VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai: All Second Round Draws and Predictions

After an exciting first two days of Masters Shanghai, fans have received a first glimpse at all of the teams’ form at the event. An upset in Day 1, titans clashing in Day 2, Shanghai has not disappointed thus far, and the competition will only continue to heat up from here on out.

Here’s a recap from our First Round Predictions: [UPDATED] VCT 2024 Masters Shanghai: All First Round Draws and Predictions

VCT Masters Shanghai: Second Round Draw

High Matches (1-0 record)

• FunPlus Phoenix vs Gen.G [25th May | 10am CET | 1AM PT ]
• G2 Esports vs Team Heretics [25th May | 1pm CET | 4AM PT]

Low Matches (0-1 record)

• Leviatán vs T1 [26th May | 10am CET | 1AM PT ]
• Dragon Ranger Gaming vs FUT Esports [26th May | 1pm CET | 4AM PT]

VCT Masters Shanghai: Second Round Predictions

FunPlus Phoenix vs Gen.G

FPX shook many in Europe with their opening bout against FUT Esports. While the latter admitted to a cold start to the series, it does not take away from the incredible VALORANT we witnessed from FPX yesterday.

However, Gen.G comes into Shanghai as one of the indisputable favorites to win it all, having finished second at Madrid earlier this year. Moreover, their continuing success domestically, finishing second in VCT Pacific Stage 1 only solidifies their position in the eyes of fans.

Based on their performance against Leviatán today, it’s difficult to imagine a universe in which they crumble against FPX. Hence, we predict a 2-0 win for Gen.G, qualifying the Korean powerhouse for the next stage of the tournament.

G2 Esports vs Team Heretics

G2’s performance against T1 was fairly impressive. While T1 showed some good ideas, it was G2’s adaptability and individual brilliance in crucial moments that solidifies themselves as worthy challengers from Americas.

Heretics, meanwhile, had an incredibly convincing series against DRG earlier today. While they arguably had the easiest R1 matchup of the 8 teams and they are missing essential playmaker Dominykas "MiniBoo" Lukaševičius, their victory still came swiftly and smoothly in 2 maps.

We predict Heretics to emerge the winner in this series, based on the greater stability and experience of the Heretics roster, having made Madrid prior to this. However, it is likely to be a close series, possibly 2-1 for Heretics.

Leviatán vs T1

Rough times for Leviatán fans. While aspas was certainly shooting on the server, its difficult to make a similar case for the rest of the roster. Much like their Stage 1 performance, aspas continues to be their surest constant performance-wise, but against Gen.G, aside from a fairly strong Icebox, LEV as a team did little to wow this writer.

T1 for their part, suffered a powerful blow at the hands of G2. While they lack the international experience for new In-Game Leader Kevin "xccurate" Susanto especially, who is stepping into a new role late into his FPS career, T1 did show some good elements to their play.

We are predicting a Leviatán victory off the sheer notion that it is unlikely we see a team as stacked with talent as LEV miss another series win off the back of individual performance.

Dragon Ranger Gaming vs FUT Esports

DRG just completed a fairly one-sided series against Heretics, falling quickly in both Maps 1 and 2. While individually they had some interesting elements, their rawness internationally was on full display, especially against a team as coordinated as Heretics, even with the latter missing a man.

FUT for their part, is an interesting anomaly. Their highs and lows come in equal part, but for the most part, they are one of the most consistent teams typically in this bracket. Despite their loss to FPX, FUT still managed a close scoreline on all 3 maps and we anticipate a return to strong showings for them here on out.

While China may have surprised once, FUT is unlikely to fall again, especially to a still green DRG roster. 2-0 FUT.

Stay tuned on Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences and more. You can also follow the tournament on Strafe.

Credit: David Lee/Riot Games

Read More: What to expect from VALORANT Masters Shanghai: The Storylines