On the second day of the Valorant Game Changers 2026 Championship, São Paulo saw Gentle Mates GC Gentle Mates GC Europe Unranked Nami Iman Nagaaoui berryx Emine Çoban Wens Gülce Eda Sürmeli Marti Martyna Pabian safiaa Safia Leghzal and KRÜ BLAZE KRÜ BLAZE Latin America South Rank #4 none antG Antônia Garcia ponix Isidora Valentina Vásquez Muñoz tok1o Amaro Miranda dods Caue Fernandes micaela Micaela Ferreyra advance to the upper-bracket semifinals. Last year's champions in Team Liquid Brazil Team Liquid Brazil Brazil Rank #56 Jelly Julia Iris Bizerra Vitoria Vieira Joojina Letícia Paiva isaa Isabeli Esser daiki Natalia Vilela lost in 0-2 fashion against the top team from EMEA, while Gen.G GC Gen.G GC Korea Rank #7 DaNa Jo Se-won (조세원) YamzzI Park Su-jin (박수진) miNt Jeong Ye-rim (정예림) 332 Park Min-ju (박민주) h4ste Park Ju-hwi (박주희) lost in the closest series so far in Brazil.

Gentle Mates GC sweeps Team Liquid Brazil, stuns local fans

This matchup between the best of Brazil and the top seed from EMEA began on Summit, with both squads running double-Duelist Phoenix Neon with Harbor as the solo Controller. Marti and M8s held strong to take the first pistol, but Liquid executed a clean B site take to prevent a bonus round conversion. M8s kept up the stalwart defense off an astounding start from both Wens on Cypher and safiaa on Fade. Down 5-1, Liquid had to fight back to prevent the lead from stretching too wide to recover from, finding success through B site post-plants and channeling that into a first-half comeback, completing it tied 6-6.

Wens shoots three down to keep the score tied on Summit.

The second half introduced a Team Liquid pistol win, followed by traded thrifty wins from both teams. One team had to exit those rounds earning momentum, and Wens continued their first-half form to close out the map for M8s 13-10, dropping 32 kills total even after swapping to the attack side.

Despite going down, Liquid had a chance to return to form on their map pick of Split. Similarly to map one, both teams ran double-Duelist compositions, but this time the Duelist choice differed. Neon and Phoenix led Liquid, while Neon and Yoru tried to cause more chaos from M8s. Starting on defense, M8s took the first pistol and looked extremely comfortable on the retake, even after losing the bonus round. Wens continued their form from map one, but the Yoru from Marti discombobulated the attack from Liquid. Bizerra did their best to keep Liquid in the half, but M8s entered the break up 8-4.

Moving to the attack, M8s only improved with the sight of the series win in reach. After earning the second pistol, Wens dropped an absurd 13 kills in 7 attack rounds to secure the 13-6 map win and 2-0 sweep over the previous champs.

With this win, Gentle Mates GC will move on in the upper bracket, while Team Liquid Brazil fall early into the lowers, placing the recent Champions in a tough position if they seek to repeat as the best in Game Changers.

KRÜ BLAZE earns victory in close series against Gen.G GC

This match started on Sunset, with both teams opting for the Sage and Chamber compositions despite choices in double-Duelist alongside it. Gen.G, running Neon and Phoenix, lost the pistol but showed strength in the rifle rounds, led by amazing Chamber play from 332 . A close start to the half was but an illusion, as Gen.G comfortably jumped to a 9-3 lead at the half.

KRÜ needed a second-half pistol win, and while it got tense, the pistol went the way of the Latin America squad. Though, for the first time today, a bonus was converted to truly offer hope of a comeback for KRÜ. Despite both teams running double-Sentinel, both teams struggled on the defense side, as the map reached a 9-9 tie. The tension was quickly released with an unfortunate Omen ult delivering 332 a free kill, and Gen.G took that round win to move ahead to a 13-10 map win, wiping the sweat from their proverbial brows on defense.

Ascent was next, as KRÜ ran a double-Initiator comp with solo Vyse to match the Sage and Chamber from Gen.G. Like map one, KRÜ earned the first pistol round win, reaching a 2-1 scoreline. This time around, the comfort on the agent swaps was evident for KRÜ, with clutches leaning their way as the team entered the half up 7-5.

miNt led Gen.G to a second-half pistol win, threatening a quick tie moving to defense, but that 7-7 tie was the last round Gen.G earned all half. The whole KRÜ squad looked in form as Ascent ended 13-7, forcing a map three for the first time in the event.

Abyss would be the decider, with the two teams showing two different compositions for the map. KRÜ kept the double-Initiator comp from Ascent, running Astra instead of Omen as the only change. Gen.G ran double-Duelist with Neon and Yoru, alongside a Harbor to try and slow down incoming aggression. KRÜ started as they did on the last two maps, with a first pistol win and a bonus round loss. Gen.G kept pressing the advantage, earning a round win by forcing KRÜ into a late plant.

Gen.G GC converts a 3v4 against KRÜ BLAZE.

Yet, this round was one of the few times that KRÜ weren't in pure control, led by antG on KAY/O frying through Gen.G. After reaching the half up 8-4 and winning the second pistol to go up 10-4, Gen.G were in desperation mode. That deficit was huge, but so was an ace from 332, which reinvigorated the team and kept the game within reach. Down 11-5, Gen.G fought back to 12-10, then converted a 3v5 to put all the pressure on KRÜ to prevent overtime. Alas, a gap in a Harbor wall was enough for KRÜ to close it out 13-11, taking the series 2-1.

With the win, KRÜ BLAZE move up the upper bracket, while Gen.G GC fall to the lower bracket, now officially on their last life in the tournament.

Up next

The first two matches of the upper quarters are over, but GCC 2026 will continue with the other two upper-bracket quarterfinal matches before the first lower-bracket games begin on Sunday.