Masters Reykjavík: Sentinels win over Fnatic to complete North American triumph over Europe

After a thriller of a match before this, in what some will arguably call the best VALORANT match to date between Version1 and Team Liquid that saw North America's "underdog" take down the goliath of Europe. We finally get to the match that almost everyone wants to see, Sentinels versus Fnatic. Star duelist versus star duelist. Big Brain versus Big Brain. EU versus NA. It was time.

The match began on Fnatic's map pick of Icebox with potentially the most confusing spike plant of the tournament thus far, as Fnatic planted up top on B site, as all Sentinels had to do was stick the defuse for a round win once they eliminated the player guarding the spike. However, Fnatic and the and the strategy of their IGL Jake "Boaster" Howlett led to them winning the second round to eco their opponent. After getting eco'd themselves, Sentinels eco'd Fnatic on the backs of an impressive 3K from Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan using his Blade Storm.

After going back and forth on rounds, Fnatic finally manage to secure more than one round at a time with help from an Ace by James "Mistic" Orfila who was able to use his Viper's Pit to absolute perfection. Just as he has in the past, in what seems like his niche, ShahZam proved to be one of the best Jett Operator's in the entire VALORANT scene as he eliminated Fnatic with ease as they tried to enter the A site. In the end, the first half ended tied up 6-6 as both teams appeared even in just about every aspect.

On their attack side pistol, Sentinels chose to attack the B site as they were able to delay just long enough with the spike blowing up with only .02 on the timer. Sooner or later we all expected this type of Sentinels to show up as they rushed their way into whichever site they chose comfortably. However Fnatic finally woke up, securing 5 consecutive rounds of their own to tie things up at 11-11. At last, Sentinels were able to secure the map with a 13-11 victory. TenZ and ShahZam came in the clutch this time for the team, as Shahzam finished with a nutty 31 kills and a tremendous 368 ACS, meanwhile TenZ finished with 25 kills and a 277 ACS.

The second map took place on Haven, Sentinels map pick. Just as they did on Icebox, the teams split the opening pistol rounds, however this time it was Fnatic pulling out the big guns to eco Sentinels and decimating their economy. After winning the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Fnatic resembled a team that just did not have enough juice in them, as they would lose 5 straight rounds before finally attaining their 3rd round victory. Sentinels would go on to lead 8-4 at half, just 5 rounds away from moving on to the Semifinals where they would take on Team Vikings.

On defense, Fnatic was able to pressure Sentinels off the site of their choosing in what seemed every round. This match was far from over. After going back and forth with round wins for 5 straight rounds with incredible plays from both sides, the North Americans were able to accomplish what their counterparts did in the match before, defeat an almighty European team, with some help from standout lurker Michael "dapr" Gulino. This time, with a close, but decisive 2-0 sweep.

With this result, Fnatic will be sent to the lower bracket, where they will take on the winner of X10 Esports and Crazy Raccoon on Thursday. As for Sentinels, they move on to Semifinals versus Team Vikings, where the winner of that will end up in the upper bracket Finals.