FPX reach VCT 2022: EMEA Stage 1 Grand Finals and G2 qualify for Masters Reykjavik

The end of VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event is at the door as the first finalist is set. FunPlus Phoenix’s one-sided performances against Fnatic granted them the first spot in the Grand Final. On the other hand, G2 Esports’s win over Team Liquid has decided the Lower Bracket Final matchup and they have qualified for VCT 2022 - Stage 1 - Masters Reykjavík. Here is everything you need to know about today!

Fnatic vs FunPlus Phoenix

Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow was back as Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks was sick with high fever. In the first map of the day, something incredible happened. The CIS representative, FunPlus Phoenix, didn’t lose a single round against the fittest team of the year, Fnatic. The European team chose Split as the first map of the series which resulted in a disaster for them. While on the attacking side, Fnatic couldn’t break through Kamil "baddyG" Graniczka’s Omen defense. The Polish player had one of the best Split performances of his career, holding a 1.81 rating, 2.29 K/D as well as securing 16 kills. ANGE1 also had a great half with 16 kills to his name. Fnatic’s attacking strategies were insufficient and weak as the team failed to pick up a single round. FunPlus Phoenix won the first half with a score of 12-0. At that point, they only needed one more round to have the lead in the series and we didn’t wait much. By winning the starting round of the second half, FunPlus Phoenix closed out the first game in only 26 minutes and 33 seconds. Fnatic played poorly both as a team together and also as individual gunfights.

Secondly, FunPlus Phoenix picked Haven to end the series without facing any problems. After the first game, it was really hard for FNC players to keep their hands in the game but surprisingly, they showed a much better performance. As expected, FPX had the lead at the end of the first half. The CIS team won nine rounds and lost three on the attacking side. Pontus "Zyppan" Eek’s KAY/O came in handy for the team as the Swedish player finished the first half with 13 kills. Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky also had a great half, holding a 1.36 rating and a 2.75 K/D. On Fnatic’s side, Martin "MAGNUM" Penkov had a great Killjoy performance to keep his team in the game. Luckily, FNC won three rounds mainly thanks to MAGNUM’s efforts. During the second half, Fnatic looked like a better team compared to their first-game performance but FPX were always one step ahead. The CIS team managed to pick up a few rounds to win the map after 23 rounds. As a result, FunPlus Phoenix managed to sweep Fnatic to reach the Grand Final of VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event.

VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event

Fnatic

0

X

2

FunPlus Phoenix

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

0

Split

13

10

Haven

13

Fnatic

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

MAGNUM

0.97

224

27/31/7

-4

0.87

73.7%

148.1

20%

50%

2

2

Mistic

0.91

175

25/29/13

-4

0.86

63.9%

102.0

27%

100%

2

0

braveaf

0.90

170

26/26/10

0

1.00

66.6%

116.4

34%

40%

2

3

Boaster

0.89

188

21/29/19

-8

0.72

72.1%

137.6

22%

50%

2

2

Derke

0.63

168

19/34/5

-15

0.56

61.7%

97.4

17%

48%

10

11

FunPlus Phoenix

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

baddyG

1.45

268

34/24/11

+10

1.42

87.5%

175.8

31%

57%

4

3

ANGE1

1.33

291

32/31/9

+1

1.03

85.3%

172.9

28%

50%

9

9

Zyppan

1.29

230

31/24/13

+7

1.29

85.3%

161.0

25%

33%

1

2

Shao

1.26

202

28/14/14

+14

2.00

84.8%

137.8

26%

67%

2

1

SUYGETSU

1.00

188

24/25/10

-1

0.96

87.0%

149.4

25%

40%

2

3

G2 Esports vs Team Liquid

The second match of the day was the competition between G2 Esports and Team Liquid to reach the Lower Bracket Final. G2’s map pick was Icebox. We are used to seeing G2 dominate their opponents on Icebox and the scenario once again didn’t change. Ocelote’s team managed to get the advantage in the first half after winning nine rounds. Oscar Cañellas "m1xwell" Colocho’s notorious Chamber came in handy for them as the Spanish star picked up 12 kills to his name. He secured three first bloods to have the bomb sites open for his teammates and the rest of the team followed his lead to win rounds. On Team Liquid’s side, Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom played his heart out with Jett in his hands. The Belgian star secured 14 kills and most importantly added 6 first bloods. TL won three rounds mainly thanks to his extra performance. However, Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen’s Omen performance was below what his team needed and he failed to win gunfights to defend the bomb sites. G2 didn’t even flinch in the second half, winning four rounds and only losing one to close out the first map with a score of 13-4. Almost everyone on G2 Esports had similar statistics which proved their chemistry and individual form but on the other side ScreaM was the only player with a positive score. The “One Tap God” had 20 kills to his name at the end of the game but he failed to prevent G2’s dominance.

Team Liquid picked Split as the second map of the series. The European team had a solid chance to force another game and keep their Lower Bracket Final hopes alive. Interestingly, Team Liquid’s attacking side strategies were below expectations as Dom "soulcas" Sulcas could only pick up 4 kills on Raze. The British player held a 0.27 rating and a 0.33 K/D in the first half. He couldn’t contribute to his team score-wise and that was one of the reasons Liquid couldn’t attack well. Just like the first map, ScreaM was the only player with acceptable individual performance and contribution. On the other hand, we should also mention G2 Esports’ incredible performance on the defending side. Oscar Cañellas "m1xwell" Colocho’s Chamber was on point with 17 kills and 4 first bloods but all of the G2 players had great performances and those performances continued in the second half. G2 Esports picked up five rounds in a row- without dropping a single round, to win the series. Žygimantas "nukkye" Chmieliauskas had 19 kills at the end of the game and the Lithuanian player held a 1.78 rating to help his team reach the Lower Bracket Final. ScreaM’s efforts were not enough as he failed to get the help he needed. G2 Esports are the third team to lock in for Masters Reykjavik.

VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event

G2 Esports

2

X

0

Team Liquid

Lower Bracket Round 3 of 4, Best of 3 - March 25, 2022 - 4:55PM

13

Icebox

4

13

Split

4

G2 Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

nukkye

1.55

297

33/19/20

+14

1.74

91.2%

203.4

18%

57%

4

3

hoody

1.36

228

31/21/12

+10

1.48

82.4%

136.4

25%

63%

5

3

m1xwell

1.33

249

30/22/13

+8

1.36

79.4%

150.4

10%

69%

9

4

AvovA

1.27

208

25/16/24

+9

1.56

88.2%

139.9

24%

25%

1

3

Meddo

1.19

211

28/18/6

+10

1.56

91.2%

142.3

21%

100%

2

0

Team Liquid

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

ScreaM

1.24

283

32/31/5

+1

1.03

73.5%

172.7

36%

89%

8

1

soulcas

0.79

193

20/31/10

-11

0.65

70.6%

138.6

23%

22%

2

7

L1NK

0.74

160

19/27/6

-8

0.70

61.8%

116.2

31%

0%

0

0

Nivera

0.59

130

15/26/8

-11

0.58

50.0%

82.2

33%

20%

1

4

Jamppi

0.33

104

10/32/6

-22

0.31

50.0%

76.0

24%

18%

2

9

Lower Bracket Final

• Fnatic vs G2 Esports 4:00 PM CET / 8:00 AM PST on 3/26

The winner of the Lower Bracket Final will face FunPlus Phoenix in the Grand Final. You can watch the game tomorrow on the official VALORANT Twitch channel and find more information on the events page.