G2 takes Americas crown with 3-1 win

G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #2 jawgemo Alexander Mor BABYBAY Andrej Francisty trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio leaf Nathan Orf has defeated Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #7 Reduxx Yassin Aboulalazm johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid Kyu Mirel Braco Hrustemovic cortezia Gabriel Cortez JonahP Jonah Pulice 3-1 in the VCT Americas Stage 1 grand final. With this victory, G2 is now the first-ever back-to-back Americas winner, as well as the first team to win the Americas title twice.

Overall this grand final represented the eighth encounter between these two teams. Prior to this match, G2 had won more often than not, up 4-1 in official VCT series and 4-3 counting off-season events. Sentinels had the most recent victory, taking a win earlier in the playoffs to knock G2 down to the lower bracket. In terms of best-of-fives, however, this was only the second time the two teams have played each other, with G2 taking the win in this year's Kickoff grand final.

“I think [valyn] is a great leader; he's always been at the top with me,” johnqt said before the match. “It's no surprise we're here.”

“Whatever team [johnqt]'s been a part of has always been at the top. I respect that leadership quality, I try to do the same,” valyn added.

Due to reaching the grand final via the upper bracket, Sentinels was awarded two bans in the best-of-five veto. They opted to remove their permaban, Fracture, as well as Lotus, a map which Sentinels does not favor but had been a common first pick for their opponent. Of the remaining options, Haven and Split were picked as the first two maps. Pearl and Ascent were next, historically strong final maps for G2 Esports, but maps on which Sentinels had not lost this stage, with 2-0 and 4-0 records, respectively. Icebox remained as the decider, completely neutral ground to end the series should it have gone the distance.

Haven kicked off the series, with G2 looking for a strong start on defense. A zekken ace forced G2 onto an eco round, and N4RRATE broke the economy once more two rounds later. This set Sentinels up for an early lead, sending the map to the break at 7-5.

G2 Esports recovered in the second half, taking another pistol round to equalize. Their offensive plans and reads helped keep their opponents out of the remainder of the series, only losing two rounds in the second half. Sentinels' pick ended 13-9 in G2's favor, an important win for the lower bracket team.

Throughout the opening map, trent and valyn countered zekken's standout Neon, being the only players on their team to go positive against the duelist. They were also superior in first kills, both players ending with more opening duel wins than losses against the opposing entry.

The first half of Split was a closer affair compared to the previous map. Sentinels won their first pistol of the series, but G2's attack answered back with a four-round streak. The defending team was able to stabilize thanks to zekken completely shutting down A main, but G2 kept the score close at 6-6.

A defense based on plant disruption paired with valyn's anchoring and well-timed calling led to a five-round win streak, granting G2 the lead. The Ascension-winning team seemed to anticipate Sentinels' every move, stopping the spike from being planted with disruptive timing and utility usage.

Complementing his accurate calls, G2's in-game leader ended the defense with a 1.91 rating and 334 ACS, contributing to the 13-9 scoreline through both the voice chat as well as the kill feed.

Pearl represented a golden opportunity for Sentinels. A strong finisher for G2 in recent games, Sentinels had a flawless record in this stage, and needed to win the map to continue in the series.

They proved their prowess in their attack half, initially taking seven rounds in a row before G2 was able to show up on the scoreboard. Sentinels remained unfazed, however, as they ended the half with a dominant 10-2 thanks in part to Zellsis and bang, both players ending with 17 eliminations apiece and 5-2 in opening engagements.

G2 stabilized on their own attack, shutting down the defense and any attempt by Sentinels at site control and retaking lost sites. This let G2 win six rounds in a row, but Sentinels' lead proved too large to handle. In the end, Sentinels only needed a highlight round from bang and a Stinger triple kill from johnqt to win the final two rounds, ending Pearl with a 13-10 and sending the series to the fourth map.

Defense-sided Ascent continued the series, offering Sentinels and opportunity to extend their 2-0 stage record and reach the decider map. For G2, meanwhile, a win on Ascent would end the series, redemption for their previous loss on the map against Sentinels, which dropped G2 to the lower bracket.

Their encounter earlier in the bracket saw both teams winning a combined 20 rounds on defense, with only five points on attack adding to the scoreboard. This meant the win conditions for this decisive map were improving on their attack rounds and securing an advantage by taking the pistol rounds.

G2 immediately accomplished both, with an attacking pistol win setting them up for success should the teams repeat their defensive prowess.

“We're halfway there,” JonahP joked after winning their first round on attack.

Sentinels recovered after the anti-eco, all but corralling G2 into their anchors. G2 adapted quickly, poking and prodding as a group to bait out utility and slowly identify a favorable site to plant in. Their new ideas were not enough to take the lead, but five rounds on attack was arguably more than enough to guarantee a victory.

The second pistol round of the map went G2's way, leading to a tied scoreline at 7-7. The Kickoff winners were confident, taking early defensive aggression to find player advantages and disrupt their opponent's setups and rotations.

Sentinels prevented a win after G2 had reached match point, with a timeout from the Madrid winners following soon after. It seemed to pay off, as Sentinels set themselves up in a 4v2 with the defense needing to defuse the spike. In the end, a Sentinels Dark Cover worked against them, letting G2 end the series with a 13-10 after spamming into the smoke.

“I was the IGL I wanted to be today,” valyn said after the series. “Back to back champions, let's go to Toronto, win that shit too.”

“I think we have a lot of belief in everybody,” leaf said. “We know what to expect, we are one of the most prepared teams in the world.”

“It's honestly surreal, these guys around me are the best in the world,” trent added.

The victory allows G2 to skip the Masters: Toronto Swiss stage, seeding them directly into the playoffs. G2 also earns five Championship points, setting them well on track for Champions: Paris qualification. Sentinels, meanwhile, will go to Masters as the second Americas seed, only earning three Championship points for their efforts.