VCT Americas Kickoff is reaching its climax, with 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses fighting for their tournament lives in a do-or-die Lower Bracket series. The winner keeps their VCT Masters Santiago hopes alive, while the loser will see their run come to an end and must sit out for the next two months.
Image: Riot Games
100 Thieves came into the 2026 with significant changes to their roster, recruiting three players with immense firepower. Now, they find themselves on the brink of elimination after falling to the Lower Bracket of VCT Kickoff Americas, but their journey down here was warranted.
Overall, 100T have looked relatively sharp, only losing to G2 Esports and NRG, which are two of the top contenders in the league. Nadeshot’s org has handled every other competition well, as the team was able to ease past the likes of Sentinels and LOUD with statement victories.
See also: G2 Esports vs NRG – Mid-bracket semi-final preview
To qualify for Santiago, they will have to win four matches in a row, starting with this one against EG. Though we don’t think they’ll complete the run, we believe they are shaping up to be the fourth strongest team of the region.
Image: Riot Games
Evil Geniuses had a dismal start to their Kickoff journey, losing two matches in a row to ENVY and Sentinels which immediately sent them to the Lower Bracket. However, they are on a two-match winning streak, taking down LOUD and ENVY in a rematch for survival.
Both series victories were completed in 2-0 fashion, and the roster has been ramping up. However, they have only won against two of the weakest teams in the region (LOUD being a clear 11th-12th place team) and ENVY recently going through sudden roster changes in the middle of the season.
We won’t discredit EG for any of their wins, but they are yet to make a statement with a victory against a real top team in the league. The team’s fans must put their hopes on Douglas “dgzin” De Santana Da Silva, who finished the series against ENVY with an insane 1.83 rating across two maps.
100T enter this series with a huge veto advantage. In their previous matches, EG have consistently defaulted to perma-banning Breeze, then picking Pearl, Corrode, or Haven. However, 100T have also picked all three of these maps, meaning they are comfortable playing whatever EG selects into them.
When we consider recent form, players, and map pool, we believe 100T has everything it takes to win this series against EG, with a 2-0 victory also in the cards.
Our picks:
Odds courtesy of GG.Bet Esports. Subject to change.
Featured image: Riot Games
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