After several breathtaking matches, Valorant Masters Berlin Group C came to an end with 100 Thieves and Gambit Esports proceeding to the quarterfinals.
Valorant Masters Berlin Group C featured 100 Thieves, Gambit Esports, Crazy Raccoon, and Havan Liberty. Each of these teams represented a different region, which meant that a lot of compelling storylines emerged from the matchups that followed. However, in the end, only 100 Thieves and Gambit Esports managed to qualify for the playoffs.
Gambit Esports
The EMEA champions Gambit Esports came to Valorant Masters Berlin as one of the favorites and the CIS representatives started their tournament without making any mistakes in their first game against Crazy Raccoon. It was total domination across both maps. This victory propelled them to a matchup against #2 NA seed, 100 Thieves.
Being unable to make the playoffs from the winner’s match, Gambit was forced to compete in the decider match against Crazy Raccoon. Taking into account the events of their previous matchup, Gambit came in with high morale. However, a few rounds in, and things started to look shaky for Gambit. Trailing 6-0, Gambit woke up from their slumber, and soon equalized the score, winning the pistol and the subsequent anti-eco with ease.
This momentum allowed them to ace their way through the rest of the rounds and win Ascent. CR once again had a strong start, bagging a 6-1 lead on the Attacking side and it was a couple of rounds later when Gambit decided it was time to end this one and for all. While they did manage to secure the win on Icebox, the map went into overtime due to the resistance Crazy Raccoon desperately managed to put up.
Crazy Raccoon
Crazy Raccoon did not have the best start to the tournament as they were greeted with a loss against Gambit Esports. On Bind, Crazy Raccoon failed to answer Gambit’s firepower except in the third round which resulted in a score of 13-1 at the end of the map. Just like the first map, Gambit Esports once again started rapidly. The Japanese representatives had hard times dealing with all the strategies their opponents had and finally accepted their faith. They secured their first and only win in the tenth round and the map ended up with a similar score as Bind.
As discussed earlier, the decider match did not go in their favor and the win secured the second seed for Gambit Esports from Group C to set up a clash against Vision Strikers in the Quarter-Finals of VCT Stage 3 Berlin Masters. While Crazy Raccoon showed the world that the Japanese scene is not one to be trifled with and despite this loss, their overall performance has resulted in being able to qualify for Valorant Champions, having qualified from Japan after their performance in Iceland and Berlin
Havan Liberty
The Brazilian representatives had to encounter a defeat in their opening match against 100 Thieves. Havan Liberty got off to a decent start before 100 Thieves came back and ended the half with a 9-3 lead. Ethan was magnificent for 100T, using his utility kit to retake control of areas with ease. His quad-kill on the 9th round prevented a Havan comeback in the first half. Havan’s mid aggression was met with a quick control of A site by 100T and the next few rounds followed suit closing Ascent with a 13-3 score.
This led to Haven Liberty facing off Crazy Raccoon which ended up unpleasantly for them and meant the end of Havan Liberty’s tournament reign becoming the third team to get eliminated from the VCT Stage 3 Berlin Masters.
100 Thieves
North American representatives 100 Thieves opened their Valorant Berlin Masters campaign with a comfortable 2-0 series win over Brazilian outfit Havan Liberty. The map veto saw 100 Thieves pick Ascent while Havan Liberty gravitated towards Icebox, with Haven selected as the potential decider. 100 Thieves’ impeccable form and performance resulted in the proceeding being halted at Icebox itself with a 13-3 win on Ascent and 13-6 win on Icebox.
Gambit-100 Thieves matchup was the one to watch. The game started out on an even footing. But Gambit just pulled off the right plays at clutch moments to derive momentum from these close rounds on Ascent and once on defense, Gambit were just too comfortable, with the players opting not to upgrade on their bonus weaponry, stealing the same from 100T at the end of the 11th round instead. Gambit continued to dominate the proceeding leading Icebox 9-2 till the 11th round. However, 100 Thieves pulled off the biggest comeback in recent history finishing the map to close out Icebox 13-11 and force the series into Split. The comeback was all down to the mid-round callouts that confused Gambit into making rash decisions, bringing their Masters Berlin Group C matchup with 100 Thieves to a third map.
Valorant Masters Berlin Group C Statistics
Kill/Death
- Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin | 1.4 K/D
- Bogdan “sheydos” Naumov | 1.35 K/D
- Spencer “Hiko” Martin | 1.28 K/D
- Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov | 1.26 K/D
- Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov | 1.20 K/D
Average Combat Score
- Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin | 267.9 ACS
- Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk | 253.7 ACS
- Ethan “Ethan” Arnold | 225.7 ACS
- Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov | 221.8 ACS
- An “Medusa” Min-cheol | 217.3 ACS
