Day three of VCT Americas Stage 1 playoffs started with the upper bracket final between G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #3 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf and 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #6 zander Alexander Dituri Cryocells Matthew Panganiban eeiu Daniel Vucenovic Boostio Kelden Pupello Asuna Peter Mazuryk . After a 2-1 win, 100 Thieves cemented their spot in the grand final while G2 got knocked into the lower bracket.

The second game of the day had LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN Latin America South Rank #1 Demon1 Max Mazanov tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena C0M Corbin Lee nataNk Nathan Bocqueho going up against KRÜ Esports KRÜ Esports Latin America South Rank #3 keznit Angelo Mori Mazino Roberto Rivas adverso Benjamín Poblete mta Nicolás González Shyy Fabian Usnayo Melser Marco Eliot Machuca Amaro , with the loser eliminated from the event. Lev came out on top with a 2-1 victory and will be the third Americas representative at Masters Shanghai.

100 Thieves take down G2

Both teams had clashed already once this year during the group stage, with 100 Thieves finding a 2-0 win against G2.

The map veto saw G2 choose Ascent to open the series with, starting on attack. Both teams opted for the Icebox meta composition, resulting in a mirror matchup. 100 Thieves were able to win the pistol and anti-eco, but G2 bounced back with three rounds of their own off the back of their full-buy. 100 Thieves countered with a triple win of their own, and this back and forth continued until the half concluded 7-5, with 100T having a slight lead.

After the side swap, 100 Thieves shifted into high gear, winning their second pistol and continuing their momentum to win the next five rounds and take their opponent's map pick 13-5. Among the Thieves, it was the Sova that stood out with eeiu being the map MVP after a server-high 308 ACS and 192 ADR of 192 performance.

Map two saw Bind come up, with G2 opting to start on defense. This was a map 100T had previously beat G2 on, and G2 had since changed their comp up, replacing their Yoru with a more standard Raze and swapping initiators.

Things were looking dire for G2 at this point. 100 Thieves won all five of their Stage 1 games on Bind heading into the match.

100 Thieves got off to a strong start again off the back of the pistol round win followed by the anti-eco. G2 won their full buy but 100T won their buy round, then extended their lead to 6-2. Towards the tail end of the half, G2 began playing more for the retake and won the final four rounds to tie up the half evenly.

The side swap saw the pistol go to 100 Thieves, but after G2 got their hands on rifles, it was over. On the attack, leaf and valyn went on the warpath, and G2 won the next seven rounds to win Bind 13-8 and push the series to the decider. The scoreboard was pretty evenly distributed with valyn being the match MVP on Brimstone, having 287 ACS and a kill differential of +10 – the server highest.

The decider was Split, with 100 Thieves starting on attack. Both teams opted for a double initiator and double controller comp, with 100T choosing Gekko, compared to G2 preferring Breach. G2 started their defensive side with a pistol win thanks to their Raze, icy , having an explosive 3K to start the map with. Both teams continued trading rounds until 100 Thieves took the lead at 4-3. G2 would switch things up however, once again opting for their map two strategy of playing for the retake which would win them the next five rounds to end the half 8-4.

The sideswap saw G2 further extend their score to 10-4 by winning the pistol and converting the following round. It seemed almost over for 100 Thieves, but they looked unfazed as they proceeded to demonstrate their almost impenetrable defense. They would win the next six rounds in a row before G2 could win a round off the back of a triple kill from JonahP to bring the score to 11-10 in their favor. However, it was merely a final breath for G2, as 100 Thieves took the next three rounds to deny overtime and take the series 2-1.

It's not too out of the ordinary for Cryocells to be the star of 100 Thieves. But today, despite his series-leading 11 kills while playing Jett and two controllers, the team's Sova and Fade player excelled the most. eeiu's KAST was 81% and his ACS was 249 in the series.

100 Thieves looked incredible in terms of utility usage and ultimate management. They consistently were able to keep pressure on G2 despite being down on map three and Boostio 's calling was a key factor.

With this win, 100 Thieves are the first grand finalists of VCT Americas. G2, on the other hand, have been knocked down into the lower bracket, and will face off against the winner of Leviatán vs KRÜ to decide who will join 100 Thieves in the grand final.

Leviatán find revenge against KRÜ

The second series of the day saw the Latin American teams clash against each other for the second time this year. The stakes were considerably higher today, with the winning team heading to Shanghai and the losing team heading home. Leviatán had come out on top the last time during the regular season.

The first map of play was Lotus, chosen by Lev. During their last face-off, Lotus had been the decider and Lev had come out on top. Both teams had kept their team comp the same, resulting in a mirror matchup again.

The first half was quite back and forth, with Lev starting on defense and winning the pistol and anti-eco. KRÜ looked confident on attack, however, with keznit finding two 3Ks in the third and fourth rounds which eventually culminated in a 6-3 lead. Lev would win another two rounds in the half, but KRÜ maintained their lead as the half concluded 7-5. The last time these two teams fought on Lotus, KRÜ had struggled compared to Lev on defense. This time, KRÜ had come prepared, and with keznit keeping the aggressive pressure up in tandem with heat , Lev couldn't break through. Lev would only win one more round on the map as KRÜ would demonstrate an almost flawless defensive side to claim their opponent's map pick 13-6.

Map two was Icebox, KRÜ's pick. They opted for a double-initiator composition, while Lev preferred a double-controller team comp. Neither team could find a significant lead in the first half as they traded rounds back and forth. Despite a brutal 1v4 from aspas in round 10, KRÜ closed out the half 7-5 after winning the final two rounds of the half. They would also win the second pistol in the half, but Lev's defense looked incredibly strong. With the Harbor and Viper walls consistently cycling, KRÜ were hard-pressed to break through, and would only win two buy rounds in the entire half.

Lev would win the map narrowly, 13-11, and the key reason would be Aspas' consistency in fragging, with two 4Ks and three 3Ks over the map contributing to a 314 ACS and +13 kill differential.

The series decider was Sunset, with Lev starting on defense. Both teams once again mirrored each other's agent compositions. Lev had a great start, converting the pistol as well as the following two rounds, but Shyy found a crucial 1v3 clutch to win a thrifty for KRÜ. After this, KRÜ continued to win, converting the next seven rounds. Lev would find the final two rounds in the half, finally derailing KRÜ's momentum and ending the half 7-5 in Lev's favor.

Lev switched to attack, and they used their Raze-Breach-Gekko core in perfect synergy to consistently find picks and open up sites. They won six rounds in a row, bringing the score to 11-5 before KRÜ finally pulled off a successful retake to win a defensive round, but the damage had been done. KRÜ would not win any more rounds as Lev closed out Sunset 13-8, eliminating KRÜ from the playoffs and qualifying for Masters Shanghai.

Throughout the series, Aspas was the star duelist for Lev. Despite how close the series had been, he had a kill differential of +21.

VCT Americas representatives at Masters Shanghai confirmed

With the conclusion of today's games, 100 Thieves, G2 Esports, and Leviatán are the three teams that will be representing the Americas at Masters Shanghai. Seeding is yet to be decided and will depend upon the next two games. G2 and Lev will face off in the lower bracket final, and the winner will get a chance at revenge against 100 Thieves in the grand final.