Valorant Masters Santiago is almost upon us, as the best global Valorant teams head to the Chilean capital to duke it out at the first Masters event of 2026. With Pick’Ems now live, here are our suggestions for the best picks to make it out of the Swiss Stage.

The first event of the season can always be tricky to gauge fully in any esport. Teams are still fairly fresh, there have been certain balancing changes, and while there is data to go off, you can never truly guess what’s going to happen.

That’s what makes these Pick’Ems even more exciting. So, here are our picks for the Swiss stage of Valorant Masters Santiago.

Undefeated: T1 (2-0)

Our priority pick for the team to go undefeated in the Swiss Stage is Korean side T1. They looked very strong in the Pacific Kickoff, taking second seed and beating fellow Swiss Stage team Paper Rex on their run.

Not only that, but a favorable opening round fixture against Team Liquid is sure to set them off on the right foot, though an upset there could be huge.

Gentle Mates (2-0)

Gentle Mates have a difficult opening-round matchup against EDward Gaming, who can certainly be looked at as dark horses to do some damage here.

However, M8 made short work of much of the EMEA Kickoff bracket before losing out to BBL Esports, with Martin “Marteen” Pátek in particular standing out with some huge plays and generally performing at an elite level across the tournament. EDward Gaming may struggle to contain him in their opening match, but if they can and get the victory, they feel a great outside pick to get through Swiss.

G2 (2-1)

G2 have arguably the most even opening round in the event, facing a Paper Rex team that have performed well in Pacific and combine for a very good matchup.

This fixture could really go either way, but G2 as the #2 Americas seed should just have the edge to take down their Pacific opponents. If not, we’re not too worried about them either way, as they should be capable of beating just about anybody in the Swiss round.

Paper Rex (2-1)

Whether they beat G2 or not, we see Paper Rex getting through to Playoffs. There may be an upset once either team goes to 0-1, or the 1-1 round, but both are simply too good not to be there.

Whichever way this matchup goes, we predict both teams getting to Playoffs.

Of course, as with any tournament, you can never truly guess exactly how things will play out. Reigning world champions NRG could catch fire, while EDward Gaming could pull off the wins needed to show out on the international stage.

No matter what happens, with Valorant heading to South America for the first time, you can guarantee a fun event with some fantastic twists and turns.