Gentle Mates and NRG win VALORANT Masters Santiago opening matches

VALORANT Masters Santiago officially kicked off today, with EMEA’s Gentle Mates and reigning Champions winner NRG clean sweeping their opening matches.

As a result, VCT China representative EDward Gaming and Xi Lai Gaming will have to win their second round Swiss Stage games on March 3rd to remain in the running for the first international trophy of the year.

The first series at Masters Santiago was a confident 2-0 sweep from VCT EMEA’s second seed Gentle Mates against 2024 Champions winner EDward Gaming (EDG). 

Gentle Mates looked well prepared for EDG’s map pick, Haven, abusing its opponents’ weak C-site hold in the first half (8-4). Whilst Zheng ‘ZmjjKK’ Yongkang showcased a great performance on Chamber with 21/14/1 KDA, EDG frequently lost its early-round leads by overheating in the mid rounds. Despite a promising second-half comeback attempt from China’s third seed, Gentle Mates ultimately took the map 13-11.

Pearl saw EDG secure both pistol rounds and look fairly competitive during its defence half (6-6). But with the team struggling against eco buys and losing several 5v3 rounds, EDG fell apart in the second half. Meanwhile, Gentle Mates’ Patryk ‘starxo’ Kopczyński showed excellent Fade utility usage across both halves, setting his team up for successful attack hits and site holds. The EMEA squad defeated EDG 13-7.

The second VALORANT Champions winner competing in Chile, NRG, delivered a 2-0 Masters Santiago debut against China’s second seed Xi Lai Gaming, proving that the team remains hungry for international trophies.

For the first map of the series, NRG chose Haven and absolutely dominate its opponent. NRG’s simple but effective attack-side calling featured impactful ultimate usage as well as mid-round probing to identify enemy utility and the weakest site across the map. After a 10-2 half and two pistol-round wins, it was only a matter of time until NRG secured its map pick 13-2.

This momentum carried over onto Abyss, where the Americas’ third seed played its unique Omen, Viper, and Tejo agent composition. NRG’s Brock ‘brawk’ Somerhalder had a massive impact in the first half (9-3), pulling off clutch plays whenever his team needed them. Whilst Xi Lai Gaming looked much better on the attack side, its opponent’s lead was too much to overcome. The Chinese representative lost its map pick 10-13.

Masters Santiago will continue with more Swiss Stage matches on February 29th. Starting at 5 PM BST, G2 Esports will face off against Paper Rex, followed by T1 vs Team Liquid.

Meanwhile, Gentle Mates and NRG, will be on the Masters Santiago stage again on March 2nd for the second round of Swiss Stage. These matchups will be drawn after all opening matches have concluded tomorrow.

To follow the action in Chile, fans can tune into the official Masters Santiago broadcasts via Twitch and YouTube.