Riot Games announced that the '2026 VCT Pacific Stage 2' Playoffs were held from August 26 to 29 at the Sangam SOOP Colosseum in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

As a result of the playoffs, Nongshim RedForce became the second team from the Pacific region to qualify for Champions Shanghai. This comes after securing second place in cumulative Championship Points, regardless of remaining match results.

After defeating Paper Rex 2-0 on August 26 and beating Gen.G 2-1 on August 27, Nongshim RedForce secured qualification for both the VCT Pacific Finals Busan and Champions Shanghai.

In the first map, 'Ascent', against Gen.G, they secured a victory over 't3xture' Kim Na-ra's Yoru with bold decision-making. Gen.G leveled the series in the second map, 'Summit', driven by the performance of 'Effina' Kim Nak-yeon.

In the third map, 'Sunset', the two teams were locked in a tight battle at 11-11. In a firefight at B Site, Nongshim RedForce's 'Francis' Kim Mu-bin and 'Rb' Goo Sang-min overwhelmed their opponents, closing out the map for Nongshim RedForce at 13-11.

T1 and VARREL also survived the lower bracket to secure qualification for the VCT Pacific Finals Busan. T1 defeated Kiwoom DRX and Gen.G 2-0 each. In the match against Gen.G, 'stax' Kim Gu-taek closed out the final firefight, while 'iZu' Ham Woo-joo also delivered strong performances across both maps. Although Gen.G went undefeated in the Stage 2 group stage, they failed to qualify for both Busan and Shanghai, bringing their season to an end.

VARREL defeated Paper Rex 2-1. 'Foxy9' Jung Jae-sung was named match MVP after recording 29 kills in the third map.

With Paper Rex and Nongshim RedForce securing spots at Champions Shanghai by finishing first and second in Championship Points, the competition for the remaining two slots has narrowed down to a three-way battle among T1, VARREL, and Global Esports.