The first two participants of VCT 2021 Stage 3 Masters: Berlin became clear, as Vision Strikers and F4Q will be representing South Korea in the tournament.
Vision Strikers
Vision Strikers will finally meet with the global audience in Berlin. After dominating the Korean scene and winning every tournament, their 102-win streak was ended by F4Q in Korea Stage 2 Challengers which caused them to miss Valorant’s first LAN occasion, Masters Reykjavik. The Korean powerhouse returned to Stage 3 with three roster changes, acquiring Kim “Lakia” Jong-min, moving Kim “glow” Min-soo to the team’s coach role and benching Kim “Zest” Gi-Seok.
All these adjustments were enough for Vision Strikers to dominate Stage 3. They didn’t drop a single map point throughout the tournament while using a six-man roster. In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, they surpassed Prince with a 2-0: 13-4 Bind and 13-4 Breeze. Vision Strikers continued to destroy their opponents in the semi-finals as well as beating TNL Esports with a 2-0: 13-5 Bind and 13-7 Ascent grabbing a spot in VCT 2021 Stage 3 Masters Berlin.
F4Q
Vision Strikers’ wingman will be a surprise competitor in Masters Berlin. F4Q participated in the Korea Qualifiers with a single change, adding Jeong “Esperanza” Jin-cheol to the roster. The team have been competing in the scene since October, but they weren’t able to beat strong rivals until now. Similar to Vision Strikers, they didn’t lose a map point during qualifiers and dominated the group stage.
F4Q’s playoff journey was tougher as they faced DAMWON Gaming, who eliminated Stage 2 Champion NUTURN Gaming, in the semifinals. Following the 2-0 victory against GochuGaru in the quarterfinals, F4Q managed to defeat DAMWON with a 2-1 in an uphill battle. After losing the first map 14-12 in Split, F4Q recovered to earn the ticket for Masters Berlin and won Bind with a 14-12 and Haven with a 13-9.
VCT 2021 Korea Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs Grand Final will be played on August 15. This series will determine the seeds between F4Q and Vision Strikers.
