OpTic qualify for Masters 1, while Cloud9 make the Lower Bracket finals at NA Stage 1 Challengers

Neither of the two matchups held today failed to disappoint, especially since both matches had considerably high stakes on the line, with the Upper Bracket match guaranteeing the winner a place at VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík and the Lower Bracket one preventing elimination from the tournament. Before we dive into the specifics of how each match progressed, it is worth mentioning that the conclusion of today’s matchups signals the start of the Finals stretch of VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event.

OpTic Gaming vs The Guard:

VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event

OpTic Gaming

2

X

0

The Guard

Upper Bracket Final, Best of 3 - March 25, 2022 - 8:00PM

13

Split

10

13

Bind

4

OpTic Gaming

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

yay

1.41

279

42/23/2

+19

1.83

79.5%

159.2

16%

87%

13

2

Victor

1.36

273

37/23/7

+14

1.61

76.7%

169.2

22%

82%

9

2

Marved

1.09

184

29/20/13

+9

1.45

77.4%

117.0

28%

33%

1

2

crashies

0.84

182

26/28/10

-2

0.93

75.2%

121.3

24%

43%

3

4

FNS

0.77

162

20/24/10

-4

0.83

79.7%

98.4

21%

60%

3

2

The Guard

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

JonahP

0.95

223

28/29/8

-1

0.97

61.4%

144.3

30%

14%

1

6

valyn

0.91

178

22/28/18

-6

0.79

83.3%

120.2

30%

33%

2

4

Sayaplayer

0.74

175

25/32/5

-7

0.78

58.3%

119.5

25%

33%

3

6

trent

0.74

162

25/29/2

-4

0.86

62.8%

103.1

44%

50%

4

4

neT

0.53

131

18/36/7

-18

0.50

58.4%

87.1

27%

18%

2

9

Reaching the Upper Bracket finals was an achievement for both teams given the talent and skills of other teams in the NA region. However, this feat seemed more impressive for The Guard given their relatively brief experience in the Valorant scene and the newly assembled roster they featured. Furthermore, they had reached this matchup without dropping a single map against both Sentinels and Luminosity Gaming, while deciders were forced against OpTic by both XSET and Cloud9.

Proceedings began on Split, The Guard’s map of choice but they couldn’t do much to capitalize that fact at least during the initial rounds of the map where OpTic took four consecutive rounds to get the early lead. Unfortunately, that predicament was quickly resolved by The Guards’s offense as they finally warmed up and were ready to demonstrate their abilities. It didn’t take long for them to tie OpTic up to 6-6 by the end of the half. OpTic didn’t expect the momentum to shift the way it did, but their experience playing in several major tournaments helped them recover their position on the map and allowed them to take 5 rounds immediately after halftime while limiting The Guard to only a single round.

The situation was worsening for The Guard, but they weren’t looking to give up without an attempt at a comeback. In the end, however, OpTic managed to render the comeback attempt futile and finish the map 13-11 taking a 1-0 lead. A noteworthy change that the audience witnessed was OpTic’s composition on Split, especially Victor "Victor" Wong’s usage of Neon. He had previously used the Agent on Haven but never on Split. This change could potentially signal the expansion of his Agent pool and the increase in Neon’s usage in competitive Valorant.

Unfortunately, Bind, the second map was relatively uneventful becoming yet another line of evidence warranting OpTic’s right to qualification for VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík. Amongst the only rounds that The Guard managed to take were the pistol of the first half and its following round. After which, OpTic went on an undisputed run for 6 rounds and then took a couple more rounds to increase the lead by half to 8-6. The Guard’s early ticket to Masters Iceland seemed further away than ever, but instead of decreasing that distance, they spiraled to their eventual loss courtesy of mind-blowing plays from the OpTic roster.

Cloud9 vs XSET:

VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event

XSET

1

X

2

Cloud9

Lower Bracket Round 3 of 4, Best of 3 - March 25, 2022 - 10:00PM

4

Haven

13

13

Split

11

2

Ascent

13

XSET

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Cryocells

0.93

202

43/40/9

+3

1.08

65.2%

135.4

26%

48%

11

12

zekken

0.88

192

35/42/17

-7

0.83

64.3%

122.3

20%

25%

2

6

dephh

0.75

172

32/41/9

-9

0.78

62.7%

110.9

29%

11%

1

8

AYRIN

0.73

134

28/41/19

-13

0.68

75.8%

77.5

4%

50%

5

5

BcJ

0.72

163

29/44/21

-15

0.66

66.3%

120.8

19%

43%

3

4

Cloud9

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

leaf

1.46

287

54/41/13

+13

1.32

65.7%

171.1

23%

65%

15

8

Xeppaa

1.20

224

45/36/19

+9

1.25

83.9%

139.0

23%

50%

5

5

vanity

1.17

216

43/33/17

+10

1.30

79.1%

128.7

20%

58%

7

5

mitch

1.07

206

41/27/10

+14

1.52

86.1%

133.8

13%

67%

6

3

xeta

0.65

126

25/30/10

-5

0.83

82.2%

78.5

15%

67%

2

1

On the Lower Bracket end, it was the top-ranking team of Group A leaderboards against one of the underdogs of this tournament. Both teams shared a similar reason for being in the Lower Brackets: OpTic Gaming’s wrath. XSET had the misfortune of competing against them in their first Playoffs match, while Cloud9 played them second. Neither team could pull through and were relegated to the Lower Brackets for a second chance at a Masters spot. XSET had no difficulty defeating the Knights and Luminosity in back-to-back sweeps. Meanwhile, Cloud9 managed an extremely close win against Version1. This wasn’t the first time these teams were facing off in the tournament with their last head-to-head being in the second week of the Group Stages, where Cloud9 emerged victorious after dropping the first matchup of the series. The history between these teams meant that the match wouldn’t be short of entertaining, and that was the case – at least partially.

Haven was first to host the battle between both teams, but as the rounds passed by, the match everyone was looking forward to, turned into a one-sided affair. A glance at the first half’s scoreboard served as evidence why OpTic chose Haven as their map pick – it was Cloud9 domination with an equal number of defusals to team elimination. Being around away from taking the map didn’t present favorable chances for XSET’s comeback, but they tried nonetheless and were barely able to sneak 4 rounds past Cloud9’s offense before trailing 1-0 in the series. The matchup progressed to Split, and XSET’s hope was renewed.

Taking pistol rounds further boosted their morale, and they looked to establish a streak and set the momentum early on. However, once again, it was Cloud9 with their brick-like defense to halt XSET in their tracks by taking six back-to-back rounds. XSET disrupted the run before their situation could worsen and were able to reduce the lead to 5-7 by halftime. Cloud9 wasn’t too keen on delaying their win any further as they once again powered through and raised the lead to 9-5.

XSET was only a few rounds away from facing elimination from the tournament and this realization alone serve as the much-needed wake-up call for XSET to initiate a comeback and take the map before Cloud9 had the chance to force OT. Deciders have a reputation for keeping the onlookers at the edge of their seats, but the one between these two teams was miles away from living up to the convention. As both teams left the gate on Ascent, a familiar pattern emerged with Cloud9 taking charge of the situation and one round after the other fell under their name thanks to the generous contributions from none other than Nathan "leaf" Orf who finished the map with a fascinating 2.44 Rating, 434 ACS and 3.0 KD. Cloud9’s consistency enabled their 13-2 win on Ascent, not only protecting them from being eliminated but also bringing them a step closer to the Masters spot.