Format, Qualified Teams and Schedule for VCT Stage 2 NA Challenger Playoffs

As you might be aware that following the matchups held over the weekend, the Group Stage of VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 2 - Main Event has come to an end and only eight of the twelve teams have made it to the next round of the tournament. The Playoff stages start on Thursday, 16th June, and here’s everything you need to know about it.

Qualified Teams:

From the twelve participants, the following eight have managed to qualify for Playoffs:

• OpTic Gaming
• XSET
• NRG
• FaZe Clan
• Luminosity Gaming
• 100 Thieves
• Evil Geniuses
• Ghost Gaming

Format:

As per standard convention, the Playoffs will be played out as a double-elimination bracket with each matchup, prior to the Finals, adhering to the best-of-three format.

The playoff stages of the second major North American tournament will start with the best team from each Group getting a direct placement to the second round. Meanwhile the #2 seed from each group will face the #3 seed from the opposing group, and the #4 seeds will start from the Lower Bracket facing a considerably more grueling run for a spot at the VCT 2022 - Stage 2 - Masters Copenhagen. The image above should provide a better visualization of the format.

Schedule:

As mentioned above, the Playoffs will commence on Thursday, 16th June and after two weeks of intense competition, the only remaining teams will fight to become NA’s #1 seed at the Grand Finals on Sunday, 26th June. Here is a more detailed schedule for the upcoming matchups:

Thursday, June 16 - Upper Bracket Round 1

• Match 1: FaZe Clan vs 100 Thieves – 1 PM PT
• Match 2: Ghost Gaming vs Evil Geniuses – 4 PM PT

Friday, June 17 - Lower Bracket Round 1

• Match 3: NRG vs Loser of Match 2 – 1 PM PT
• Match 4: Luminosity vs Loser of Match 1 – 4 PM PT

Saturday, June 18 - Upper Bracket Semifinals

• Match 5: XSET vs Winner of Match 1 – 1 PM PT
• Match 6: OpTic Gaming vs Winner of Match 2 – 4 PM PT

Sunday, June 19 - Lower Bracket Round 2

• Match 7: Winner of Match 3 vs Loser of Match 6 – 1 PM PT
• Match 8: Winner of Match 4 vs Loser of Match 5 – 4 PM PT

Friday, June 24 - Upper Bracket Finals – Bo5, Lower Bracket Semifinals

• Match 9: Winner of Match 5 vs Winner of Match 6 – 1 PM PT
• Match 10: Winner of Match 7 vs Winner of Match 8 – 6 PM PT

Saturday, June 25 - Lower Bracket Finals – Bo5

• Match 11: Loser of Match 9 vs Winner of Match 10 – 1 PM PT

Sunday, June 26 - Grand Finals – Bo5

• Match 12: Winner of Match 9 vs Winner of Match 11 – 1 PM PT

Broadcast Streams:

If you plan on tuning into the matches live, you can catch them on Valorant’s Twitch channel or watch a streamer allowed to host an official watch party.