Gentle Mates and NRG Take Down Chinese Sides in VALORANT Masters Santiago Debut

Gentle Mates and NRG kicked off the action in Santiago with back-to-back 2-0 victories against Chinese rosters XLG Esports and EDward Gaming.

The Europeans were the first ones to claim a victory in Santiago after wins on Haven and Pearl against the VALORANT Champions 2024 winners EDward Gaming. With an ACS score of 229, Patrick "Minny" Hušek was the best player of the series.

Shortly after, the VALORANT Champions 2025 winners NRG handed China another 2-0 score, this time after wins on Haven and Abyss. The British import and former Team Liquid player Georgio "keiko" Sanassy was the best player of the game with an ACS score of 249.

Seeing Chinese rosters struggle at international competitions isn't a huge surprise in VCT anymore. Two years ago, in Madrid, all Chinese players were knocked out in the Swiss Stage. The same happened in Shanghai, when Dragon Ranger Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix were eliminated in the initial stage of the competition, leaving EDward Gaming as the only Chinese lineup in the playoffs—which wasn't for long as they were also eliminated after back-to-back 0-2 defeats.

Logically, China bounced back as EDward Gaming won the VALORANT Champions 2024. However, the trend didn't change much in Bangkok, as EDward Gaming was, once again, the only team to reach the playoffs. In Toronto, Wolves Esports was the Cinderella of the tournament, finishing in third place. In Santiago, however, it doesn't seem like the Chinese teams have what it takes to produce a solid run. If both XLG Esports and EDward Gaming don't react in time, All Gamers will be the only Chinese roster in the VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs.

The next two matches of the competition will see the two Pacific lineups, Paper Rex and T1, facing off against G2 Esports and Team Liquid, respectively.

Stick with us in Gfinityesports.com for more updates about the VCT 2026 season.