Mehmet “cNed” İpek and the rest of FUT Esports eliminated Erick “aspas” Santos and Leviatan at the VALORANT Champions Tour 2024: Masters Shanghai (2024 VCT Masters Shanghai) to clinch a playoff spot in the tournament.

In what was titled as the battle between former world champions, CNed faced off against Aspas where only one of them will proceed into the playoffs of Masters Shanghai.

CNed became a world champion first, winning the first-ever VALORANT Champions in 2021 as part of the Acend roster. Meanwhile, Aspas followed in his footsteps just a year later as he was part of the legendary LOUD roster that won VALORANT Champions 2022.

Going head-to-head, CNed just edged out Aspas just a bit in their total kills for this series. CNed finished with 48 kills and seven assists while Aspas only managed to get 43 kills and 10 assists for himself.

As for the series itself, FUT immediately made a strong statement in Sunset for the first game. After that, Aspas and Leviatan answered back by winning the second game in Lotus. In the end, it was CNed and FUT that would proceed to the playoffs of Masters Shanghai as they won the third game on Bind.

FUT Makes Statement in Sunset

FUT and CNed quickly made a loud statement against Leviatan in the first game in Sunset. They were simply relentless for the entire time on Sunset. FUT finished the game 13-1, the biggest gap in a game in Masters Shanghai thus far.

CNed's team was simply unstoppable on Sunset. In the first half alone, FUT scored a jaw-dropping 11-1, doing it by winning 11 straight rounds before Leviatan got on the board in the first half's last round.

With a gap so wide, FUT only needed to win two more rounds to win the game, which they immediately did. After winning the second half's pistol round, which put them in map point, FUT simply won the next round to close the game 13-1.

In this lopsided game, Doğukan “qRaxs” Balaban and Eray “yetujey” Budak shined the most in Sunset. Both of them were FUT's top fraggers on the map, with QRaxs recording 19 kills and an average combat score (ACS) of 349 while Yetujey closely followed him with his 18 kills and a 322 ACS.

Leviatan Rises Back Up in Lotus

Of course, it would not be a great series if Aspas and Leviatan were simply swept. As such, Leviatan rose back up in Lotus and won it 13-11, therefore equalizing the series 1-1.

Unlike the first game in Sunset, the second game on Lotus was much closer for FUT and Leviatan. In the first half, Leviatan was ahead of FUT with just two rounds, ending the first half 7-5 in their favor.

After that, Leviatan took the map point as early as Round 18. However, FUT closed the gap and racked up five unanswered rounds to make it 11-12 but Leviatan denied the comeback and won the game in the 24th round.

For this game, Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena was Leviatan's top fragger, finishing the game with 28 kills, 10 assists, and an ACS of 325. Meanwhile, Aspas himself had a not-too-shabby performance, securing seven first kills in his 18-kill performance on Sunset.

Do or Die in Bind

Related NewsArticle continues below
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) reacts against the LA Sparks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
Aces’ A’ja Wilson leads NBA 2K25’s WNBA top rated players
Fever news: What is Caitlin Clark's NBA 2K25 rating?
What is Fever star Caitlin Clark’s NBA 2K25 rating?
WWE 2K25 Update 1.11 Improves Gameplay, Fixes Various Issues
WWE 2K25 Update 1.11 Improves Gameplay, Fixes Various Issues

With both teams vying for playoffs and on the verge of getting eliminated, it was a do-or-die in Bind between FUT and Leviatan in Masters Shanghai. Unfortunately for fans of both teams, only one team will proceed to the playoffs and it was none other than FUT Esports.

FUT and Leviatan were virtually equal in this game. At the start of the first half, Leviatan found themselves with an early lead, taking six out of the first seven rounds of the half. Then, FUT would rally five straight rounds to equalize it 6-6 before halftime.

In the second half, FUT would pull ahead of Leviatan by securing the first three rounds of the half. With that lead, FUT would never give it up as they secured the map point in Round 20 and eventually closed the game 13-11 by Round 24.

Despite being on the losing side, Leviatan's Roberto “Mazino” Bugueño had a great game on Bind. He was the only player in both teams to have broken through the 30-kill barrier, finishing the game with exactly 30 kills, seven assists, and a 351 ACS.

FUT in the Masters Shanghai Playoffs

As the winners of the series, FUT has qualified for the playoffs of the tournament. Meanwhile, unfortunately for the fans of Aspas and the rest of Leviatan, the Latin American team bowed out from the 2024 VCT Masters Shanghai after their loss in this series.

After the series, lots were drawn for the seeded teams, specifically 100 Thieves, EDward Gaming, Fnatic, and Paper Rex, to determine who gets to pick first for their initial playoff opponents. The results are as follows:

  • Paper Rex versus G2 Esports
  • EDward Gaming versus Team Heretics
  • 100 Thieves versus FUT Esports
  • Fnatic versus Gen.G Esports

If you want to watch all the competitive VALORANT action happening in the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Shanghai, you can watch all the matches on the official VALORANT Twitch channel. Additionally, you can also view replays and other Masters Shanghai content at the official VALORANT Champions Tour YouTube channel.

For more 2024 VCT Masters Shanghai news, follow us at ClutchPoints Gaming.