100 Thieves Are One Map Away From an Esports World Cup Title

100 Thieves are in the Esports World Cup grand final. Say that sentence out loud, it still sounds strange.

The Series

They opened on Sunset and never let Nongshim RedForce breathe, 13-6. Then Lotus happened, 7-13, and for a half hour it looked like the same story as every other NA team's international run: a hot start, then a collapse the second the opponent adjusts. Haven was the decider, and 100T closed it 13-11. Not comfortable. Not a stomp. A map they had to actually win.

Dambi Had the Better Game

Nongshim's Dambi finished the series at 248 ACS, a series high and well above his usual number over the last six months. He was the best player on the server for three maps, and his team is still on the way to a third-place match instead of the final. I keep coming back to this at EWC: individual stat lines are not predicting winners this tournament. Vitality had four players over 200 ACS against Nongshim in the quarterfinal and lost. Now the guy putting up video game numbers is on the wrong side of a scoreline again. Whatever 100T is doing right, it's not showing up in a box score.

What This Means

100T beat MIBR 2-1 in the quarterfinal on the back of Asuna's Phoenix, then beat a Masters Santiago champion roster in the semis. That's not a lucky bracket. That's a team playing its best Valorant of the year at the exact moment it matters. They'll find out their grand final opponent once BBL Esports and NRG settle their semi, and honestly, I don't think 100T cares who it is. Bring the trophy home.