ValorantTOURNAMENTMasters London 2026 Upper Final: Why Is It EDward Gaming vs Paper Rex?
Both Chinese seeds collided in the upper bracket, and only EDward Gaming survived. EDG beat XLG while Paper Rex downed Vitality, setting a Masters London 2026 upper final few saw coming. Here are the results and today’s lower-bracket games.
The Masters London 2026 playoff bracket after Day 4, with Paper Rex and EDward Gaming set for the upper final. Image: Riot Games
When the Masters London playoff draw landed both Chinese seeds on the same side of the upper bracket, it set up a collision nobody wanted this early. On June 15 it happened anyway, and only one of them survived. The upper final is now set. It is a pairing few would have predicted at the start: EDward Gaming against Paper Rex.
Here is how the two upper semifinals played out, and what is still left to fight for.
How did EDward Gaming reach the Masters London 2026 upper final?
By winning the first all-China playoff series of the event, and making it look comfortable. EDward Gaming beat Xi Lai Gaming 2-0, closing out Pearl 13-6 and Split 13-7.
XLG arrived on the back of a run that knocked out G2, so this was no easy draw. EDG simply had the steadier hands when it mattered, with ZmjjKK looking like the most dangerous player on either side. For a team sharing a bracket slot with its own countrymen, EDG could not have asked for a cleaner result.
How did Paper Rex get there?
The hard way, in a three-map swing that never settled. Paper Rex beat Team Vitality 2-1 to reach the upper final. The scorelines tell the story of a series that lurched from one side to the other:
- PRX opened with a statement. Breeze was a 13-3 demolition. Paper Rex found opening picks at will and never let Vitality build any economy.
- Vitality hit back on Split. Their defensive setups slowed PRX’s chaos and forced the decider.
- PRX closed it on Fracture. The Pacific side regained control when it counted and took the map to wrap the series.
PRX walked in as the betting favorite, and they backed it up, though Vitality made them sweat for it.
What does the Masters London 2026 bracket look like now?
| Stage | Matchup | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Final | EDward Gaming vs Paper Rex | June 19 |
| Lower Round 2 | Xi Lai Gaming vs Leviatán | June 16 |
| Lower Round 2 | Team Vitality vs FUT Esports | June 16 |
Both Chinese teams have now split paths. EDG sit one win from the grand final. XLG drop into a lower bracket that is filling up with dangerous names.
What is left to play for today?
The lower bracket does not wait. Two Lower Round 2 series go today, June 16, and both carry an early exit for the loser:
- Xi Lai Gaming vs Leviatán. The giant-killers from the upper bracket meet a Leviatán side that has refused to die on the lower side.
- Team Vitality vs FUT Esports. Vitality regroup after the PRX loss against a FUT team plenty of people fancy for a long run.
A couple of things worth holding onto:
- The prize is real. Masters London runs on a 1,000,000 USD pool, with 350,000 USD and 8 VCT Points waiting for the champion on June 21.
- This is a checkpoint, not the summit. London is the last global stop before Champions in Shanghai later this year. Those VCT Points carry weight well beyond the trophy.
EDward Gaming and Paper Rex will not meet until the upper final on June 19. That gives the lower bracket three full days to decide who climbs back up to face them. You can follow every match, result and prize split on our live VCT Masters London 2026 hub. We will keep our coverage current as the bracket settles.