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Sentinel winning Masters

VCT Masters Reykjavik Recap and Results

Aashir Ahmed 2021-06-02 06:16:52
  Valorant's first-ever International LAN tournament: Masters Reykjavik has officially concluded. As mentioned in this article, the tournament began on Monday, May 24th, and spanned over a week with the Grand Finals being held on Sunday, 30th May. Masters Reykjavik Before we delve into the details, let's just take a moment to appreciate and marvel at this incredible feat in Valorant history, while simultaneously being grateful for the return of LAN tournaments in esports. Masters Reykjavik will hopefully set the momentum for other LAN tournaments to follow in the near future, be it community tournaments or ones organized by Riot themselves. Although words can't capture the action-packed and intense matches that took place, this article will offer a brief summary of the event.  

Masters Day 1:

Fnatic Vs KRU:

The proceedings began with Fnatic defeating KRU Esports on both Haven and Icebox with a 13:5 and 13:4 score on each map respectively. While Fnatic were the favorites for this matchup, a defeat of this magnitude proved that they were determined to leave with the title of the Masters.

Version1 Vs Crazy Raccoon:

NA challengers Version1 appeared to have everything under control at first, but the battle between these teams started heating up; eventually devolving into mayhem. However, by then it was too late and Version1 barely pulled ahead with a 13:11 score on Ascent and 13:10 on Icebox. The match on Icebox faced a brief hiatus owing to technical difficulties, but that didn't stop Version1's momentum.

NUTURN Vs YNG Sharks Esports:

The last match of the day didn't disappoint either, rather it proved to be more interesting since the entire three-match series was played out. Given that this match was in round 1 of the upper bracket, the stakes were higher and the atmosphere tense. The first round, played on Haven, produced a surprising result with Shark Esports dominating NUTURN with a 13:5 defeat. NUTURN came back into the series stronger than ever and turned the tables with a second-round win in Bind with a 13:5 and subsequently in Ascent with the same score.

Masters Day 2:

Team Vikings vs. X10 Esports

The match saw a 2-0 score emerge despite rather close scores in the very end. As the Icebox round neared a possible overtime Team Vikings overpowered their opponents with a 13:11 finish. On Ascent, X10 was able to chain together four back-to-back round wins to take it to OT for the chance of a Map 3 but the Brazilians resisted and won the series.

Team Liquid vs. Version1

Version1 and Team Liquid kicked off Split with an unforgiving back and forth with Team Liquid dominating for the most part. Even after Version1 seven-round streak, Team Liquid was able to force triple overtime and come out on top with a 16:14 finish. Version1 showcased their true potential in Ascent; despite facing a momentary backlash from Team Liquid, they finished with a 13:11 score. The third match took place on Haven and proved to be one of the biggest upsets of the entire Masters as Team Liquid was forced to relegate to the lower bracket after a shocking 13:4 finish.

Fnatic vs. Sentinels

Sentinel, the top NA seed, lived up to their reputation and finished the series against Fnatic in a 2-0 clean sweep with a 13:11 finish on Icebox and 13:10 on Haven. Even though Fnatic tried to push back on Icebox by taking five straight rounds, Sentinels were just powering through offensively. Haven saw a tighter matchup in the start as rounds were being traded between each team, but a combined team effort led Sentinels to close out the series easily.

Masters Day 3:

X10 Esports vs. Crazy Raccoon

Although this was the first elimination match, it turned out to be rather easy for X10 as they eliminated the only Japanese team, Crazy Raccoon from Masters Reykjavik with a clean 2-0 result contributed towards by a 13:9 finish on Haven and 13:5 on Icebox.

Sharks Esports vs. KRU Esports

Sharks Esports were the second team eliminated from Masters Reykjavik after KRU esports showed them the way home in a 2-0 defeat. Shark Esports wasn't able to put up a challenge worthy for KRU as they fell on the Icebox with a staggering 13:5 score and only a slightly better score of 13:6 on Bind.

Team Vikings vs. Sentinels

Being the first Round 2 match of the Upper Bracket, fans of both teams were keeping their hopes high but Sentinels continued their undisputed streak with a 13:7 victory on Icebox and 13:5 on Haven. This match paved their way to the upper bracket finals while sending Team Vikings to the lower bracket for a renewed chance at the title.

Masters Day 4:

Version1 Vs NUTURN:

For the NA fans, this came as the first disappointment as the Korean challengers once again proved their worth to compete on the global stage. The most shocking aspect of this series was the fact that Version1 was able to outclass NUTURN on Haven with a 13:3 score. The ascent began similarly, but the defensive supremacy of NUTURN caused overtime which ended up in a 15:13 score to NUTURN. They then decimated V1 in the final round of the Split (a 14:12 finish), promoting them to the upper bracket finals.

Fnatic vs X10 Sports:

The European Giants were too much to handle for X10 as FNATIC easily dispatched X10 on Icebox with a 13:4 score and 13:9 finish on Haven. With the conclusion of this series, X10 was eliminated from the Masters, while Fnatic continued their journey through the lower brackets.

Team Liquid vs KRU Esports:

After eliminating Crazy Racoon, the previous day, KRU faced the same fate against Team Liquid. KRU had to suffer a quick beatdown on Split with the match ending in a 13:2 score. Ascent presented a contrasting circumstance, with KRU coming to life early on and preventing Team Liquid from gaining the lead. Nevertheless, a seven-round lead was enough to propel them to victory with a finish of 13:9 finish.

Masters Day 5:

Version1 vs. Fnatic

Yet another match with a NA team vying against a European team in an attempt to attain region supremacy. After a relatively one-sided first half, Version1 came back strong enough to take the lead. Following that, a back-and-forth ensued with both teams starting to heat up, with inevitable overtime being forced. Fnatic thrived under pressure and went on to take the map in 14:12 score. In contrast, Ascent turned out to be an easy win with a 13:6 finish. This series led to Version1's elimination from the Masters and Fnatic's promotion to lower bracket finals.

Team Vikings vs. Team Liquid:

Vikings chose to initiate proceedings on Ascent with a surprising Agent pick: Yoru. Their EU counterparts proved their competence by winning the series 2-0 without having to break a sweat. Team Liquid kept the pressure on Vikings for the entirety of Ascent leading towards a 13:8 win. Haven for Team Liquid was no different, if anything it was better as they ended the match with a 13:5 finish. This was the end for the Brazilian fan favorites, Team Vikings.

Sentinels vs. NUTURN Gaming:

The Upper Bracket Finals presented NUTURN with an opportunity to put an end to Sentinel's undisputed streak. However, the NA challengers had something else in mind. They saw NUTURN as another obstacle in their path to winning the first Valorant LAN tournament. They annihilated and dismantled NUTURN on both maps with a 13:5 on Bind and 13:4 on Haven. Although NUTURN's attempt in both maps was admirable, the match was an extremely dominant showing by Sentinels. All hope was not yet lost for NUTURN as they had one more chance at coming back in the grand finals and seeking vengeance.

Masters Day 6:

Fnatic vs Team Liquid:

This would be the third match in the rivalry between Fnatic and Team Liquid with each team having won one match against the other. Moreover, the winner of this series would battle out NUTURN in the lower bracket finals. Both EU teams had been pitted up against the best of the best before this match and it all came down to this match to decide the better out of these two. Fnatic started out as attackers and continued to power through rounds, while Team Liquid struggle to get up to pace. They put up a challenge and secure continuous rounds to shake up the FNATIC lineup. Fnatic continued to shut down Team Liquid, making their way into double-digit rounds and eventually securing the first map, Bind with a 13:10 score. On Ascent, things proceeded slightly differently, for starters at least. FNATIC and Team Liquid battled back and forth, ending the first half at 7:5 in Liquid's favor. After the half, FNATIC looked to close the gap and managed to disappoint their EU counterparts once again with a 13:10 finish of Ascent.

Fnatic vs NUTURN gaming:

The morale for FNATIC was extremely high, given that they had just won 2-0 against Team Liquid. On the other hand, NUTURN was motivated to proceed to the Grand Finals to get back at the Sentinels. The series began on Bind, FNATIC's favorite pick. NUTURN managed to tie 8:8 with FNATIC; nevertheless, the slow pace of NUTURN allowed FNATIC to hold their ground on defense and establish a five-game streak for the win on Bind with a 13:8 finish. It was about time NUTURN came back, and that's exactly what they did. After a clutch defusal in the second round, they managed to keep up the lead and finish Ascent on 13:8. The fans of both teams were now on the edges of the seats, and it was time for either team to deliver the final blow. Haven was NUTURN's weakness throughout the masters and it ultimately became their demise, sending them home from Iceland as FNATIC closed out Haven on 13:8 advancing to the Grand Finals.

Day 7: Grand Finals of the Masters

Masters Winners After a long week of Valorant action at Masters Reykjavik, the day had finally come and only two teams remained: Sentinels and FNATIC. What better way to finish the tournament than a typical EU, NA rivalry. The obvious favorites were Sentinels with an undisputed run in the upper bracket and they lived up to the hype better than anyone had anticipated. After a clean 3-0 finish, they became the only team to not lose a single match in the entire Masters tournament. Although they executed the perfect sweep, FNATIC did present a considerable offense. On both Split, they forced overtime and maintained the chaos worthy of Grand Finals. Nevertheless, Fnatic continued to be shut down on their attacking rounds owing to the stellar defense from the NA team, which guaranteed them the necessary round to finish the map on a tight 14:12 score. FNATIC tried to up a notch on Bind and successfully manage to force overtime not once, not twice -- but thrice. This was the Grand Finals battle everyone was looking forward to. Following the double overtime, a patient play from SEN on defense led them to another round, and finally, Bind fell to Sentinels with a 16:14 finish. The final match on Haven witnessed a Fnatic attempt to come back, only to be denied by Sentinel's impressive use of utility led them to an easy victory on the map with a 13:11 finish and no need for overtime. Sentinels walked away as the winners of the 2nd Masters of the Valorant Champions Tour with a massive prize of $200,000 and priceless respect in the competitive scene due to their undisputed streak.  

Results Table:

Place $ USD Points Team
1st $200,000 400 Sentinels
2nd $100,000 350 Fnatic
3rd $80,000 300 NUTURN
4th $60,000 250 Team Liquid
5th-6th $40,000 200 Team Vikings
5th-6th $40,000 200 Version1
7th-8th $25,000 175 KRÜ Esports
7th-8th $25,000 175 X10 Esports
9th-10th $15,000 150 Sharks Esports
9th-10th $15,000 150 Crazy Raccoon
 

Conclusion:

Teams and fans can look forward to the next event now that the first global VALORANT tournament has concluded. The next location and event in the VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin have already been confirmed by Riot Games. Despite the fact that the competition is still months away, matches will begin shortly.   Feature Image credit: Sentinels Kindly support us by following Esports Heaven on Twitter and keep tabs on our website for more interesting content. If you enjoyed this piece, follow the author for more Valorant content at @AashirAhmed155.

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