EDward Gaming dismantles G2 Esports, secures spot in playoffs

EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 S1Mon Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋) ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) locked in their playoff spot with a decisive 2-1 win over G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #1 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf . Despite a close loss on Pearl, EDG dominated Bind and Fracture to take the series.

This is a rematch of a Champions 2024 Group Stage series, where G2 emerged victorious. However, EDG later rebounded to win the World Championship, while G2 was eliminated early in the playoffs.

G2 banned Haven, avoiding the map where EDG had pulled off back-to-back 13-0 wins during Kickoff, while EDG removed Abyss after G2's dominant victory over Trace Esports Trace Esports China Rank #2 LuoK1ng Zhang Zhanpeng (张展鹏) Kai Lu Zhinan (卢智楠) FengF Song Xuefeng (宋学锋) heybay Ho Shun Hei Biank Zhong Jianfei (钟剑飞) . G2 picked Pearl, EDG went with Bind, and the series would be decided on Fracture.

G2 stuck with leaf on Chamber for Pearl, while EDG ran their Yoru-Tejo comp, which they debuted in their opener against Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #12 paTiTek Patryk Fabrowski kamyk Maks Rychlewski nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Keiko Georgio Sanassy kamo Kamil Frąckowiak . The map opened with a bang as G2's clean retake was shut down by a 1v3 from Smoggy . EDG kept up their momentum, racing to a 5-2 lead. G2 looked to close the gap in round 8, but a legendary 1v4 clutch from CHICHOO denied them again.

However, the North American squad wouldn't stay down for long, winning an eco in the following round and tying the map with a 6-6 scoreline. EDG reclaimed the lead with another pistol win, but G2 took the bonus and first rifle round to steal the momentum back. EDG pulled ahead once more at 11-10, on the brink of closing the map, but another heroic eco round in round 22 gave G2 the opening to shut it down in round 24.

EDG would force overtime, stopping G2 from taking the map in regulation. G2 would claim the first matchpoint in overtime, but EDG once again denied them. After taking their first match point, EDG looked to end it with a four-man A-main push but was shut down by jawgemo .

The teams continued to trade nail-biting rounds, including a ninja defuse from leaf in round 31. Finally, in round 33, G2 closed it out despite a 3k from CHICHOO, taking Pearl 18-16.

On Bind, a map they had first-banned in all but one of their series, G2 ran a standard comp with Tejo over Gekko, while EDG played Tejo, KAY/O, and Vyse. EDG started strong again, winning their third pistol round of the series and building an early 5-1 lead. G2 stopped the bleeding with a 3k from jawgemo but failed to close the gap, ending the half down 4-8. Another pistol loss saw G2 force buy in round 13, which sparked a four-round streak. EDG's post-plant utility successfully stalled G2's momentum in round 18, letting them close out Bind 13-8.

In a stark reversal from the previous two maps, Fracture was a blowout. Throughout the first half, EDG's defense shut down G2, achieving a remarkable 11-1 lead. Their aggressive pushouts proved decisive as G2 struggled to entry onto sites. Another lost pistol gave EDG the series point. A force buy gave G2 three rounds on defense, but it was too little, too late, as EDG closed the map with a dominant 13-4 win.

CHICHOO played lights out the entire series, ending +21 with a 1.30 rating, closely followed by Smoggy and ZmjjKK .

With the win, EDG advances to the top four, while G2 will need another win in Swiss to keep their playoff hopes alive—or risk elimination.

Masters Bangkok will continue tomorrow with the following elimination matches:

• T1 vs. Trace Esports
• Team Liquid vs. Sentinels