With the conclusion of the VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1, the difference between Group Alpha and Group Omega has gotten even bigger: while the first has already secured eight wins, the latter has only gotten two.
Another tough week for Brazil has seen FURIA Esports dropping to the bottom of the standings and currently is the only side with two defeats alongside Evil Geniuses.
Here are the main storylines of the second week of action in the VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1:
OXY carries Cloud9 to second win in Stage 1
Francis "OXY" Hoang carried Cloud9 to a second win in Stage 1 after finishing the match against Evil Geniuses with an Average Combat Score (ACS) of 372 and 76 kills to his name.
Despite finishing the match with over 70 frags, the American only obtained 16 in Cloud9's initial 9-13 defeat on Lotus. It was then when Oxy woke up, as he carried Cloud9 to a 13-8 win on Sunset with a spectacular ACS of 445 and 33 kills. Eventually, the Cloud9 player would add 27 kills to his tally in the team's 13-4 victory on Split.
With this result, Cloud9 is currently one of the three teams in Group Alpha with two victories and zero defeats alongside Leviatán and KRÜ Esports. Meanwhile, with a balance of one win and one loss, G2 Esports and the VCT Masters Madrid champions Sentinels sit outside the group's top three.
Aspas makes history against Sentinels
The first day of action in the second week of the VCT 2024 Americas Stage 1 began with a record-breaking performance as Erick "Aspas" Santos obtained 47 kills on just one map — the team's 17-15 win against Sentinels on Lotus.
Although the teams played 36 rounds on Lotus, Sentinels was the team to push the map to overtime after winning the final four rounds of regular time. Despite the VCT Masters Madrid champions' best efforts, Leviatán secured the win. Eventually, the South American-majority lineup would secure the 2-0 victory with another fantastic performance of Aspas, who added 21 kills to his tally.
100 Thieves get first Americas win since May 2023
After going winless in the VCT 2024 Americas Kickoff and the team's defeat against Sentinels on Week 1, 100 Thieves is back to winning ways after defeating G2 Esports on Bind and Split.
The roster's win against the former Ascension team is the organization's first victory in North America's top flight since May 13, 2023, when the roster defeated FURIA Esports. Additionally, it's the team's first 2-0 victory since April 10, 2023, when they beat the eventual world champions Evil Geniuses.
Matthew "Cryocells" Panganiban was the best player for 100 Thieves with an ACS of 229. He was closely followed by his teammates Sean "bang" Christian and Daniel "eeiu" Vucenovic. Meanwhile, Trent "Trent" Cairns was G2 Esports' best player as he finished the series with 35 kills and an ACS of 246.