VCT Americas continued today with two of the region's most iconic rivalries: 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 vs. LOUD LOUD Brazil Rank #1 dgzin Douglas Silva v1nny Vínicius Gonçalves pANcada Bryan Luna tuyz Arthur Andrade cauanzin Cauan Pereira and 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #8 zander Alexander Dituri Cryocells Matthew Panganiban eeiu Daniel Vucenovic Boostio Kelden Pupello Asuna Peter Mazuryk vs. Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #4 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid .

KRÜ vs. Loud

In the open circuit era, KRÜ was one of only two teams to defeat LOUD during the year the Brazilian squad claimed their Champions title. Although LOUD broke that streak in 2023, they fell to their old rivals again in 2024.

With the loss of saadhak and Less in the offseason, LOUD brought in dgzin and v1nny , while KRÜ added Americas Stage 2 MVP Mazino in place of heat and adverso as their IGL.

The match began on Haven, with both teams opting for identical standard comps. LOUD dominated the defensive half 10-2, led by dgzin's Operator on Jett, nearly achieving a 2.0 rating on the defensive half with 15 kills. LOUD shutdown KRÜ's comeback in the second half, closing the game 13-7.

The match continued to Split, where Loud chose to run cauanzin on Tejo while KRÜ played a more traditional Skye-Viper comp. The first half was closely contested, with keznit and dgzin on Raze, delivering stellar performances to secure rounds for their teams. After switching to the attack, LOUD managed to break through and close out the map 13-10, taking the series.

KRÜ will face 2Game Esports 2Game Esports Brazil Rank #2 gobera Vitor Gobo Zap Brenno Roberto pryze Luis-Henrique Viveiros lz Luiz Reche spike Rodrigo Lombardi silentzz Caio Morita in the lower bracket for a chance at redemption and a ticket to Masters Bangkok.

100 Thieves vs. Sentinels

One of the most storied regional rivalries in VCT history, 100 Thieves have faced Sentinels 15 times, securing only four wins across those series. However, their victories have often led to pivotal moments for the organization, such as their triumph in the 2022 LCQ.

In the offseason, 100 Thieves signed zander to replace bang , who joined Sentinels alongside N4RRATE to bolster the roster after the retirement of TenZ and Sacy .

The matchup began on Split, and the first map felt reminiscent of 100 Thieves' dominant performance against MIBR MIBR Brazil Rank #9 artzin Arthur Araujo xenom Eduardo Soeiro cortezia Gabriel Cortez nzr Agustin Ibarra aspas Erick Santos during their Kickoff debut. While Sentinels started strong, 100 Thieves overwhelmed Sentinels, winning 11 rounds consecutively to close out the map 13-4. Cryo's excellent performance stood out thanks to a 2.13 rating and 24 kills on Sage.

The second map saw a return to Bind, as 100 Thieves aimed to replicate their win streak from last season on the map. Sentinels opted for a similar composition to 100 Thieves but swapped Fade for Tejo, played by johnqt . 100 Thieves started strong on defense, but Sentinels fought back to close the half at 7-5. Unlike MIBR, Sentinels successfully countered 100 Thieves' relentless attack, finishing the map 13-9. The Tejo pick proved decisive, with johnqt ending with a 1.41 rating.

On the decider Pearl, Sentinels surprised with a unique Yoru-Vyse-Tejo comp, while 100 Thieves went with a more standard one. The teams traded rounds evenly, ending the first half 6-6. 100 Thieves looked to gain momentum on defense through Cryo's Operator, but zekken 's Yoru and johnqt's Tejo were able to shut him down, allowing Sentinels to take the map 13-9.

100 Thieves now face an elimination game against NRG Esports NRG Esports North America Rank #5 FiNESSE Pujan Mehta s0m Sam Oh Verno Andrew Maust mada Adam Pampuch Ethan Ethan Arnold , while Sentinels move on to play LOUD, the winner of today's earlier match, for a spot in the top three at Kickoff.

Kickoff will return tomorrow for the second day of the upper quarterfinals:

• LEVIATÁN vs. FURIA
• G2 Esports vs. Cloud 9