MANILA, Philippines – Philippine representatives NAOS Esports and Oasis Gaming (OAS) have secured their Playoffs berths after the third day of the VALORANT Challengers SEA Split 1 (VCL 2026).
Meanwhile, Kadiliman Esports (KDM) will need to conclude their final Group Stage match on March 16 to determine whether they qualify for the Playoffs.
NAOS qualifies despite second match loss
NAOS opened their VCL 2026 campaign with a 2-0 victory over Rival Esports on March 5.
Jerome “Mojer” Literal and Lucas “Secre” Gruenberg led the way during that dominant run with a 38/22/6 and 37/29/19 KDA, respectively.
Then, in their second match yesterday against Boom Esports, the Filipino squad was unable to recover in games two and three despite a strong game one.
Mojer and Secre still led their squad with 38 and 48 kills, respectively, and an ACS of 201 and 223. However, this wasn’t enough to stop the late-game momentum of Boom Esports’ Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov.
d3ffo ended the match with a 56/38/20 KDA, 240 ACS, and 146 ADR.
Despite the loss, NAOS still secured a Playoff slot due to their map differential. They lost two maps, compared to Boom Esports’ three, giving NAOS the tiebreak advantage.
OAS in the Playoffs, one match left to go
In Group D, OAS is grouped with Sharper Esport (SPE) and 4 Shurima (4S). March 11 marked the start of Group D matches, with OAS taking 2-0 against 4S.
Shawn “Slathom” Bolondro delivered a standout performance with his 38/13/18 KDA, 282 ACS, and a 91.2% KAST.
The match between SPE and 4S followed, with SPE winning 2-0, eliminating 4S from Playoffs contention. OAS and SPE will still need to face each other on March 16.
Eyes on KDM’s last match
The third Filipino representative at the VCL 2026, KDM, will face 555 on March 16 for a do-or-die match in Group C.
It has been an equal group so far with 555 winning against Fancy United, 2-1 on March 5. Fancy United then found victory against KDM, 2-1 on March 12.
The Playoffs are set to take place on March 18, 2026.