NA Challengers Stage 1 Main Event - Week 3 Group B Recap

Group B didn’t fail to disappoint Valorant fans either producing one of the biggest upsets of the event and showing the NA community that a matchup can sway in any direction regardless of who the favorites are. Here is a detailed recap of how each matchup transpired in Group B over the weekend.

Pittsburgh Knights vs. Rise

VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event

Pittsburgh Knights

2

X

0

Rise

Group B, Best of 3 - February 26, 2022 - 12:00AM

13

Ascent

9

13

Bind

8

Pittsburgh Knights

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

skuba

1.53

281

45/31/18

+14

1.45

85.9%

185.4

36%

83%

5

1

ban

1.41

278

41/33/11

+8

1.24

79.2%

188.2

37%

83%

15

3

XXiF

1.33

239

38/25/16

+13

1.52

81.5%

159.2

18%

100%

5

0

Genghsta

1.18

220

33/25/20

+8

1.32

81.3%

152.1

25%

25%

1

3

Frosty

0.47

95

15/27/11

-12

0.56

72.0%

77.2

21%

9%

1

10

Rise

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

neptune

1.03

213

31/33/15

-2

0.94

72.0%

144.8

26%

42%

8

11

Shanks

0.95

201

32/33/4

-1

0.97

69.8%

117.7

16%

58%

7

5

Derrek

0.88

177

26/33/14

-7

0.79

78.9%

129.2

26%

0%

0

1

POISED

0.88

192

28/36/13

-8

0.78

64.9%

128.9

18%

29%

2

5

supamen

0.75

176

24/37/12

-13

0.65

62.7%

116.0

25%

0%

0

5

Rise were seeking to regain their position on the group leaderboards after being defeated in an unfortunate clean sweep by Version1. In contrast, Pittsburgh Knights were still looking to get their first win of the tournament after losing to Sentinels last week and Version1 the week before.

Ascent being the Knights’ map pick meant they had the edge in battle, but it wasn’t as one-sided a battle as it might seem on paper. From the get-go it was eminent that Rise was in charge of the momentum as they almost established a 7-round streak, which unfortunately was momentarily broken in round 5 and then entirely in round 9. By taking a couple of rounds here and there, the Knights managed to put up a score of 4 rounds to Rise’s 8 by halftime. Instead of being demoralized with their performance, the Knights took notes from their defense and incorporated some of those strategies in their own gameplay to produce mind-blowing results. By catching the opposing team off-guard, they were able to secure 9 rounds to win the map while restricting Rise from reaching a double-digit score. Such a major turnaround would’ve been enough to upset any roster and Rise was no exception; however, they still had one last chance to redeem themselves on Bind especially since it was their map pick.

The first half started with the knights taking three back-to-back rounds out of the gate, were interrupted by Rise in round 4, and took a couple of more rounds before Rise decided to put up a three-round streak of their own to control the momentum. The Knights were able to steal the momentum back and dominate a few more rounds to finish the half on 8-4. Rise realized that they needed to turn this game around immediately before situation worsens, which is why 4 of the first 5 rounds following halftime were taken over by Rise and both teams were almost tied at 9-8. Rise couldn’t hold onto the momentum any longer and Damion "XXiF" Cook’s contribution in round 18 helped the Knights in their final stretch to winning the map as well as the matchup.

Sentinels vs. OpTic Gaming

VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event

Sentinels

1

X

2

OpTic Gaming

Group B, Best of 3 - February 26, 2022 - 9:00PM

2

Bind

13

13

Fracture

10

9

Icebox

13

Sentinels

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

zombs

0.98

202

42/45/23

-3

0.93

78.5%

134.3

19%

0%

0

1

SicK

0.93

207

43/47/14

-4

0.91

65.2%

131.8

22%

16%

3

16

TenZ

0.89

204

41/48/17

-7

0.85

63.8%

138.2

19%

42%

10

14

ShahZaM

0.79

167

34/46/16

-12

0.74

64.5%

112.3

24%

44%

4

5

dapr

0.63

140

31/51/8

-20

0.61

49.7%

90.9

18%

29%

2

5

OpTic Gaming

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Victor

1.31

253

50/41/22

+9

1.22

85.9%

146.9

19%

67%

12

6

Marved

1.22

235

50/40/17

+10

1.25

84.3%

159.1

30%

77%

10

3

yay

1.14

221

53/35/7

+18

1.51

85.2%

148.6

29%

75%

9

3

crashies

1.13

219

44/39/24

+5

1.13

83.7%

142.1

22%

60%

6

4

FNS

0.94

181

40/36/15

+4

1.11

76.3%

128.7

24%

57%

4

3

As you might be aware, OpTic Gaming acquired Envy so they are essentially still the same team that placed 2nd at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Playoffs and one that qualified for VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021. Their opponents were the winners of VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík and participants of VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021. Both teams were consistently topping the NA leaderboards in VCT 2021, especially after the addition of Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker. Going into the matchup, neither team could be denoted as the ‘obvious favourites’ since Sentinels’ performance in recent games wasn’t as lethal compared to their 2021 form, and OpTic were subject to a loss in their first game against Rise.

Proceedings commenced on Bind and despite it being Sentinels’ pick, OpTic Gaming had control over the matchup’s momentum straight out of the gate. Their formidable defense was no match for Sentinels’s attack strategies as OpTic was able to take 9 consecutive rounds to start the matchup. Sentinels managed to bounce back momentarily in the upcoming rounds and take a couple of rounds to finish the half at a 9-2 score. However, they couldn’t maintain their performance after the halftime and were forced to surrender the map to OpTic at a shocking 13-2 score. Witnessing a once indisputable team lose 13-2 left the entire community in shock.

Given that Fracture was OpTic’s pick meant that Sentinels would’ve to work extremely hard to force the decider map especially after the questionable performance on Bind. However, Sentinels seemed to have re-evaluated their strategies over the break and decided to comeback stronger. As soon as they left the gate, they managed to establish a firm grip over the momentum with only minor slip ups here and there. This reformed attitude helped them gain an 8-4 lead by halftime. Even though, Sentinels were able to continue their performance in the first couple of rounds of the second half, it didn’t take long for OpTic to make them uncomfortable about their lead. By embarking on a 5-round streak, they had reduced the lead to 10-9. Sentinels were wary of the potential consequences if they’d let OpTic continue with the momentum, so they put all their effort in to stop them in their tracks and take the remaining three rounds to win the map.

Matchups going to deciders are always entertaining, and this one didn’t fail to disappoint either. As opposed to the Sentinels dominance in the first half of Fracture, it was OpTic who took the charge with seven rounds to Sentinels’ five by the end of first half. Sentinels were looking to continue their 3 round streak following halftime, but OpTic wasn’t planning on delaying their win any further as they managed to take the remaining 6 rounds to finish the map at a 13-9 score and upset one of the best teams in the NA region.

Version1 vs. NRG Esports

VCT 2022 - North America - Stage 1 - Main Event

Version1

2

X

1

NRG

Group B, Best of 3 - February 28, 2022 - 12:00AM

12

Haven

14

13

Fracture

11

13

Icebox

11

Version1

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Zander

1.27

239

64/40/22

+24

1.60

78.3%

153.4

30%

59%

10

7

penny

1.25

256

67/46/15

+21

1.46

78.4%

162.5

23%

50%

11

11

Zellsis

0.99

196

49/52/26

-3

0.94

75.6%

125.0

13%

44%

4

5

wippie

0.96

194

49/51/18

-2

0.96

68.9%

140.2

21%

72%

13

5

effys

0.59

133

28/54/22

-26

0.52

75.8%

96.3

13%

63%

5

3

NRG

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

s0m

1.19

254

70/52/4

+18

1.35

64.8%

148.8

35%

48%

11

12

tex

0.87

186

44/64/25

-20

0.69

68.8%

121.8

27%

59%

10

7

ANDROID

0.85

183

42/51/29

-9

0.82

67.3%

124.5

26%

27%

3

8

hazed

0.83

157

44/47/17

-3

0.94

63.3%

100.4

28%

8%

1

12

eeiu

0.80

163

43/43/17

0

1.00

70.0%

108.8

33%

60%

6

4

While NRG were still searching for their 1st win in the Main Event, Version1 were simply looking for another win to solidify their position on top of the Group B leaderboards and a guaranteed spot in the Playoffs. NRG was fortunate to have the matchup start on their map pick, Haven. They started the map by taking two back-to-back rounds out of the gate. Following this round, Version1 and NRG alternated between taking three-rounds each until the half ended at an equal score to both teams. Since the map went to overtime, both teams did end up scoring the same number of rounds in the second half as well. Version1 came extremely close to winning the map as they had a two-point lead after round 19. Nonetheless, NRG was able to reach 12 just after Version1 did to force overtime. The first overtime was enough to decide the map’s winner, as NRG was able to take both rounds courtesy of Sam "s0m" Oh.

Being veterans of the game, Version1 realized the importance of the second map and after evaluating the caliber of NRG’s performance in the first map, they were able to come up with an effective counterstrategy, which they implemented with no hesitance. From the pistol round, they gradually began stacking up points on the scoreboard and managed to end the first half at 9-3. However, NRG wasn’t planning to give up the 9-3 lead without a fight, and channeling their frustration regarding the previous tournament losses, they were able to turn the tables on this matchup and take 7 consecutive rounds by round 23 and the score was now tied at 11-11. Version1, which was once comfortable with a 6 round lead was on high alert because the next two rounds would determine the matchup’s trajectory. In the end they were able to force the decider without letting the map go to overtime once again.

Icebox was chosen as the decider and this map was equally important for both the teams to dominate in. NRG started off strong maintaining the lead until the 6th round, when Version1 decided to catch NRG off guard and take five rounds. A couple of more rounds to NRG at the end resulted in a 6-6 score by halftime. After returning to the map, NRG looked more determined than ever to win and they demonstrated their intent by taking a total of five more rounds by the 19th round granting them an 11-8 lead. They were two rounds away from winning their first matchup, but Version1 couldn’t let themselves be defeated that easily and somehow managed to turn the tables on the matchup by taking 5 back-to-back rounds to win the map with a 13-11 score.