NRG and G2 Esports Advance to Upper Bracket Semifinals as BBL and All Gamers Drop to Lower Bracket

NRG and G2 Esports defeat BBL and All Gamers at VALORANT Masters Santiago, moving to the upper bracket semifinals as the lower bracket elimination matches begin.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 9, 2026, 9:14 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Esports Insider

Experience Outlasts Enthusiasm in a High Stakes Opener

The second day of the Masters Santiago Playoffs commenced with a grueling tactical battle between the world champions, NRG, and the emerging Turkish roster of BBL Esports. Despite BBL entering the series as the top seed from the EMEA region, the veteran poise of the NRG lineup proved to be the deciding factor in a 2-1 victory. The Americas representative effectively utilized their international experience to weather early aggression, demonstrating a superior ability to adapt their mid round calling when faced with BBL's unorthodox rookie setups.

Tactical Snowballing and Regional Struggles on Pearl

The series opened on Pearl, a map that once again highlighted the ongoing struggle for EMEA teams to find their footing on the international stage. According to performance metrics, NRG dominated every facet of the map, securing both pistol rounds and converting their early economic lead into a relentless attack side snowball. Impactful timeouts and standout individual plays allowed NRG to comfortably steal BBL’s own map pick with a 13-6 scoreline, leaving the Turkish squad searching for answers before the second map.

Turkish Resilience and Individual Brashness on Abyss

BBL Esports responded with significant force on Abyss, NRG’s chosen map, by utilizing wide attack defaults that consistently caught the defenders out of position. This aggressive posturing led to a commanding 9-3 halftime lead for the EMEA side. Yusuf ‘Lar0k’ Kanber delivered one of the tournament's most impressive individual maps to date, recording a KDA of 27/9/5. BBL’s ability to persevere through narrow late round scenarios allowed them to even the series with a 13-6 win, shifting the momentum back in their favor heading into the decider.