First Strike EU: First Four Participants Are Set

This weekend, the first four teams for RIOT’s First Strike event have been determined. The event will be hosted by the developers themselves and promises to be the biggest VALORANT event ever. Naturally, all the top teams have attempted to qualify.

But not everyone has made it through. The Ninjas in Pyjamas are perhaps the most famous team to not have made it, losing to G2 Esports in their very last match. However, the best European team has pulled off a quick run all they way to First Strike.

G2 ESPORTS

Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas and his troops have had a relatively easy time getting through the first qualifier. They managed to get through to the Play-Ins without allowing any opponents to get onto double digit points. Once there, they quickly dispatched VASTA Gaming and, after Guild Esports were found guilty of using an exploit and were therefore disqualified, they advanced to the playoffs. Only the Ninjas in Pyjamas were standing in their way now, finally a competitive opponent.

However, they proved to be no real issue for Europe’s best. On two maps, G2 eliminated the Ninjas, despite Emir “rhyme” Muminovic putting being the absolute best player on the server. On a 244 ACS, he managed to keep the Ninjas in the game to at least secure 9 and 10 rounds, respectively. But that doesn’t help them now, as G2 Esports continue on and the Ninjas will have to make a detour through the second qualifier.

TEAM LIQUID

Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and company managed to enter the Play-Ins without much hassle as well. During the playoffs, they finally met a challenging opponent in the form of Prodigy. Led by Vincent “Happy” Schopenhauer, the team had made a similarly dominant run through the bracket, but failed to deliver versus Liquid.

ScreaM played two fantastic maps on Jett. With 48 kills and a 321 ACS, he was the star of the match, although Happy put up a great show with 46 kills as well. After 13-11 and 13-5 victories, Liquid were qualified for First Strike. So two of the three best EU teams were through already, with the #3 following suit.

FUNPLUS PHOENIX

FPX have remained at the top of Europe for months now, alongside G2 Esports and Team Liquid. Even though they failed to win an IGNITION Series event, they consistently made Semi- or Grand Finals.

The same holds true for this Qualifier, as FPX had a similarly easy route to the Play-Ins. There, they won a 13-2 map over M4LIK and a 13-1 over SKADE, which only left Opportunists in their way. The French team didn’t stand a chance and only secured 15 round points in total, after which FPX threw them off the qualifier.

So Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow and his men are now signed on for the main event. They have also fielded the best player of the entire qualification so far in the form of Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky. Shao achieved a 308 ACS, 2.6 KD and 26 multikills in total.

SUMN FC

Most casual VALORANT viewers will probably not have heard of this team before. This roster has only existed since August and was finalised with the addition of Kostas “tsack” Theodoropoulos. Ever since then, the players managed to win a few smaller cups and even topped epic31 Online. This First Strike Qualifier was their first interaction with the official tournament circuit, and the team used this opportunity to announce themselves internationally.

Just like the top teams, they managed to get through the first qualifier unscathed, until they were finally matched with a strong opponent in the form of VALORANDO. But this German team quickly fell on a 13-8 scoreline and gave way for SUMN to enter the playoffs. There, they were lucky, as they were spared a confrontation with G2, FPX or Liquid, and instead drew eXiLe eSports. Two maps later, they booked their tickets to First Strike.

So the first four teams for the biggest VALORANT event on European soil so far are set. Teams like the Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Heretics, Prodigy, BIG, or Giants Gaming are now hoping for another shot at First Strike in the third Open Qualifier.