Stage 2 of VCT Americas concluded yesterday as the top six teams now prepare for playoffs and Champions qualification. Following the Kickoff, teams played two splits to complete a full round-robin schedule. The top six teams from the round-robin advanced to the stage two playoffs, irrespective of their group standings.

LEVIATÁN LEVIATÁN Latin America South Rank #1 Demon1 Max Mazanov tex Ian Botsch kiNgg Francisco Aravena aspas Erick Santos C0M Corbin Lee and G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #2 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf secured the top two spots in the playoffs, granting them a bye into the double elimination phase of the bracket. After narrowly missing out on the playoffs last year and once again falling short in stage one, Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #4 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid rebounded with a 3-1 record in Stage 2, clinching the third seed. 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 , Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #7 Xeppaa Erick Bach Rossy Daniel Abedrabbo v1c Victor Truong moose Kaleb Jayne OXY Francis Hoang , and Stage 1 winners 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #8 zander Alexander Dituri Cryocells Matthew Panganiban eeiu Daniel Vucenovic Boostio Kelden Pupello Asuna Peter Mazuryk filled out the remaining playoff spots.

G2 overcomes Sentinels to grab final bye, delay Sentinels' Champions qualification

The race for the second seed and the final bye came down to the last match of the regular season, with G2 prevailing over Sentinels 2-0 in a one-sided affair.

After claiming victory in Kickoff and Masters Madrid, Sentinels encountered difficulties in Stage 1, failing to reach the playoffs. However, they regained their form after the delay, boasting an undefeated 3-0 record heading into their decisive match against G2.

With a Champions spot on the line, Sentinels struggled against G2, falling behind early and never quite recovering their momentum, allowing G2 to secure the final bye.

As a result of this loss, Sentinels will once again face 100 Thieves in a single-elimination game.

New-look NRG roster unable to find their footing

s0m and FNS made their return s0m and FNS made their return to competitive play in Stage 2. (Image via Riot Games)

Stage two began with high expectations for NRG Esports NRG Esports North America Rank #3 FiNESSE Pujan Mehta s0m Sam Oh Verno Andrew Maust mada Adam Pampuch Ethan Ethan Arnold fans following the return of FiNESSE and s0m to competitive play. Despite these changes to their stacked roster, NRG struggled to meet expectations this season. Notably, they benched Demon1 , arguably last year's top player, and parted ways with Masters Champion Marved .

Their season began with a challenging match against Sentinels, resulting in a 2-0 defeat that left little margin for error going forward. After splitting their next two matches, their playoff hopes hinged on their final match against C9.

Although they traded the first two maps, NRG unexpectedly squandered a 12-5 lead in the deciding map, Sunset, losing 14-12 in overtime and finishing the split with a 1-3 record, thus ending their playoff and Champions aspirations for this season.

Aspas and kINgg shine in Stage 2

Leviatán concluded the season as the top overall seed, driven by standout performances from aspas and kiNgg , who finished as the top two rated players individually.

Aspas maintained a split rating of 1.39, reaffirming his status as one of the world's premier players in recent years. kINgg, among three controllers in the top ten ratings this split, surpassed the performances of TenZ and s0m in a season marked by increased aggression from many Americas-based controller players.

C9 newcomer OXY displayed flashes of brilliance throughout the split but lacked the consistency to break into the top ten rated players.

VCT Americas Stage 2 regular season results

Group Alpha:

Group Omega:

Here are the overall regular season results for VCT Americas 2024:

Leviatán have already qualified for Champions based on circuit points. NRG, LOUD, EG, Furia and MIBR have all been eliminated.

Playoff Preview

The VCT Americas 2024 Stage 2 playoffs begin on July 17, with the only single elimination games being in the knockout round.

The two winners in the knockout round will then face off against Leviatán and G2 in the double elimination portion of the bracket.

The two winners in the knockout round will then face off against Leviatán and G2 in the double elimination portion of the bracket.

The playoffs will end with the top three finishers qualifying for Champions as well as the leader in circuit points that did not finish inside the top three.