Right then, let's dive straight into the action, mate. Week 2 of the play-in stage for the 2026 VCT Pacific Stage 2 Valorant esports tournament has officially wrapped up. Held from August 19 to 23 at the Sangam SOOP Colosseum in Mapo-gu, Seoul, this leg of the competition saw DRX, Nongshim, T1, and Onside Gaming punch their tickets to the playoffs. Notably, Challengers circuit side Onside Gaming kept their fiery dream alive of marching all the way to Champions Shanghai.

To be fair, DRX, Nongshim, and T1 all had a rather rough time in the group stage, but they managed to salvage their campaigns by grinding through the play-in stage to reach the playoffs. DRX finished dead last in the Omega group during the group stage, yet the squad bounced back by sweeping Onside Gaming 2-0 and grinding out 2-1 victories against ZETA Division and Sharper Esport respectively. During the opening map against ZETA, Kim 'yong' Ho-yong put on a masterclass performance that turned the tide entirely.

Nongshim rolled into the upper bracket round 2 as the 4th seed from the Alpha group, slicing through Team Secret and T1 without dropping a single map to secure their playoff spot. Nongshim's aggressive, no-nonsense playstyle was the absolute driving force behind the run. Knocked down into the lower bracket by Nongshim, T1 bounced right back by dispatching QTD and DetonatioN FocusMe consecutively to grab the final playoff ticket. Although DetonatioN FocusMe fought tooth and nail led by Yoo 'Akame' Gwang-hee and Ibuki 'Meiy' Seki, T1 relied on a brilliantly balanced team effort to get the job done.

Surviving the play-in gauntlet, Onside Gaming stands tall as the sole Challengers team to gatecrash the 2026 VCT Pacific Stage 2 playoffs. Thanks to the 'Road to Champions' system introduced this year, Onside Gaming earned entry into this play-in stage by capturing crowns in both Challengers Korea Split 1 and Split 2. After getting thoroughly dismantled 2-0 by DRX in their opening fixture and dropping to the lower bracket, the squad dug deep to blank both Team Secret and Full Sense 2-0, storming into the lower bracket round 3.

The final hurdle stood in the form of fellow Challengers powerhouse Sharper Esport. In a proper clash of titans between the Challengers Korea champions and the Challengers SEA champions, Onside Gaming clinched victory after an absolute nail-biter of a series to secure their playoff berth. Crucially, Oh 'Ray' Eun-hyuk racked up over 20 kills in both victorious maps, carrying the squad on their back when it mattered most.

With the final four play-in survivors locked in, the playoffs are scheduled to kick off on Wednesday, August 26. A total of eight squads will battle it out, combining the four top performers from the group stage and the four battle-tested teams emerging from the play-ins. The top four survivors from this brutal playoff gauntlet will pack their bags for the Sajik Arena in Dongnae-gu, Busan, where they will compete at the VCT Pacific Finals Busan running for three days from September 4 to 6.

Every single match is being broadcast live across online platforms including YouTube, Chzzk, and SOOP, and you can check out all the juicy tournament details over on the official website and social media channels. Watch the matches unfold live online right now.