Masters Reykjavík, Valorant’s first-ever International LAN tournament has officially concluded on Sunday, 30th May, with Sentinels securing the first offline title in the game’s history. Here’s how it all went down.
Masters Day 1: Upper Bracket Round 1 and 2
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 eventually devolved 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 opening day didn’t disappoint either. 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: Upper Bracket Round 2
Team Vikings vs. X10 Esports
The 2-0 scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story here as the matchup was extremely close. 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 Liquid dominating for the most part. Even after Version1 seven-round streak, their opponents were 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: Lower Bracket Round 1 and Upper Bracket Round 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 Reykjavík with a clean 2-0 result: 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 Reykjavík after KRU esports showed them the way home in a 2-0 defeat. Shark weren’t able to put up a challenge worthy for KRU as they fell on the Icebox with a staggering 13:5 score and with a 13:6 on Bind to follow.
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.
Masters Day 4: Upper Bracket Round 3 and Lower Bracket Round 3
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 them on Icebox with a 13:4 score and 13:9 finish on Haven.
Team Liquid vs KRU Esports
After eliminating Crazy Racoon the previous day, KRU faced the same fate against Team Liquid, having 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 13:9 finish.
Masters Day 5: Lower Bracket Round 3 and Upper Bracket Final
Version1 vs. Fnatic
Yet another match with a NA team vying against a European side in an attempt to attain region supremacy. After a relatively one-sided first half, Version1 came back strong enough to take the lead on Bind. Following that, a back-and-forth ensued with both teams starting to heat up, leading to overtime. Fnatic thrived under the 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.
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.
Sentinels vs. NUTURN Gaming
Sentinels 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 at this stage as they had one more chance at coming back in the grand finals and seek vengeance.
Masters Day 6: Lower Bracket Round 4 and Lower Bracket Final
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 on Ascent.
Fnatic vs NUTURN gaming:
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. Haven was NUTURN’s weakness throughout the Masters tournament 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
After a long week of Valorant action at Masters Reykjavik, the day had finally come and only two teams remained: Sentinels and Fnatic. The obvious favorites were the North Americans owing to their an undisputed run in the upper bracket and they lived up to the hype. After a clean 3-0 finish, they became the only team to not lose a single match in the entire Masters tournament.
That’s not to say Fnatic didn’t put up a fight: they forced overtime on Split and Bind alike – not twice but thrice on the second map -, maintaining the chaos worthy of Grand Finals.
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 |
The next Masters event will take place in Berlin between September 9 and 19, with qualifiers running in July and August. Sentinels can already lean back and relax though, having secured a spot in the Champions event with their dominant victory in Reykjavík.
1 comment