Acend and Vision Strikers are the ones to proceed in the tournament after Valorant Masters Berlin Group A matches came to an end.
Group A of VCT 2021 Stage 3 Masters Berlin, also known as the group of death, has ended. It featured five breathtaking matchups and different game styles. In the end, Acend and Vision Strikers managed to qualify for the playoffs. This is the story of Group A.
Vision Strikers
The Korean champions participated in the tournament with huge expectations. They had the spotlights on them in the early stages of Valorant, thanks to their 102-match winning streak. After failing to qualify for Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik, the time for Vision Strikers to step up in the international stage has come.
Their first appearance in Masters Berlin Group A was against SEA’s Paper Rex, which was seemingly the weakest team in the group. However, the matchup wasn’t that easy for Vision Strikers as they beat their opponent 13-9 and 13-11 after two close maps. Questionings started immediately: Were Vision Strikers not as powerful as people thought?
Apprehensions weren’t true. The Korean representatives showed how strong they are against Acend, dominating them in the winner’s match of Group A. Their team play and utility usage were at another level and there was no shortage of individuals compared to other players. Vision Strikers became the first team to qualify for playoffs from Group A, proving that they are a real deal.
Acend
Despite attending Masters Berlin as EMEA’s third seed, Acend were one of the competitors for the championship in this tournament. European fans expected a lot from them and couldn’t wait to see Mehmet “cNed” İpek performing in a LAN event.
Acend had a strong start in Valorant Masters Berlin Group A against SuperMassive Blaze, defeating them with a one-sided 2-0. Considering their loss against them in the last matchup, it was a promising beginning for the European team.
EMEA’s representatives took the first hit against Vision Strikers in the winner’s match. It wasn’t an ordinary loss, they completely got dominated by the Korean team in terms of game strategies.
In the decider match, they faced the old friend SuperMassive Blaze once again. This time, it was a life-or-death competition for both sides. After three great maps, Acend surpassed the Turkish team and made it through to Masters Berlin playoffs.
SuperMassive Blaze
SuperMassive Blaze came to the tournament with outstanding support behind them from Turkish fans. They were the Turkish super team and everyone in their country had faith in them. After the superb run in the EMEA Playoffs, going forward in Masters Berlin was possible for SuperMassive Blaze.
However, a shaky start against Acend dropped them to the elimination match in Valorant Masters Berlin Group A instantly. Losing against a strong team wasn’t the problem, but they performed badly in that matchup.
Next up was versus Paper Rex, who proved they weren’t as easy as pie. SuperMassive Blaze took over the Singapore-based team, relying on their individuals even though they lost the first map.
SuperMassive Blaze and Acend met once again in the decider match and this time the Turkish team had the momentum. They won the first map easily and lost the second one in the same way. The deciding map was Split, which is Acend’s least played map in the last few months. However, SuperMassive Blaze lost a lot of clutch rounds at the end of the game and got eliminated by Acend.
Paper Rex
Paper Rex are leaving the tournament by earning everyone’s respect. SEA’s representative never gave up from fighting throughout the group stage and they gave all teams tough times. We would see them in the playoffs if they were in a different group in Masters Berlin.
Their first match was against Vision Strikers. Nobody was giving them a chance, but Paper Rex were so close to winning the matchup. Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto’s insane performance wasn’t enough and they lost 0-2.
Aggressiveness was the most remarkable specialty of Paper Rex, but they displayed against SuperMassive Blaze that they can adjust their gameplay if needed. We witnessed multiple different strategies from them, slowing the pace down and finding the gaps cleverly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for Paper Rex to beat SuperMassive Blaze and they bid farewell to Valorant Masters Berlin.
Valorant Masters Berlin Group A Statistics
Rating
- Mehmet “cNed” İpek, Acend: 1.25
- Goo “Rb” Sang-Min, Vision Strikers: 1.22
- Myeongkwan “MaKo” Kim, Vision Strikers: 1.18
- Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt, Acend: 1.18
- Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul, Vision Strikers: 1.15
Average Combat Score
- Mehmet “cNed” İpek, Acend – 262
- Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul, Vision Strikers: 247
- Aleksander “zeek” Zygmunt, Acend: 247
- Goo “Rb” Sang-Min, Vision Strikers: 226
- Baran “Izzy” Yılmaz, SuperMassive Blaze: 222
VCT 2021 Stage 3 Masters Berlin will continue with playoffs until September 19.
