100 Thieves takes shocking win over The Guard; XSET and NRG follow with their own - NA Main Event Group A Recap

After three days of intense battles, the inaugural weekend of VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 2 - Main Event has come to an end. The event produced some interesting developments, which will be crucial in determining which team is worthy of a spot at VCT 2022 - Stage 2 - Masters Copenhagen. A total of six matches took place, three per each group. The following article will feature a detailed recap of each matchup from Group A.

The Guard vs 100 Thieves

100 Thieves’s roster revamp seems to finally be paying off as they welcomed the Guard’s roster to Stage 2 with an overwhelming loss. The Guard, NA’s 1st seed in Stage 1, were given direct invitation to the tournament instead of having to overcome qualifying events. Considering their last head-to-head, the Guard were relatively confident going into the matchup, but the new 100 Thieves roster made them realize how different their experience would now be.

Proceedings began on Fracture, 100 Thieves’ map pick and they were successful in demonstrating their intent to win this matchup from the get go. One round after the other fell to the surprisingly aggressive strategies 100 thieves was deploying. They took eight consecutive rounds in the first half before The Guard was able to demonstrate resilience and take a couple of rounds back. However, 100 Thieves had already dealt enough damage to shake their foundation and The Guard couldn’t do much to turn the match around in either half; therefore, succumbing to a loss of that map with a 13-5 final score.

Now it was Fracture’s turn to host the battle between these teams and Ghost Gaming couldn’t wait to capitalize on this opportunity since it was their map pick. As the match started, their roster effortlessly took the first 5 rounds propelling them to an early lead. But before they could deal further damage to XSET’s position in the matchup, they lost control over the momentum and XSET managed to hold their offense one round after the other till halftime. Ghost Gaming was once again in an unfavorable position, but they were unable to make any substantial effort to mitigate the situation and were forced to surrender the map with a 9-13 score losing their initial game of the event.

NRG Esports vs TSM FTX

NRG with the return of Ethan "Ethan" Cole Arnold has been looking stronger than ever. Their team managed to earn qualify the qualification spot after a unparalleled run in the Upper Brackets without dropping a single map, even against the likes of Version1 and Pittsburgh Knights. Similarly, the addition of revamped TSM roster consisting of Johann "seven" Hernandez and Anthony "gMd" Guimond has also reinstated their hopes of winning the event.

Despite NRG taking the pistol round and potentially setting themselves up for an easy run through the first half, TSM were able to diffuse their hopes early on and add four rounds beside their logo on the scoreboard. NRG foresaw the danger of letting TSM’s control of the momentum continue and decided to act by tying them up to 6-6 by the end of the half. The same narrative mirrored over in the second half, except that NRG was the dominant team earlier and TSM had to exert effort to force Overtime. Both teams survived the first overtime by taking respective rounds playing defense, but NRG was able to edge TSM and close out in the second overtime mainly in part due to Ethan "Ethan" Cole Arnold.

The loss should’ve served as a wakeup call to TSM, who had a better chance to comeback in the matchup especially since it was time for their map pick. After the first couple of rounds on Ascent fell to NRG it seemed that the matchup would not last very long. However, the LG roster still kept their hopes of winning intact and put up four rounds of their own by halftime behind NRG’s 8. TSM desperately tried to take the lead, but NRG constantly proved they were the better team and reached a score 13 just as the TSM roster saw a double-digit score. The outcome of this matchup wasn’t pleasant for TSM, but this matchup was one of six they’ll play over the upcoming weeks, so they still have time to make an impact in the tournament.