Following the conclusion of Masters Berlin, the list of participating teams in the North America Last Chance Qualifier has been completed.
NA Last Chance Qualifier
Gambit Esports defeating Team Envy in the Grand Finals of Masters Berlin finally gave North America’s fans a clear picture of which teams will be battling for the final NA slot at Valorant Champions in December at Berlin. Envy has earned the second NA seat to Champions, sending the teams that finished 3rd-10th on circuit point standings to the Last Chance Qualifiers.
Meet the teams in the NA LCQ
The final list of teams in the NA LCQ comprises eight teams from North America and two teams from the Oceania Tour of Australia. Here’s who they are:
100 Thieves
Spencer “Hiko” Martin and the rest of 100 Thieves were eliminated by Envy in the semi-finals of Masters Berlin. This loss shot them down to third place in circuit standings and sent their fellow NA representative to Champions. 100T treated fans to several incredible comebacks at Berlin. Expect more clutches to come out of this squad come the LCQ.
Version1
V1 was the surprise NA representatives of Masters 2 in Reykjavik. However, the team suffered a huge blow coming into Stage 3, with Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro getting suspended. With one core member down, V1 struggled to earn valuable circuit points. With Anthony “vanity” Malaspina moving to Cloud 9, Version1 has yet to announce his replacement for the LCQ.
FaZe Clan
FaZe Clan was one of NA’s bright spots in Stage 1. They won Challengers 3 and came second in Stage 1 Masters. Unfortunately, the team failed to keep up with the meta and dropped off mid-season. They rebounded after signing Hunter “BabyJ” Schline, placing second once more at Stage 3 Challengers 2.
XSET
Like Envy, XSET is arguably another of NA’s most consistent teams. XSET has finished in the top four of six different NA VCT events. The team has struggled to make their way past the local scene, but the circuit points they’ve earned throughout the year could finally be their ticket to the international stage.
Luminosity Gaming
Save for three third-place finishes in VCT Challenger main events, Luminosity Gaming has struggled to break away from their mid-table place in the circuit standings. LG recently released two of its founding Valorant members, Brady “thief” Dever and Brenden “stellar” McGrathLG brought in Will “dazzLe” Loafman from Ghost Gaming and the promising Tanner “TiGG” Spanu from Beast Coast.
Cloud9 Blue
Fresh from their Nerd Street Gamers: Summer Championship win in August, the new-look Cloud9 Blue is looking to ride the wave of their updated roster’s honeymoon stage. They brought in vanity from V1 as the team’s new IGL and look as competitive as they can look in quite some time.
Gen.G Esports
Gen.G was a force to be reckoned with during Valorant’s Ignition Series, but after a respectable third-place finish at Masters 1, Gen.G Valorant fell off the map. Luckily the 50 circuit points they earned at the start of the season were enough to send the team to the NA LCQ. Most recently, Gen.G benched Michael “MkaeL” De Luca. His replacement is yet to be announced.
Rise
After struggling to find its footing in lower-tier tournaments throughout the season, Rise showed up for Stage 3 with a reinvigorated roster. Signing Phat “supamen” Le from Dignitas and Derrek “Derrek” Ha finding his form proved to be a difference-maker for Rise. With 4th place finish at Challengers 2, and 50 pts earned at the Challengers Playoffs, Rise edged out TSM for the final slot in the NA LCQ.
ORDER and Peace
ORDER and PEACE are the Oceania contingent for the NA LCQ. Like other LCQs, save for South America, the NA LCQ features slots for teams from smaller regions to compete for a shot at masters. ORDER are the Oceania Tour champions, and PEACE are the runners-up. Here’s a deeper look at the OCE teams if you want to know them better.
The NA LCQ will be played out online from October 11-17. Stay tuned for more announcements about the tournament’s details.
