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Leviatán dismantled Xi Lai Gaming 13-7 on Haven during Lower Round 2 of Valorant Masters London 2026, leaving the Chinese squad one map loss away from packing their bags. The best-of-3 series, played on June 16, marks another chapter in the Americas region’s dominance over international challengers in the lower bracket.
For XLG, a team representing China in the VCT, the path forward just got extremely narrow. Win the next map or go home. That’s the math.
What happened on Haven
XLG had earned their spot in London by navigating the Swiss stage of the tournament, a format designed to separate contenders from pretenders through a gauntlet of best-of-three matches.
The bigger picture at Masters London
XLG’s journey, regardless of how the next map plays out, represents meaningful progress for the Chinese Valorant scene. Qualifying for a Masters event and competing on this stage is itself a milestone.
Crypto’s vanishing act from esports
Crypto sponsorship visibility in esports has declined sharply compared to the peaks of 2022 and 2023. During those years, you couldn’t watch a tournament broadcast without seeing logos from crypto exchanges, NFT platforms, and blockchain gaming companies plastered across every available surface.
Neither Leviatán nor XLG carried visible crypto-related sponsorships during this match, and the broader Masters London event reflects the same trend.
Betting markets on platforms like Coinbase and Kalshi reportedly saw trading volumes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars around the event. So crypto-adjacent activity hasn’t disappeared entirely from esports. It’s just moved from the jersey to the sportsbook.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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