What to watch this week - More Stage 2 action, final Group Stage weeks for Pacific, China

Image: Riot Games

The Group Stages for Stage 2 of the VCT franchise leagues are nearing their end, with Pacific and China playing their final weeks.

The action continues to heat up in the VALORANT esports scene as Stage 2 of the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) continues all across the globe. With teams vying for all-important spots in VALORANT Champions in Seoul, South Korea in August, teams will be fighting harder than ever to prove themselves worthy of competing on the game's biggest stage.

Teams can earn a spot in this year's VALORANT Champions in one of two ways. First is by earning the most Championship points in their region, with each region having one team advance to VALORANT Champions through Championship points. The second will see the Top 3 teams from each region's Stage 2 Playoffs punch their tickets to Seoul.

Only China's EDward Gaming has been able to secure a spot in VALORANT Champions so far this season, doing so through Championship points. But as Stage 2 continues to progress, more and more teams will start seeing themselves bound for VALORANT's annual world championship tournament.

In the Pacific League, Gen.G Esports is leading with 14 championship points, although their rivals Paper Rex are not far behind with 13 points. In EMEA, Fnatic tops the standings with 12 points while FUT Esports, Karmine Corp, and Team Heretics are all tied at 8 points apiece. Over in the Americas, Sentinels have 11 points ahead of 100 Thieves and Leviatán, who have 9 and 8 points, respectively.

Read on as we break down all the VALORANT action happening this week:

VCT Pacific - Group Stage (Week 3 and Week 4)

The Playoff seeds for the Pacific League have already been decided ahead of the final leg of the Group Stage, so the remaining matches are basically just gonna be formalities. Paper Rex, DRX, Talon Esports, RRQ, Team Secret, and Gen.G Esports are heading to the Playoffs while T1, Global Esports, ZETA DIVISION, DetonatioN FocusMe, and Bleed Esports fail to advance.

If there is one thing still left to fight over in the Pacific league at this point, it will be the Top 2 spots in the standings, which will yield an automatic bye to the upper bracket semifinals of the Playoffs. Paper Rex currently sit up top with a 7-1 record while DRX and Talon are fighting over that second seed with 6-2 records apiece. Keep an eye out for those three teams as they secure try to secure a better position in the Playoffs.

Monday, July 1

Paper Rex vs DetonatioN FocusMe - 5:00 p.m. KST
DRX vs Talon Esports - 8:00 p.m. KST

Friday, July 5

Paper Rex vs RRQ - 5:00 p.m. KST
Gen.G Esports vs Global Esports - 8:00 p.m. KST

Saturday, July 6

DRX vs DetonatioN FocusMe - 5:00 p.m. KST
ZETA DIVISION vs Talon Esports - 8:00 p.m. KST

Sunday, July 7

Gen.G Esports vs Team Secret - 5:00 p.m. KST
Paper Rex vs ZETA DIVISION - 8:00 p.m. KST

VCT EMEA - Group Stage (Week 3)

Only two teams have secured Playoff spots so far in EMEA: FUT Esports (6-2) and Fnatic (6-3). While everyone else bar KOI are still in contention for the remaining four Playoff seeds, Team Heretics (5-2), Natus Vincere (4-4), Karmine Corp (4-4), and Team Vitality (4-4) are best positioned to claim those spots.

Look to FUT Esports and Fnatic to secure a Playoff bye, though Team Heretics should be able to get in the mix as well. But if you're looking for the most high-stakes action in EMEA, keep an eye on the teams in the Playoff bubble as they try to keep their Playoff hopes alive.

Wednesday, July 3

Team Heretics vs GIANTX - 6:00 p.m. CEST
FUT Esports vs Gentle Mates - 9:00 p.m. CEST

Thursday, July 4

KOI vs Natus Vincere - 6:00 p.m. CEST
Team Liquid vs Karmine Corp - 9:00 p.m. CEST

Friday, July 5

BBL Esports vs Team Vitality - 6:00 p.m. CEST
Team Heretics vs Gentle Mates - 9:00 p.m. CEST

VCT Americas - (Week 2 - Super Week and Week 3)

The Americas league will see the most action this week, as it will see through three more days of its Super Week as well as the first two days of Week 3. The league's jam-packed slate to go with high-stakes matches for Playoff seeding should make for some excellent viewing.

Leviatán currently top the standings in the Americas with a 6-1 record, though KRU Esports and Cloud9 are nipping at their heels with 5-2 records apiece. Sentinels (5-3), G2 Esports (4-3), and Evil Geniuses (4-3) round out the Top 6, though 100 Thieves (3-4), NRG (3-4), and LOUD (3-4) still have a chance to sneak in. From struggles between the regional heavyweights to dogfights between teams in the Playoff bubble, the Americas league will have plenty to offer for viewers this week.

Monday, July 1

NRG vs G2 Esports - 2:00 p.m. PDT
Sentinels vs Cloud9 - 5:00 p.m. PDT

Tuesday, July 2

Evil Geniuses vs Leviatán - 2:00 p.m. PDT
LOUD vs FURIA - 5:00 p.m. PDT

Wednesday, July 3

MIBR vs 100 Thieves - 2:00 p.m. PDT
NRG vs KRU Esports - 5:00 p.m. PDT

Saturday, July 6

G2 Esports vs KRU Esports - 2:00 p.m. PDT
LOUD vs Leviatán - 5:00 p.m. PDT

Sunday, July 7

MIBR vs FURIA - 2:00 p.m. PDT
NRG vs Cloud9 - 5:00 p.m. PDT

VCT China - Group Stage (Week 4)

Similar to the Pacific league, things have mostly been settled over in the Chinese league heading to its final Group Stage week. FunPlus Phoenix (7-1) have locked up a Playoff bye while EDward Gaming (6-3) and Bilibili Gaming (5-4) are through to the Playoffs. Meanwhile, All Gamers and Trace Esports are at 5-3 apiece and need one more win to guarantee themselves a Playoff berth.

Vying over the last spot in the Top 6 are Dragon Ranger Gaming (4-5) and Nova Esports (4-6), although the former are in control of their destiny as they still have one more match to play against Wolves Esports. If you're looking for a high-stakes match, that one there should fit the bill.

Wednesday, July 3