Gen.G Esports have won the VCT Masters Shanghai after a comeback against Team Heretics in the tournament's grand finals. Despite the Europeans reaching map-point after wins on Icebox and Ascent, the South Koreans answered with two rock-solid wins on Lotus and Split.
The South Koreans redeemed themselves in Shanghai after losing the VCT Masters Madrid grand final against Sentinels, a match that they lost by a 3-2 score. In China, the golden roster made it through the Swiss Stage with two victories against Leviatán and FunPlus Phoenix, which were followed by wins against Fnatic, 100 Thieves, and G2 Esports. Eventually, the team's victory against Los Niños saw Gen.G Esports becoming the first Asian players to be crowned as VCT Masters champions.
Despite losing in the grand final, it's important to highlight Team Heretics' performance in Shanghai. Team Heretics surprised everyone despite playing with a substitute, Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski, who replaced Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius. Considering their situation, not many expected the Europeans to perform as they eventually did.
After surviving to the Swiss Stage following victories against the Chinese sides Dragon Ranger Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix, Los Niños won the first playoff game against China’s first seed EDward Gaming. However, the team dropped to the lower bracket after their second loss in the competition against G2 Esports. Eventually, Team Heretics reached the grand finals in Shanghai after flawless victories against FUT Esports, 100 Thieves, and G2 Esports in the Lower Bracket grand finals.
Unfortunately, the Europeans will head back home with a bittersweet second-place finish in Shanghai. Meanwhile, in their region, Team Heretics' international performance doesn't help them on their path toward VCT Champions 2024 as the team is they are currently in third place with six VCT Points, the same as Karmine Corp and FUT Esports. Nowadays, Fnatic leads the MENA standings with 9 VCT Points.
Meanwhile, Gen.G Esports' win earlier today has secured them at least 12 VCT Points and only a horrific performance in Stage 2 would see them missing out on the VCT Champions 2024.