Fnatic win VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers

Fnatic have claimed the VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA Stage 2 crown after a clean sweep against FunPlus Phoenix in the June 26 Grand Final.

The iconic org will earn a 40,000€ prize as well as the EMEA’s top seeding at the upcoming VCT Masters in Copenhagen. FunPlus Phoenix and Guild Esports also qualified for the tournament by way of a second and third-place finish respectively.

Fnatic’s (near) perfect run to VCT Challenger title

Fnatic were far and away the best team in the EMEA region during the 2022 Stage 2 Challengers.

They began with a perfect 5-0 run in the group stage, also posting a +59 map differential during that time. The team then cruised to the Stage 2 Challengers title, beating FunPlus Phoenix 2-1 in the upper bracket semis, sweeping Guild Esports 2-0 in the upper bracket final, and taking down FunPlus Phoenix once again in a 3-0 Grand Final.

All of this came despite Fnatic making significant roster changes just days before the tournament began on May 13. Enzo “Enzo“ Mestari and Emir Ali “Alfajer“ Beder were both acquired on May 9. The moves paid off as Enzo and Alfajer finished first and third respectively in tournament KDA, while teammate Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev finished fifth in the statistic.

Surprise run by FPX

While Fnatic were widely seen as a lock for the Grand Final, few had FunPlus Phoenix going all the way. FunPlus Phoenix finished third in the same group as Fnatic, going 3-2 behind Fnatic (5-0) and Ascend (4-1). After taking down Team Liquid in the first round of the playoffs, FPX was bumped into the lower bracket following the aforementioned upper bracket semifinal against Fnatic.

That started a lower bracket run for the team, who saw off Ascend and M3 Champions to set up a lower bracket final against Guild Esports. Despite Guild having won their group, FPX dismantled them in a sweep. The third-place finish for Guild meant that the org owned by David Beckham earned their first trip to an international event.

Leading the way for FPX were Andrey “Shao“ Kiprsky and Dmitry “SUYGETSU“ Ilyushin, who both earned a top-10 KDA at the tournament.

VCT Masters Copenhagen lineup nearly set

A majority of regions have decided their representatives for VCT Masters Copenhagen, which begins on July 10. The only region left to compete their Challengers stage is South America. Fnatic, FPX, and Guild Esports will join the likes of LOUD, XSET, OpTic Gaming, and Paper Rex at the tournament.

South America will decide its sole representative on June 30. Ninjas in Pyjamas will take on KRÜ Esports in the deciding match.

Header: Mik Hartwell, VCT