The playoff stage of VALORANT Masters Santiago has produced one of the tournament’s biggest surprises so far: Nongshim RedForce’s undefeated run through the bracket. The Korean squad entered the international event as the No. 1 seed from the Pacific league and has quickly established itself as the competition’s dark horse after victories over Gentle Mates and G2 Esports during the opening days of the playoffs.

Masters Santiago, hosted at Espacio Riesco, brings together top teams from the Americas, EMEA, Pacific and China regions in Riot Games’ tactical shooter esport. Riot Games said the playoffs ran from March 7 to March 11 and set the stage for the final weekend of competition.

Nongshim began its playoff campaign with a decisive 2–0 victory over Gentle Mates on March 7. Park “Ivy” Sung-hyun led the opening map on Haven with 24 eliminations while playing Killjoy, helping secure a 13–10 win. In the second map, Lee “Dambi” Hyuk-gyu delivered a late-round surge as Neon to close out the series.

The momentum continued in the upper bracket second round against G2 Esports. Nongshim dropped the opening map but responded with a 13–7 win in the second after strong performances from Lee and Park, who combined for 42 kills using Neon and Viper.

The deciding map on Split proved far closer. Nongshim built a commanding first-half lead before G2 mounted a comeback that forced overtime. In the extra rounds, Kim “Francis” Moo-bin, Jung “Xross” Hwan and Goo “Rb” Sang-min delivered key eliminations to secure a 14–12 victory and a 2–1 series win, sending Nongshim to the upper bracket final.

VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs Recap and Finals Preview

Nongshim’s next challenge will come against NRG, the winners of VALORANT Champions 2025, in the upper bracket final scheduled for Saturday, March 14. NRG entered Masters Santiago as the Americas No. 3 seed and narrowly qualified for the playoffs after defeating Team Liquid in the final Swiss Stage match. Since reaching the playoff bracket, the team has regained momentum with wins over BBL Esports and Paper Rex. Paper Rex, the other Pacific representative remaining in the tournament, dropped to the lower bracket after losing to NRG but avoided elimination with a victory over All Gamers.

If Nongshim advances to the grand final and Paper Rex continues its lower bracket run, the Pacific region could see an all-Pacific championship match. Such a result would extend the region’s streak of international Masters titles following wins at Masters Shanghai 2024, Masters Bangkok 2025 and Masters Toronto 2025.

Fans in South Korea will have an opportunity to watch the final weekend together. Riot Games Korea announced it will host a viewing party for roughly 110 attendees at Sam Ryan’s during the finals weekend. The event will coincide with Nongshim’s matches and will operate on a first-come, first-served basis for the March 14 gathering, while later sessions may require reservations.