In the lower bracket of the VCT Americas 2025 Stage 1 playoffs, Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #7 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le icy Jacob Lange yay Jaccob Whiteaker and G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #1 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf won their games to secure a matchup against each other to determine who qualifies for Masters Toronto. With the results, both KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #1 keznit Angelo Mori Mazino Roberto Rivas adverso Benjamín Poblete Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro and 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #5 zander Alexander Dituri Cryocells Matthew Panganiban eeiu Daniel Vucenovic Boostio Kelden Pupello Asuna Peter Mazuryk were eliminated from the Stage 1 playoffs, as well as Masters Toronto.

Evil Geniuses sweeps KRÜ for final chance at Masters Toronto

Match one was the potential redemption for a KRÜ Esports team that got swept by MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #1 artzin Arthur Araujo xenom Eduardo Soeiro cortezia Gabriel Cortez Verno Andrew Maust aspas Erick Santos after earning the top seed in their group, but EG were looking to keep their lower bracket run to Toronto alive.

The first map was Lotus, with keznit returning to Neon as yay moved to Clove. Those two star players made their marks individually across the map as the teams looked deadlocked, but it was icy playing Raze that took EG over the line victoriously. A 6-6 half ended in overtime 14-12, with EG getting the series lead. Icy ended that map with a rating of 1.37, 267 ACS, and seven first kills to only four first deaths.

Map two was Icebox, with the Jett duel between keznit and yay coming alive. KRÜ opted for Mazino on Harbor, while EG ran the solo Controller from supamen on Viper. It started with EG rolling on their attack half, reaching the half up 9-3. Yet, since both sides had comps that were attack-sided, KRÜ fought back to tie the map 10-10. Just as it looked like the series could go to map three, yay clutched a last-second defuse to win Icebox 13-11 and the series 2-0.

The duo of icy and yay had a great series to keep EG in the running for Masters Toronto, but icy specifically stood out statistically, ending the series with 44 kills and 176 ADR despite moving from Raze to Killjoy. With this loss, EG will face the winner of the G2 and 100T matchup, while KRÜ are eliminated from Masters Toronto contention.

G2 Esports barely defeats 100 Thieves in a standout series

G2, after losing a tight series in the upper bracket to Sentinels, now had to win two matches in a row to qualify for Toronto. As for 100 Thieves, after eliminating NRG in the lower bracket, they now had to eliminate the Kickoff winners and Bangkok finalists.

Starting on Haven, a pistol win from 100T was quickly countered with a now signature G2 Stinger force-buy, as well as another trent post-plant clutch. Even as some rounds slipped through their fingers, G2 remained on top at the half, up 8-4. After winning the second pistol, G2 won every remaining round to win Haven 13-4. valyn was great on Astra, but trent on Tejo tore through 100T, ending the map with a 2.16 map rating, 20 kills, multiple clutches, and only five deaths.

Split was map two, with 100T sticking to their Sage comp while G2 ran their Breach/Tejo/Omen comp with jawgemo on Yoru. 100T won the first pistol, just like on Haven, but G2 opted for an eco instead of a force afterward. G2 lost the bonus, too, putting themselves in a tough spot for Split's attack side. A 4-0 deficit was quickly pulled back to 4-4, and the half ended tied at 6-6. 100T won the second pistol as well as the second bonus round to push G2 to the brink. G2 fought to tie the game late at 11-11, but 100T won Split 14-12 to take the series to Pearl.

Both zander and Cryocells had a great map, getting a 1.26 and 1.24 map rating, respectively, to defeat G2 on a map they won dominantly over Sentinels.

Pearl was the decider, with 100T opting for double Duelist with Yoru and Neon, while G2 picked Vyse, Fade, Yoru, and Tejo. G2 won the pistol, but the half ended 6-6 for the second map in a row off of some chaotic post-plants that 100T took advantage of. G2 now had to defend the double Duelist well, but a 100T flawless pistol and converted bonus round gave them a late lead.

For the second straight map, a half that looked like the end for G2 shifted into overtime. It took a lot of attempts, but G2 did what they were not able to at Bangkok and closed it out on Pearl 16-14, and won the series 2-1.

It was leaf that was the star on Pearl, with a 1.40 map rating, 290 ACS, and 29 kills, but the overall series MVP remained trent. He ended the series with a match rating of 1.40, 61 kills, 81% KAST, and 158 ADR.

With this win, G2 will face Evil Geniuses in the lower bracket semifinal for the final slot at Masters Toronto.