Champions Shanghai uses a classic GSL double-elimination group. By Day 9, every group has already produced its upper-bracket playoff team:
- Group A: 100 Thieves locked; FUT waits for T1 in the Oct 4 decider.
- Group B: Vitality locked; LOUD waits for Global Esports in the Oct 4 decider.
- Group C: Paper Rex locked; G2 just beat Liquid for the second berth.
- Group D: NRG locked; KC and NS are fighting for the second berth today.
Group C decider: G2 Esports 2-0 Team Liquid — FINAL
Series scoreboard
Series: G2 Esports 2-0 Team Liquid. Aggregate rounds: G2 26, Liquid 17.
Map veto (VLR + esports.gg)
- Team Liquid ban Sunset
- G2 ban Haven
- Team Liquid pick Split (G2 start defense)
- G2 pick Abyss (Liquid start defense)
- Team Liquid ban Summit
- G2 ban Lotus
- Ascent remains (unused)
Split: G2 steal Liquid’s pick 13-10
Split looked like Liquid’s map for a long stretch. Per esports.gg’s recap, Liquid took both pistols and punched G2’s economy with an eco win in round 6. They held the attacking-half lead and started the second half cleanly enough that a Liquid map win felt like the baseline script for a Group C decider.
G2 answered with the same move — an eco win to stabilize — then flipped the scoreboard with late clutches. Trent “trent” Cairns and Jacob “valyn” Batio converted decisive rounds 20 and 21. The map closed 13-10 for G2 after a run of final-moment duels and number-disadvantage recoveries. Stealing your opponent’s map pick in a decider is usually series-defining. Here it was.
VLR’s Split box score backs the eye test: trent posted a 1.56 ACS-heavy half on the map that mattered most, while Liquid’s individual bright spots (Kicks, kamo) never turned into enough late-round closes. Liquid kept generating openings. G2 kept winning the last duel.
Abyss: G2 close 13-7 and book playoffs
Abyss started the same way Split did — Liquid pistols, early conversions, a temporary lead — and then collapsed. esports.gg flags Alexander “jawgemo” Mor as the clutch spine of the map, starting with round 7 and peaking late, including a one-bullet duel win in round 17. Trent saved a streak in round 8. Nathan “leaf” Orf won a 1v2 post-plant in round 9. A tricky bombsite rotation turned the second pistol for G2.
Liquid still found attacking rounds and applied some economic pressure in the second half. It was not enough. G2 closed Abyss 13-7, finished the series 2-0, and advanced to the Champions Shanghai playoffs. Liquid are eliminated.
What this series means for both sides
For G2, Day 9 is redemption after the Day 5 winners-match loss to Paper Rex. Their group path was clean early — a confident 2-0 over TYLOO with a 13-3 Sunset — then a close PRX series dumped them into the decider. Beating Liquid without needing Ascent turns that lower-bracket path into a playoff berth and keeps an Americas side that already showed Masters Santiago top-four form alive into the October 7 bracket.
For Team Liquid, the exit fits a brutal group script. They opened with a loss to Paper Rex, clawed through the Day 7 elimination against TYLOO (2-1) including a 13-2 Lotus, and still could not convert the decider. Roster refreshes across June and September 2026 did not produce a Champions playoff appearance. The Split map they chose became the map that ended them.
Group D decider: Nongshim RedForce 2-1 Karmine Corp — FINAL
Series scoreboard
Series: Nongshim RedForce 2-1 Karmine Corp. Haven closed 13-6 for NS after about 41 minutes. VLR match header flipped to final 1-2 with KC on the left / NS on the right — NS take Group D’s second playoff berth; KC are eliminated.
Map veto (VLR + esports.gg)
- Karmine Corp ban Split
- Nongshim ban Lotus
- Karmine Corp pick Sunset (NS start defense)
- Nongshim pick Summit (KC start defense)
- Karmine Corp ban Abyss
- Nongshim ban Ascent
- Haven remains
Sunset: KC take their pick 13-9
Sunset was the map esports.gg called beautiful VALORANT — early fights, aggressive peeks, close clutches. Nongshim won the opening pistol off a Park “Ivy” Sung-hyeon 1v2, then KC seized the round-by-round rhythm. When KC pushed toward map point, NS clawed back with patient attacking executes. Goo “Rb” Sang-min’s multi-kill plant defense in round 20 kept NS alive even after Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey won the final duel too late to defuse.
KC still closed it. The last round wiped NS quickly, and Sunset finished 13-9 for Karmine Corp. VLR’s half ledger matches the story: KC 7/6, NS 5/4. N4RRATE and SUYGETSU led the KC board on the map; NS never found a sustained answer once rifles settled.
Summit: NS equalize 13-5
Nongshim’s map pick answered hard. Summit lasted about 45 minutes and ended 13-5 for NS. VLR’s half split is the blunt version: KC 5/0, NS 7/6. That is a first-half KC stall followed by an NS second-half finish that never let the series feel two maps deep. Dambi, Ivy, and Xross were the names popping on the NS side of the Summit board; KC’s Sunset heroes could not recreate the same gunfight quality on the Pacific pick.
Series tied 1-1. Haven decides Group D.
Haven: NS close 13-6 and book playoffs
Haven decided Group D. Nongshim carried a first-half lead into map point territory and closed 13-6 (map duration about 41:26 on VLR). Series final: NS 2-1.
That result continues a strong international year for Nongshim — Masters Santiago champions and Esports World Cup top three — and ends Karmine Corp’s rebuilt 2026 Champions bid one map short of the playoffs. KC’s Sunset form was real. NS’s Summit and Haven answers were better when the series went the distance.
How both teams reached the decider
Karmine Corp opened Champions by beating Xi Lai Gaming, including a 13-3 Sunset, then lost the Group D winners match to NRG. That put them into today’s must-win. Their path into Shanghai itself was the surprise EMEA Stage 2 breakthrough after signing three new players for 2026.
Nongshim RedForce opened with a 0-2 loss to NRG, then survived the Day 7 elimination against XLG (2-0) on two tight 13-11 maps. Pacific’s Stage 2 runner-up is one Haven win from another Champions playoff appearance — or one Haven loss from a group-stage exit after a year of international medals.
Updated group picture after Day 9 (partial)
Group C — locked
- Paper Rex — playoff-locked (winners path).
- G2 Esports — playoff-locked via decider 2-0 over Team Liquid.
- Team Liquid — eliminated.
- TYLOO — eliminated (Day 7).
Group D — locked
- NRG — playoff-locked (winners path).
- Nongshim RedForce — playoff-locked via decider 2-1 over Karmine Corp.
- Karmine Corp — eliminated.
- Xi Lai Gaming — eliminated (Day 7).
Still undecided on Oct 4
- Group A decider: FUT Esports vs T1.
- Group B decider: LOUD vs Global Esports.
What Day 9 changes about the playoff conversation
G2’s 2-0 is the cleanest Americas result of the lower path so far. They did not need a third map. They stole Liquid’s Split and then won their own Abyss by a six-round margin. That is a different look from the close PRX series that sent them down, and it is the version of G2 that other playoff teams have to scout.
The Group D Haven map was the opposite kind of story: one map, winner to playoffs, loser to the airport. KC’s Sunset form was real. NS’s Summit and Haven answers decided which identity survives Shanghai.
If you are tracking China / Pacific / EMEA narratives from earlier in the week, remember the Day 8 wipe of EDG and JDG already ended the host region’s run. Day 9 is about Americas locking a second Group C ticket and EMEA/Pacific finishing Group D.
Score discipline note
Every finished score in this article was re-checked against VLR match pages 753458 (G2 vs TL) and 753463 (KC vs NS) plus the esports.gg Day 9 deciders recap on October 3. Both Day 9 deciders are final on VLR.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the Group C decider on October 3?
G2 Esports beat Team Liquid 2-0. Split finished 13-10 and Abyss finished 13-7. G2 advance to the Champions Shanghai playoffs. Liquid are eliminated.
What was the G2 vs Liquid map veto?
Liquid banned Sunset, G2 banned Haven, Liquid picked Split, G2 picked Abyss, Liquid banned Summit, G2 banned Lotus, and Ascent remained unused after the 2-0.
Is the Karmine Corp vs Nongshim series finished?
Yes. Nongshim RedForce won 2-1. Sunset KC 13-9, Summit NS 13-5, Haven NS 13-6. Confirmed on VLR.
What does the winner of KC vs NS get?
Nongshim take Group D’s second playoff berth. NRG already locked the group’s first berth through the winners path. Karmine Corp are eliminated from Champions 2026.
Which teams are already in the Shanghai playoffs?
Paper Rex, NRG, Team Vitality, 100 Thieves, G2 Esports, and Nongshim RedForce. FUT/T1 and LOUD/GE decide the last two berths on October 4.
When do Champions Shanghai playoffs start?
Playoffs begin October 7. The Grand Final is scheduled for October 18 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
Where can I see the earlier group-stage days?
Start with Day 8, Day 7, Day 6, and Day 5. Those posts lock the elimination and winners results that set up today’s deciders.
Did Liquid take a map off G2?
No. Liquid led stretches of Split and opened Abyss with pistols, but they lost both maps. The series ended 2-0 without Ascent.
Who are the standout names from G2’s win?
esports.gg’s recap highlights trent and valyn clutches on Split and jawgemo / leaf clutches on Abyss. VLR’s scoreboard backs trent as the series ACS leader.
What matches are left in the group stage?
October 4 hosts the Group B decider (LOUD vs Global Esports) and the Group A decider (FUT Esports vs T1). After those two series, the playoff eight is complete.
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