VALORANT Champions Shanghai playoffs reached Day 4 on Saturday October 10 with both upper-bracket semifinals, and two North American teams went down. LOUD beat the reigning champions NRG 2-1, taking Haven 13-9 and Summit 13-3 around an NRG comeback on Sunset, while Team Vitality swept G2 Esports 2-0, winning Abyss 13-11 after G2 tied it at 11-11 and Split 13-4. The result sets up an Upper Final of Vitality vs LOUD, and it sends NRG and G2 into Lower Round 2 with one life left.
Every score, veto and stat line below comes from the VLR.gg NRG vs LOUD match page, the VLR.gg G2 vs Vitality match page, VLR's LOUD vs NRG recap and the VLR.gg playoff bracket. Round-by-round detail is read from VLR's round log for each map. Patch 13.05. Final scores were also cross-checked against Strafe and rib.gg, which match VLR on every map score; where a third-party number differs from VLR's, we say so.
If you are catching up, our Day 1 recap covers NRG 2-0 T1 and LOUD 2-0 Paper Rex, the Day 2 recap covers G2 2-0 100 Thieves and Vitality 2-1 Nongshim, and the Day 3 recap covers T1 2-1 Paper Rex and 100 Thieves 2-1 Nongshim. Draw logic and format are in the bracket preview.
Day 4 at a Glance
- Upper Semifinal 1 (listed 4:00 AM CT on VLR): LOUD 2-1 NRG. Haven 13-9 LOUD, Sunset 13-10 NRG, Summit 13-3 LOUD. The three maps took 57:43, 49:56 and 37:22.
- Upper Semifinal 2 (listed 7:00 AM CT on VLR): Vitality 2-0 G2. Abyss 13-11 Vitality, Split 13-4 Vitality. Maps took 1:04:40 and 35:37.
- Round totals: LOUD 36, NRG 25 in the first series. Vitality 26, G2 15 in the second.
- Nobody is eliminated today. NRG and G2 move to the lower bracket, where a single loss ends their run. Both still sit above the $50,000 7th-8th row, because the lowest they can finish is 5th-6th for $85,000.
- Regional picture: Americas hold one upper-bracket spot (LOUD) and three of the four lower-bracket spots (NRG, 100 Thieves, G2). Vitality are EMEA's last team and T1 are the last Pacific team.
LOUD 2-1 NRG: Reigning Champions Fall to the Summit Wall
Series scoreboard
Series: LOUD 2-1 NRG. Aggregate rounds: LOUD 36, NRG 25. LOUD took four of the six pistol rounds from VLR's round log (Haven both, Sunset the second half, Summit the first). The series is a rematch of the Americas Stage 2 lower final, which LOUD won 3-2 on September 5, according to VLR's head-to-head list. NRG are the reigning and defending Champions, which is how VLR's recap frames them.
Veto
Per VLR.gg: NRG banned Split, LOUD banned Lotus, NRG picked Haven, LOUD picked Sunset, NRG banned Abyss, LOUD banned Ascent, and Summit remained as the decider. NRG's Haven pick made sense on paper, and VLR's recap calls Haven a historically good map for NRG and a historically weaker one for LOUD. LOUD changed their composition to account for it.
Haven: LOUD 13-9
NRG brought their trademark double-Duelist look: keiko on Chamber, mada on Neon, Ethan on Phoenix, brawk on Sova and skuba on Omen. LOUD went lukxo on Chamber, tkzin on Neon, erde on Omen, Darker on Viper and DaviH on Sova.
LOUD won the pistol round and stole the bonus round for a 2-0 lead, per VLR's recap, which led to an NRG pause. VLR's round log has LOUD up 4-0 before NRG won two rounds to cut the gap to 4-2. Then LOUD ran away on defense. NRG scored only three rounds on their attack half and went into the break trailing 3-9. According to VLR's recap, lukxo and erde combined for 33 kills in that half.
The second half started with LOUD winning the pistol round again, making it 10-3. NRG then won three straight to get to 6-10, which VLR's recap credits to a force buy in the second round of the half (it calls it an Americas "Stinger" force). LOUD stopped the run with a clean A-site post-plant and closed it out 13-9 after NRG pulled the score back to 9-12. NRG won six of the ten second-half rounds, which was far too late.
By the match page, lukxo went 25/10/3 with a 1.76 rating and erde went 20/11/12 with 1.49 on Haven. For NRG, keiko led with 17/15/1 and a 1.06 rating, and skuba's 9/18/6 (0.42) was the low mark. rib.gg lists lukxo at 1.65 on the same map, so the gap between sites is the rating formula, not the kill count, which matches at 25.
Sunset: NRG 13-10
Sunset was LOUD's pick, and VLR's recap points out that NRG had an 0-4 record on the map in Americas play. NRG swapped brawk's Sova for Fade and otherwise stayed on keiko Chamber, Ethan Kayo, skuba Omen, mada Neon. LOUD kept the Sage and Chamber setup that has worked for them across multiple maps: lukxo Chamber, erde Sage, DaviH Sova, tkzin Neon, Darker Omen.
NRG started fast. A skuba pistol clutch gave them a 1-0 lead, and they stacked three more to go 4-0, including a flawless round 3. LOUD found their feet, and VLR's log shows five LOUD rounds in a row from 5-1 to 5-6. NRG won round 12 to take a 6-6 tie at halftime, and the recap credits DaviH's early kills for stopping the NRG fire.
Second half, LOUD won the pistol and the bonus round, and then a B-site stack pushed them to 10-7. NRG needed six straight rounds and got them. The recap credits multi-kills from keiko, well-placed KAY/O utility from Ethan, and an 18-12 KDA from skuba. The match page has skuba at 18/13/11 with a 1.35 rating, while the recap quotes 18-12 for his kills and deaths, so we use the match page. keiko posted 22/12/2, 1.38.
NRG won 13-10, forcing a decider on a map LOUD helped invent.
Summit: LOUD 13-3
VLR's recap says LOUD invented the Sage and Chamber setup on Summit and that NRG came in undefeated on the map, with a 6-0 record. NRG chose an unusual look: keiko Brimstone, Ethan Kayo, skuba Cypher, mada Neon, brawk Sova. LOUD went erde Sage, DaviH Fade, lukxo Chamber, tkzin Neon, Darker Omen.
The round log is brutal for NRG.
- Rounds 1 to 2: LOUD win the pistol and the follow-up for 2-0.
- Round 3: NRG win it, and LOUD fail to convert their usual third-round win, making it 2-1 to LOUD.
- Rounds 4 to 12: LOUD win nine straight rounds and take the half 11-1, per VLR's round log.
- Rounds 13 to 14: NRG win the second-half pistol and the bonus round to get to 3-11.
- Rounds 15 to 16: LOUD stop NRG's attack twice, finishing 13-3 in 37:22.
What it means for LOUD and NRG
For LOUD, this is a statement run. They swept Paper Rex on Wednesday, then beat the reigning champions in a rematch of the Americas Stage 2 lower final that they had also won, 3-2 on September 5 per VLR's head-to-head list. VLR's recap says the win secures at minimum a top-three finish and a place at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai for the finals. Our reading of the prize table agrees: the Upper Final loser plays the Lower Final, and the Lower Final loser is 3rd for $250,000.
For NRG, the series got away on the two maps where LOUD's first half was cleanest. Haven was supposed to be the safe pick, and they scored three rounds on attack. Sunset also showed they can still win rounds in bunches, which makes them dangerous in the lower bracket.
Vitality 2-0 G2 Esports: Abyss Nearly Slips Away
Series scoreboard
Series: Vitality 2-0 G2. Aggregate rounds: Vitality 26, G2 15. The Ascent decider was never played. VLR's head-to-head list shows one previous meeting, the Masters Bangkok 2025 upper semifinal, which G2 won 2-0.
Veto
Per VLR.gg: G2 banned Summit, Vitality banned Sunset, G2 picked Abyss, Vitality picked Split, G2 banned Haven, Vitality banned Lotus, and Ascent remained as the unplayed decider. Abyss is a map Vitality had struggled on earlier in the playoffs: Esport Now's report on the quarterfinal has Nongshim beating them 13-4 on it.
Abyss: Vitality 13-11
G2 went with BABYBAY on Waylay, valyn on Harbor, trent on Sova, leaf on Astra and jawgemo on Neon. Vitality answered with Jamppi on Yoru, Chronicle on Harbor, Sayonara on Sova, PROFEK on Astra and Derke on Jett.
Vitality won the first four rounds and led 9-2 after 11 rounds; G2, starting on defense, took round 12 to make the half 3-9. G2 then turned the second half into a fight. They won the second-half pistol and kept going, five rounds in a row from 2-9 to 7-9, before Vitality took round 17. G2 added rounds 18, 20, 21 and 22 to tie the map 11-11. Vitality won rounds 23 and 24 to take it 13-11 in 1:04:40.
Per the match page, BABYBAY had the best line on the map: 23/15/9, a 1.52 rating and 280 ACS. Jamppi posted 22/18/4 with 259 ACS, and valyn went 18/15/6. Derke, on the other hand, was at 17/18/2 and a 0.83 rating on the map, so Vitality got there without a big night from their Jett.
Split: Vitality 13-4
Split was Vitality's pick, and it was not close. G2 won the first two rounds on defense to lead 2-0, then Vitality won five straight (rounds 3 to 7), took three more later in the half, and led 8-4 at the break. Then Vitality won all five second-half rounds on defense, with G2 scoring zero attack rounds, and finished 13-4 in just 35:37.
Derke and Chronicle drove it. Derke went 18/9/7 with a 1.52 rating on Yoru, and Chronicle went 17/11/7, a 1.35 rating and 281 ACS on Neon. PROFEK played Omen at 14/8/6, Jamppi played Fade at 13/10/3 and Sayonara played Viper at 14/12/5. For G2, valyn on Omen had the best line at 15/15/5 with a 1.14 rating.
Full series stats
A few details stand out. Jamppi and Derke tied for the series lead with 35 kills, although Strafe lists Jamppi at 36, so check the source if you quote it. Chronicle had the most first kills in the series with 9. BABYBAY had the best rating, 1.20, for the losing side. jawgemo went 22/36/8 with 6 first kills and 8 first deaths. Ratings are from VLR's match page.
One caveat: VLR had not published a written recap of this series when we collected the data, so the round flow here comes from the round log and the stat tables, not from analyst commentary.
What it means for Vitality and G2
For Vitality, this is a very clean result. They are EMEA's only team left in the upper bracket, they beat Nongshim 2-1 in an overtime on Haven, and now they swept a North American team that had just swept 100 Thieves. The win locks at least 3rd place and $250,000 for them.
For G2, the Abyss comeback from 2-9 down is the part that will sting, because a win there would have put them into the Upper Final with a map in hand. They drop to Lower Round 2 against T1.
Full Series Stats: NRG vs LOUD
lukxo led the series with 63 kills and 11 first kills, and erde added 23 assists to his 50 kills. tkzin had the most first deaths at 12, and mada had the most deaths on the server at 52. Ratings come from VLR's match page. rib.gg shows slightly different rating decimals for the same players (lukxo is 1.65 on Haven there against 1.76 on VLR), so use VLR's numbers if you compare.
Updated Bracket: Who Plays Whom
Times are from the VLR.gg playoff bracket, which stores each match as a timestamp. The Central Time and Shanghai columns are our conversions (Shanghai is 13 hours ahead of CDT). A dash means the match is already finished, so we show the result only.
Prize Money: Where the $2,250,000 Stands
The VLR.gg event page lists a $2,250,000 prize pool.
Nothing gets decided in the money until the lower bracket finishes, but one thing is already clear: Vitality and LOUD cannot finish below 3rd, because the Upper Final loser drops into the Lower Final and the Lower Final loser takes the 3rd-place row. That is our read of the format; VLR's recap says the same thing for LOUD.
What Happens Next
Sunday October 11: Lower Round 2
- NRG vs 100 Thieves, 4:00 AM CT (5:00 PM Shanghai). This is the VLR.gg match page. VLR's head-to-head list shows 100 Thieves winning the last two meetings: 2-0 in the Americas Stage 2 upper final on September 4 and 3-1 in the EWC 2026 grand final on July 12. Before that, NRG had won the four meetings listed from February to May. This is a loser-out match, and the loser finishes 5th-6th for $85,000.
- G2 vs T1, 7:00 AM CT (8:00 PM Shanghai). This is the VLR.gg match page. The head-to-head list has G2 winning 2-0 at Masters Santiago 2026 and 2-0 at the Champions 2025 decider, with T1 winning the Masters Bangkok 2025 grand final 3-2. T1 arrive off winning the last seven rounds of Summit against Paper Rex, which we covered in the Day 3 recap.
Friday October 16 and the finals weekend
- Upper Final, Vitality vs LOUD, 1:00 AM CT Friday (2:00 PM Shanghai). Per VLR, these two met in the group stage on September 30, and Vitality won 2-0. This is the VLR.gg match page.
- Lower Round 3, 4:00 AM CT Friday (5:00 PM Shanghai). The two Lower Round 2 winners, with the loser finishing 4th for $130,000.
- Lower Final, 2:00 AM CT Saturday October 17 (3:00 PM Shanghai), best-of-five. The Lower Round 3 winner against the Upper Final loser.
- Grand Final, 1:00 AM CT Sunday October 18 (2:00 PM Shanghai), best-of-five. Per VLR's recap, the finals are at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
How to Watch
Playoff matches stream on the official VALORANT Champions Tour channels, and VLR.gg links regional co-streams from each match page. For Central Time alarms, Sunday's Lower Round 2 matches are at 4:00 AM CT and 7:00 AM CT, and the Upper Final lands at 1:00 AM CT on Friday October 16.
If watching high-level play has you wanting a fresh ladder start of your own, AccountShark keeps Valorant account listings for players who want to begin at a higher rank.
What Saturday Means Going Into Sunday
The upper bracket is down to two teams, and the lower bracket is down to four: NRG, 100 Thieves, G2 and T1. Each of those four has exactly one life. Sunday's NRG vs 100 Thieves match is Americas against Americas, so one of those two is guaranteed to finish 5th-6th, and G2 vs T1 sends either G2 or T1 out at the same placement.
For viewers, the stylistic fight to watch is LOUD's Sage and Chamber control against Vitality's Yoru and Neon in the Upper Final, and in the lower bracket, whether NRG can repeat the Sunset form that forced a decider against LOUD.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won NRG vs LOUD at Valorant Champions Shanghai?
LOUD beat NRG 2-1 on October 10 in the Upper Semifinal. LOUD won Haven 13-9, NRG won Sunset 13-10, and LOUD won Summit 13-3. VLR.gg is the source for all three scores, and Strafe and rib.gg list the same results.
Who won G2 vs Vitality at Valorant Champions Shanghai?
Vitality swept G2 2-0 on October 10. Vitality won Abyss 13-11 after G2 tied it at 11-11, then won Split 13-4. Ascent, which remained after the vetoes, was not played.
Who is eliminated from Valorant Champions 2026 after Day 4?
Nobody was eliminated on Day 4, since both losers drop to the lower bracket. NRG and G2 now play single-elimination matches in Lower Round 2. Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce were already eliminated on October 9 and take $50,000 each.
When is the Valorant Champions 2026 Upper Final?
VLR lists Vitality vs LOUD for Friday October 16 at 1:00 AM CT, which is 2:00 PM in Shanghai. It is a best-of-three. The loser drops to the Lower Final and is guaranteed at least 3rd place.
Who do NRG and G2 play next?
NRG play 100 Thieves on Sunday October 11 at 4:00 AM CT, and G2 play T1 at 7:00 AM CT, per VLR.gg. Both are Lower Round 2 matches with one life left.
How much money have LOUD and Vitality locked up?
Both teams are guaranteed at least 3rd place, which pays $250,000 on VLR's prize table. The prize pool is $2,250,000 in total, and first place receives $1,000,000.
Who had the best stats in LOUD vs NRG?
On the VLR.gg match page, lukxo led the series with 63 kills and a 1.43 rating, and erde had a 1.37 rating. keiko had the best rating for NRG at 1.06. erde's 17/5/4 on Summit was the best single-map line in the decider.
How did NRG nearly come back on Sunset?
NRG trailed 7-10 on Sunset and won the last six rounds to take the map 13-10. VLR's recap credits keiko's multi-kills, Ethan's KAY/O utility and skuba's 18 kills on the map. It was not enough to carry the decider, which LOUD won 13-3 on Summit.
What time are the matches in Central Time?
VLR's bracket lists Saturday's upper semifinals at 4:00 AM CT and 7:00 AM CT, Sunday's lower round 2 matches at 4:00 AM CT and 7:00 AM CT, and the Grand Final on Sunday October 18 at 1:00 AM CT. Shanghai is 13 hours ahead of CDT.
Where can I read the earlier days of the playoffs?
Our Day 1 recap covers NRG 2-0 T1 and LOUD 2-0 Paper Rex. Our Day 2 recap covers G2 2-0 100 Thieves and Vitality 2-1 Nongshim. Our Day 3 recap covers T1 2-1 Paper Rex and 100 Thieves 2-1 Nongshim.
Final Take
LOUD took the reigning champions out on a Haven map that was supposed to be NRG's safest pick, and then ended the decider in 37 minutes. Vitality won Split 13-4 after G2 scored zero attack rounds, but they had to survive an Abyss where they led 9-2 and then found themselves at 11-11. The Upper Final is set, and two big names, NRG and G2, now have one life each.
Sunday is the card: NRG vs 100 Thieves at 4:00 AM CT and G2 vs T1 at 7:00 AM CT. Set the alarms.
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