Leviatán swept for first time in VCT 2024 by G2 in upper finals

G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #2 icy Jacob Lange trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf defeated LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN Latin America South Rank #1 tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena aspas Erick Santos C0M Corbin Lee 2-0 in the VCT Americas 2024 Stage 2 upper finals to reach the regional finals and secure a top-two seed at Champions 2024.

Both teams had significant winning streaks in Stage 2, with Leviatán not losing a single map while G2 went undefeated. One of these top two Americas teams had to lose, and it was the ever-rising Ascension team that sent Leviatán to the lower finals.

Icebox began with G2 winning the pistol, with aspas and his Operator proving to be their biggest challenge as the half went on. Avoiding aspas was a simple and effective strategy. When G2 planted the spike, their no-duelist-Gekko comp made retakes and defuses nearly impossible for Leviatán. valyn 's calling on attack side was beautiful, as he pulled rotations and cleared space for his team to secure free spike plants.

G2 entered the half up 10-2 by dismantling a defense that Leviatán had looked outstanding on throughout playoffs. The second pistol round went in G2's favor, but Leviatán won their force buy to stop the bleeding. But the deficit proved to be too big of a mountain to climb back from, as G2 won the map 13-8. JonahP was the star of the show with 21 kills and 10 assists. Like in his previous game against 100 Thieves, he single-handedly won multiple rounds for G2 to win Icebox.

Bind brought about two double-initiator comps, but G2 ran Skye while Leviatán chose Fade. G2 continued their pistol-round dominance and converted their bonus to threaten another first-half steamroll. Leviatán won a needed thrifty to keep the map within their grasp, but G2 kept their foot on the gas with a nice Gekko-Brimstone ultimate combo to end their attack half 8-4.

Leviatán won their first pistol round of the series on their attack half, but after G2 won their bonus they continued to position themselves in the right spots on defense. Constant flanks from JonahP and leaf caused plenty of issues for Leviatán, and what seemed like a close map slipped away. valyn sounded the death knell by winning a defuse clutch with the Classic.

G2 ended the map 13-6 and the series 2-0, marking the first time Leviatán had been swept in VCT 2024. Now, they will have to take that hit to the chin and stand back up again in the lower bracket finals against the winner of 100 Thieves and KRÜ Esports.

As for G2, they can rest easy and wait for their opponents in the regional finals, knowing they have a good chance at both the trophy and the top seed for the Americas.