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Springboks’ 100-cap curse broken, now to end FNB Stadium jinx against All Blacks
The Springboks managed to break their 100-cap curse against the All Blacks over the past weekend in Cape Town, when Pieter-Steph du Toit became the first Bok to win his 100th game against their greatest foes.
Now the Boks will be targeting their first ever win over the All Blacks at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test on Saturday.
The 100-Test curse was a bigger one to break, as four previous Bok centurions had lost against the All Blacks in their landmark game. fish-roadgame.com
The first ever Springbok centurion, Percy Montgomery, was the first in Cape Town in 2008, losing the match 19-0.
John Smit followed in Johannesburg in 2010, going down 29-22, while Jean de Villiers in Wellington in 2014 suffered a 14-10 defeat and Damian de Allende in Joburg again earlier this month lost 33-16.
Thus, Du Toit emerging victorious 33-26 in his 100th Test this past Saturday was a superb achievement and a fitting way to celebrate the landmark game.
First of two
Former Bok captain Smit’s 100th in 2010 was in fact the first of just two matches between the Boks and All Blacks at the FNB Stadium. They met at the stadium again in 2012 with the visitors again coming out on top, 32-16.
On 11 July 2010 Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 at the FNB Stadium, also known as the Calabash and Soccer City, to lift the 2010 Soccer World Cup trophy.
Fast forward six weeks and the Boks hosted the All Blacks at the stadium in Smit’s landmark match, in front of a record crowd of 94,713 people, and were heartbreakingly beaten in a frenetic finish.
It was the 2010 Tri Nations tournament and the Boks had already lost two games against the All Blacks, 32-12 in Auckland and 31-17 in Wellington.
The Boks held a tight 16-14 lead at halftime, thanks to three penalties from the boot of flyhalf Morne Steyn and a converted Schalk Burger try, while the All Blacks’ points came from three Dan Carter penalties and an unconverted score by prop Tony Woodcock.
Two more Steyn penalties pushed the Boks into a 22-14 lead by the 62nd minute, but a Carter penalty four minutes later brought the All Blacks back within range.
With time ticking down and just three minutes left on the clock captain Richie McCaw crashed over for an unconverted try to draw the scores level, and in the final minute replacement wing Israel Dagg cruised over to clinch the win and break the Springboks’ and packed stadium’s hearts.
Second match
The match in 2012 was in front of a smaller, but still significant crowd of 80,753 people, and they again had to watch the Boks go down from a winning position.
This time the Boks had a slightly bigger lead at halftime, 16-12, thanks to a converted try by wing Bryan Habana, and three penalties, one from the boot of flyhalf Johan Goosen and two from replacement flyhalf Elton Jantjies, while the All Blacks’ points came from tries by lock Sam Whitelock and scrumhalf Aaron Smith, with one conversion from Carter.
But the second half was a complete blowout as the All Blacks added a further 20 points, through converted tries by centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith, as well as a drop goal and penalty from Carter, while the Boks were kept scoreless.
The Boks did manage to get a win at the FNB Stadium, in their third and last match to date to have been played at the stadium, a 73-13 thrashing of Argentina in the Rugby Championship in 2013.
But they will now be looking to finally beat the All Blacks there as well to also take a 2-1 lead in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, heading into the final Test in the USA next weekend.
Llorente dit stop à la Roja à seulement 31 ans
Marcos Llorente a pris une décision importante concernant son avenir international. À seulement 31 ans, le joueur de l’Atlético de Madrid a annoncé qu’il mettait un terme à son parcours avec la sélection espagnole.
Polyvalent, capable d’évoluer au milieu de terrain comme au poste de latéral droit, Llorente avait notamment manqué l’Euro 2024. Malgré la possibilité de poursuivre encore plusieurs années avec la Roja, l’international espagnol a choisi de tourner définitivement la page.
Le joueur a expliqué sa décision dans un message publié sur ses réseaux sociaux :
«Après y avoir longuement réfléchi, j’ai décidé de mettre un terme à mon aventure avec la sélection espagnole. Je suis conscient que je suis encore jeune et que, peut-être, si je continuais à bien faire les choses, il me resterait encore plusieurs années pour porter ce maillot. […] Cela a été une fierté de représenter mon pays et de faire partie de cette histoire. Merci pour tout. Je vous embrasse tous.»
Champion du monde avec l’Espagne, Marcos Llorente quitte donc la sélection après plusieurs années au sein de la Roja. Une page se tourne ainsi pour le joueur de l’Atlético, qui garde malgré tout une immense fierté d’avoir représenté son pays au plus haut niveau.
The post Llorente dit stop à la Roja à seulement 31 ans appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.
Pacific vs. Americas: Which VALORANT region is truly the strongest in VCT 2026?
The 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) season has already produced two very different international results. The earlier Masters Santiago saw two Pacific teams meet in the grand final, while Masters London saw an unlikely Americas team win from the lower bracket.
Ahead of VALORANT Champions 2026, we crunched the numbers from two major events this year to see which side performed the best internationally. We compared overall cross-regional records, playoff results, and head-to-head matchups to find out which region is the strongest in VALORANT.
Pacific and Americas lead the overall results
Across Masters Santiago and Masters London, Pacific and Americas have been the two most convincing regions overall. The table below combines every cross-regional series played at both Masters events, including each region’s rounds, maps, and series results, while excluding same-region matchups.
| Region | Round score | Round differential | Map score | Map differential | Series W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | 766–702 | 64 | 40–30 | 10 | 15–12 |
| Pacific | 613–534 | 79 | 31–23 | 8 | 13–7 |
| EMEA | 397–414 | -17 | 19–20 | -1 | 7–9 |
| China | 310–436 | -126 | 10–27 | -17 | 4–11 |
Americas showcases better team depth
Americas has shown greater depth across its lineup, which explains why the region has more total rounds, maps, and series.
The region finished with a 15–12 series record against international teams, giving it the most cross-regional series wins of any region at 15, two more than Pacific. Americas also played 27 such series, seven more than Pacific.
This depth was most apparent at Masters Santiago, where both NRG and G2 Esports finished in the top four. Both teams went 4–3 against other regions, while the top-seeded FURIA, which earned a bye directly to the playoffs from its Americas Kickoff victory, failed to score a series win.
In London, G2 Esports entered the playoffs directly but was immediately eliminated after losses to Xi Lai Gaming (XLG) and FUT Esports. It suffered a similar fate to the top seed at the previous Masters, while NRG managed only one international victory before failing to qualify from the Swiss stage.
This left Leviatán to pick up the slack and deliver one of the most exciting lower-bracket runs, winning five straight elimination series before clinching the grand final in a full five-map series.
Compared to other regions, Americas has a more balanced contribution in international play, with Leviatán going 6–1 in London, while NRG and G2 Esports posted records of 5–4 and 4–5 across both Masters, respectively.
Pacific’s strong records come from outlier teams
Pacific’s strength has been much more concentrated than Americas, with most of its international success coming from two standout teams rather than across the full lineup.
The table below shows the regional head-to-head record, where Pacific leads its international matchups against Americas and China, while splitting its series evenly with EMEA.
| Region | Americas | EMEA | Pacific | China |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | — | 5–3 | 4–8 | 6–1 |
| EMEA | 3–5 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Pacific | 8–4 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 |
| China | 1–6 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — |
The region was undoubtedly the star at Masters Santiago, where Nongshim RedForce won the event and Paper Rex (PRX), another Pacific team, took second. Both squads earned their places in the grand final by repeatedly beating international opposition, boosting their cross-regional series record.
In London, none of Pacific’s Swiss-stage teams qualified for the playoffs. While PRX was the sole Pacific team in the playoffs via direct invite, it still reached another grand final.
As a result, Pacific’s great international record and 65% cross-regional series win rate reflect an extremely competitive top end. In fact, 12 out of the 13 victories against other regions came from Nongshim RedForce (3) and PRX (9), with T1 contributing one win against China’s EDward Gaming (EDG).
China trails behind despite decent playoff placements
Unfortunately for China, the region has the weakest showing so far in 2026. Its best result came from EDG, winner of VALORANT Champions 2024, which finished third at Masters London, followed by XLG, which finished 5th–6th in the same tournament.
This is already a marked improvement on Santiago, as both teams were promptly eliminated during the Swiss stage without winning a series. The region has had a rough VCT season, as reflected in its 26.7% cross-regional series win rate and 41.6% round win rate.
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Against international teams, XLG contributed two wins, EDG and All Gamers added one each, and Dragon Ranger Gaming failed to record a win. Even its top-seeded representative in Santiago struggled internationally, as All Gamers went straight to the lower bracket and were eliminated in the second lower-bracket round, only scoring one series win.
All in all, China finished just 4–11 in cross-regional series across the two Masters, giving the region a 26.7% series win rate. It was also the only region to finish with a win rate below 30% in both series and maps.
EMEA starts strong, but loses momentum in the playoffs
EMEA has been somewhat of a statistical anomaly when viewed through the overall cross-regional metrics, as its 49.0% round win rate, 48.7% map win rate, and 43.8% series win rate depict a more middle-of-the-pack region.
The table below highlights EMEA’s strong playoff representation, with five of its six representatives appearing in the playoffs and tying Americas for the highest representation rate.
| Region | Playoff representation | Round score | Round WR | Playoff series | Playoff win rate | Top-three finishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | 5/6 (83.3%) | 519–494 | 51.2% | 9–9 | 50.0% | 2 |
| Pacific | 3/6 (50.0%) | 409–326 | 55.6% | 10–2 | 83.3% | 3 |
| EMEA | 5/6 (83.3%) | 238–295 | 44.7% | 2–8 | 20.0% | 0 |
| China | 3/6 (50.0%) | 197–248 | 44.3% | 3–5 | 37.5% | 1 |
Excluding the two teams directly invited to the playoffs, three out of the four EMEA teams qualified through Swiss, with only Team Liquid failing to qualify at VALORANT Masters Santiago, giving the region a 5–1 cross-regional series record in Swiss.
EMEA consistently put teams into the playoff bracket, but once there, the region’s performance falls off a cliff. EMEA went just 2–8 in cross-regional playoff series for a 20% win rate, and a 44.7% round win rate — just 0.4 percentage points above China’s. What’s worse is that despite sending five teams to the playoffs, EMEA remains the only region without a top-three finish across the two Masters.
Which region is most likely to win VALORANT Champions 2026?
After two Masters events, Pacific has the strongest overall case for being VALORANT’s best-performing region in 2026. Statistically, the region owns the highest cross-regional series win rate, the best playoff record, and an 8–4 head-to-head advantage over Americas, while also producing three of the six top-three finishes across both Santiago and London.
However, Americas arguably offers the best combination of ceiling and depth heading into Champions 2026.
While Pacific’s success has been heavily concentrated around PRX and Nongshim RedForce, Americas has received more balanced contributions from its representatives. Outside of Masters, the recently concluded 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) had two Americas teams in the grand final, 100 Thieves and NRG.
That said, Pacific still owns the most impressive headline numbers. PRX followed its back-to-back Masters grand final appearances with a 13th–16th finish at EWC 2026, while Nongshim RedForce placed third. The latter team has yet to secure a spot at Champions 2026 at the time of writing.
In the two Masters Swiss stages, Pacific went 3–5 against other regions, yet recorded 10–2 once the playoffs began. This shows that the region’s international ceiling depends heavily on the performance of its standout representatives at Champions.
Can EMEA or China challenge at Champions 2026?
EMEA is harder to dismiss and could cause some upsets during the group stage. Despite that, the region seems cursed to finish without a top-three placement in major tournaments, as seen at both Masters and EWC 2026. While the region can certainly populate the bracket with its representatives, it has so far lacked the extra edge needed to reach the top.
As for China, the region remains the biggest outsider with the weakest Masters numbers, despite EDG‘s third-place finish in London. However, the same team finished 9th–12th at EWC 2026, tying with All Gamers for the region’s best placement. At Champions, EDG and XLG will be joined by JD Gaming and TYLOO, with China needing a much stronger collective showing to challenge for the title.
Ultimately, Pacific has been the strongest region across the two Masters events, but Americas may be the safer pick to produce the VALORANT Champions 2026 winner due to its greater depth.
Editor’s note: All statistics were compiled using match data from VLR.gg and Liquipedia for VCT Masters Santiago and Masters London 2026. Same-region matchups were excluded, so the analysis reflects only international competition.
The post Pacific vs. Americas: Which VALORANT region is truly the strongest in VCT 2026? appeared first on Esports Insider.