VCT Champions Match Day 2 Viewers Guide

After an exciting trio of matches on day 1 of VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021, which we covered in our Day 1 Recap, day 2 brings us the opening matches of title contenders M3 Champions and Sentinels. In this Viewers Guide we will run through everything you need to know for the second day of Champions.

Match 1: Gambit Esports vs Team Secret at 3:00 PM CET / 6:00 AM PST

If there was any way to start a day of VALORANT, it would definitely be with the current best team in the world, Gambit Esports. The VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Playoffs holders will be massive favorites against Filipino squad Team Secret. It will be far from a stroll in the park for the Europeans however, who have looked vulnerable recently with a quarterfinal loss against Acend at Red Bull Home Ground - #2 - Main Event. Gambit will no doubt need the best out of Russian prodigy Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin to counter some of the unreal performances of Jayvee "DubsteP" Paguirigan at VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - SEA - Challengers Playoffs, and it’ll be interesting to see how the contest plays out between the two stars.

Head-to-head:

Even though Team Secret (then under Bren Esports) qualified for the international Masters Berlin event, they were unable to attend due to visa issues, so both teams have not faced each other in a competitive environment. This makes the Filipinos’ international debut all the more interesting against a team like Gambit Esports, who already have plenty of experience to go by.

Players to watch:

Gambit Esports - Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin boasting a 1.23 rating and 252 ACS Team Secret - Riley "witz" Go with a 1.15 rating and 225 ACS

Map Picks:

We might see Bind and Ascent being picked by either teams with Haven likely to be banned by Gambit Esports.

Agents:

Gambit Esports

• Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin - Cypher, Viper, Sage
• Nikita "d3ffo" Sudakov - Jett, Skye
• Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov - Sova, Brimstone, Viper
• Bogdan "sheydos" Naumov - Skye, Sage, Breach
• Igor "Redgar" Vlasov - Astra, Omen, Sova

Team Secret

• Jessie "JessieVash" Cucyo - Sova, Sage, Skye
• Jayvee "DubsteP" Paguirigan - Jett, Reyna, Raze
• Riley "witz" Go - Breach, Skye, Reyna
• Jim "BORKUM" Timbreza - Astra, Omen, Viper
• Kevin "Dispenser" Depio Te - Killjoy, Cypher, Viper

Match 2: Sentinels vs FURIA at 6:00 PM CET / 9:00 AM PST

From one Masters winner to another, the second match of the day features VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík winners Sentinels facing off against Brazilian powerhouse FURIA. The North Americans would not only be considered favorites to win this matchup, but also the whole tournament, given their mind-blowing consistency and quality for all of the year. This will also be FURIA’s first full international LAN experience, as compared to the wealth of experience Sentinels have from previous Masters events, giving them the edge needed to overcome the Brazilians.

Head-to-head:

As mentioned above, since this is FURIA’s first fully international LAN event, this will be the first time both teams clash in a competitive setting. Interestingly, Sentinels have beaten fellow Brazilians Team Vikings at the semifinals of VCT 2021 - Stage 2 - Masters Reykjavík, so FURIA is likely wanting to exact revenge for that result.

Players to watch:

Sentinels - Tyson "TenZ" Ngo is one of the hottest players in the scene with a 1.28 rating and 269 ACS FURIA - Agustin "nzr" Ibarra is the pick of the lot, with a 1.09 rating alongside an in-game leader role

Map picks:

Sentinels and FURIA will possibly rely on Haven and Ascent respectively, while the third map is up in the air.

Agents:

Sentinels

• Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan - Sova, Jett
• Hunter "SicK" Mims - Phoenix, Skye, Sage
• Jared "zombs" Gitlin - Astra, Viper, Omen
• Michael "dapr" Gulino - Cypher, Killjoy, Viper
• Tyson "TenZ" Ngo - Jett, Reyna, Raze

FURIA

• Alexandre "xand" Zizi - Jett, Skye
• Gabriel "qck" Lima - Sage, Viper, Cypher
• Khalil "Khalil" Schmidt - Killjoy, Omen, Astra
• Agustin "nzr" Ibarra - Sova, Skye, Raze
• Matheus "mazin" Araújo - Viper, Omen, Astra

Match 3: Team Liquid vs KRÜ Esports at 9:00 PM CET / 12:00 PM PST

The last matchup of the day brings us to KRÜ Esports facing off against Team Liquid. Both teams have had different roads to Champions: the former having dominated the Latin American scene for months now, while the latter squeezed through by winning the VCT 2021 - EMEA Last Chance Qualifier. That doesn’t say anything about how the match will go however, considering Liquid have been on a tear as of late, having won 10 matches in a row now. KRÜ will have to activate the likes of Angelo "Keznit" Mori if they want to go up against the host of firepower from the Europeans, which will be an extremely difficult task indeed.

Head-to-head:

he two teams have played each other once at Masters Reykjavik, where Team Liquid managed to grab an easy 2-0 victory against the South Americans. KRÜ will have to bring a very different game plan if they want to get a win this time around.

Players to watch:

Team Liquid - Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom is the veteran driving the team with a monster 1.30 rating and 272 ACS KRÜ Esports - Angelo "Keznit" Mori has been at the top of the scoreboard with a 1.08 rating and 227 ACS

Map picks:

Both teams play a similar set of maps and the veto could be up to the teams’ calls at the moment.

Agents:

KRÜ Esports

• Juan Pablo "NagZet" Lopez - Jett, Sage
• Roberto "Mazino" Rivas - Sage, Viper, Killjoy
• Nicolas "Klaus" Ferrari - Killjoy, Cypher, Sova
• Joaquín "delz1k" Espinoza - Astra, Sage, Brimstone
• Angelo "Keznit" Mori - Skye, Reyna, Raze

Team Liquid

• Travis "L1NK" Mendoza - Breach, Astra, Cypher
• Dom "soulcas" Sulcas - Raze, Reyna, Skye
• Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom - Reyna, Jett, Sage
• Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen - Omen, Jett, Astra
• Nabil "Nivera" Benrlitom - Viper, Killjoy

All the matches will be streamed live at the official VALORANT stream.