100 Thieves pull off the heist against Nongshim RedForce to stay alive in Shanghai

Two international champions clashed in a lower bracket do-or-die game. At the end of the battle, 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #1 Cryocells Matthew Panganiban Asuna Peter Mazuryk vora Jordan Pulwer Timotino Timothée Lavigne Dupont bang Sean Bezerra plundered Nongshim RedForce Nongshim RedForce Korea Rank #1 WoohyuN Moon Woo-hyun (문우현) Xross Jeonghwan (정환) Rb Goo Sang-min (구상민) Francis Kim Mu-bin (김무빈) Dambi Lee Hyuk-kyu (이혁규) Ivy Park Sung-hyeon (박성현) 2-1, eliminating the Korean team from Champions Shanghai.

The series started off on 100 Thieves' pick of Summit , a map that has seen a lot of play this tournament. Both NS and 100T stayed the course, opting for a mirror composition around Sage and Chamber.

bang exploded in the pistol round, securing three kills to quickly put 100 Thieves up 2-0. The Thieves even robbed NS's bonus round. NS didn't give up, though. The Koreans answered the onslaught in round four to secure their first round win. The rest of the half can be characterized by one word: chaos. An insane Timotino clutch in round six was followed up by a chaotic NS retake on the A-site.

NS's failed 5v3 retake solidified 100T's momentum on the attack side. The North American org eventually built a 9-3 lead.

In the second-half pistol, a Dambi 4K showcased why he's one of the best players in VCT Pacific. The pistol win cascaded into a bonus win, but that was all she wrote for NS. If 100T's attack was overwhelming, their defense was stifling. The Americas' first seed won four straight rounds to close Summit with a 13-5 W.

Like Summit, NS' map pick of Sunset featured a composition change for the Koreans. Dambi and Francis locked in double-Duelist duties, playing Neon and Yoru, respectively. 100T's double-Duelist comp centered around Asuna 's Phoenix and Timotino 's Neon.

100 Thieves carried their relentless attack from Summit into Sunset. A pistol round win and smothering B-site executes extended 100T's lead to 4-1 on Sunset. In this series, a pattern emerged. NS responded to 100T's momentum with a round win, but the Thieves continued to strong-arm the Koreans and extend their winning streak.

But a successful B-site retake, featuring a Francis 1v1 against Cryocells , led to the first consecutive round wins for NS. The Koreans rode that momentum to a 6-6 scoreline at the half.

The pattern continued in the second half. 100 Thieves took the pistol and bonus rounds. NS won the third round, but 100T claimed the fourth round to secure a 9-7 lead. Even with NS fighting back, they still could not take consecutive rounds. That is, until NS held off the wave of 100T momentum to win back-to-back rounds and tie Sunset 9-9.

NS built their lead round by round. Clutches by Rb , first bloods by Francis , and flawless calling by Rb propelled the Korean organization to four straight round wins and a 13-9 victory on their map pick.

In typical do-or-die fashion, the series came down to one last map: Ascent . NS had yet to play Ascent in Shanghai. The Thieves suffered a close loss to G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #3 jawgemo Alexander Mor BABYBAY Andrej Francisty trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio leaf Nathan Orf in their last showing on Ascent, but they've found success on the map throughout the Americas season.

Just like Summit and Sunset, 100 Thieves opened their account with another pistol round win, quickly assembling a 5-0 lead behind a dominant performance by Cryocells on Cypher. The North American org took full advantage of Ascent's defense-sided nature, closing the half with an 11-1 lead.

100T wanted to win the second-half pistol to prevent NS's double-Sentinel comp from mounting a comeback. And that they did. A near-flawless pistol round and round 14 win officially eliminated Nongshim RedForce from Champions Shanghai, as the Koreans fell 13-1 on Ascent. bang lived up to his name, topping the server with a 1.27 rating.

NS Rb on T1 being the remaining Pacific team at Champs: "Although we had a very nice start to the playoffs with three Pacific teams qualifying for the playoffs. It sucks that we all made our way to the lower bracket. T1 is our last hope for Pacific and we wish them all the best."

100T Nbs on biggest difference between today's performance and the team's performance against G2: "Yesterday we were a little bit stiff. Slightly here and there. G2 was also playing a really good game. Not saying Nongshim was today. Today we were relaxed, cool, calm, and collected. That was the main difference."

Champions Shanghai continues tomorrow with two upper bracket matchups:

G2 Esports vs. Team Vitality (Upper Semifinals)