https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WinQPTmmQDo&t=957s great format breakdown by sliggy
IL Stage 2 is the only event that actually matters in order to qualify for Champs, so some teams might actually save strats during Shanghai because of how unimportant Masters is overall compared to last year. There are scenarios where you could win both Masters but still wont be able to qualify to Champs, it's no longer a meme anymore it's genuinely a smart idea to treat Masters Shanghai as practice for the following event or risk being solved when it really matters. This shit is crazy no? Valorant Champions Tour is taken literally this year.