It's been awesome to watch the opening Swiss Stage of VCT Masters Santiago, with some of the best VALORANT teams in the world fighting for a spot in the Playoffs Stage. Now, we know which four teams survive, and which four have been eliminated.

Let's just cut to the chase on this one. Chinese fans were devastated as neither XLG Esports nor the 2023 world champions, EDWard Gaming, made it through to the Playoffs Stage. The other two teams that fell short were T1 and Team Liquid.

After the dust settled over the Swiss Stage, it was Gentle Mates and Paper Rex who went through on clean 2-0 records, while G2 Esports and the reigning world champions, NRG, got past the hurdle with 2-1 records.

This sets up the Playoffs Stage, where these four teams will be joined by the top four (winner of each regional Kickoff event) in an eight-team, double-elimination bracket.

Check out the first round matchups below, including start dates/times in SAST, so you don't miss a second of the action.

• Paper Rex vs. FURIA starting on 6 March at 20:00.
• Gentle Mates vs. NS RedForce starting on 6 March at 23:00.
• BBL Esports vs. NRG starting on 7 March at 19:00.
• All Gamers vs. G2 Esports starting on 7 March at 22:00.

The VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs Stage runs from 6 to 15 March 2026. You can watch all the action via the VALORANT Twitch or VCT YouTube channels.

Header image via Riot Games.