Sentinels Edge Out Gen.G 3-2 To Win Masters Madrid

After 1,000 days since their last international Valorant tournament appearance, Sentinels have finally found their footing and won VCT Masters Madrid. They defeated Gen.G in a nail biting Best of 5 series for all the marbles.

Map 1 – Breeze

The first map of the series was what fans expected: a completely back-and-forth game. Gen.G won their seventh straight pistol round against the Sentinels, converting the anti-eco to lead 2-0. From that point onward, both teams continuously traded blows, and exchanged rounds until the half ended. Since Gen.G had the early lead, the half ended 7-5 in their favor.

Sentinels fought back by winning the second pistol round, but ultimately, the North American offense completely fell flat, as Gen.G could win five in a row to win the map 13-8. 

Map 2 – Bind

On Bind, Gen.G looked like they were doing well on their offense, but Sacy, the Sentinels player you’d least expect to perform, stepped up and helped his team tie the half at 6-6. However, disaster struck as Gen.G could win four of the first five rounds in the second half to put themselves up 10-7.

However, after a tactical timeout, Sentinels kept their composure and showed why Bind was their map pick. Again, thanks to a star-level performance from Sacy, Sentinels could string five in a row to take the lead 12-10, but Gen.G won the last two rounds in regulation to force overtime.

The first round of overtime featured a flawless defense for the Sentinels, five alive. In the second round, Gen.G got two early picks, but after some heroics, Sentinels could convert a 3v5 round to a map win to even up the score. 

Map 3 – Ascent

The third map was Gen.G’s pick of Ascent. The Sentinels were off to a flying start, winning the pistol round and collecting a 5-2 lead. However, Gen.G won the eight round and started racking up momentum, salvaging the half to a 6-6 score. 

The Sentinels could not make their offense work, as Gen.G proved to be an iron wall on defense, winning the map 13-8 to put themselves one win away from taking home the trophy.

Map 4 – Split

Though things started to look grim for North American fans, Sentinels thankfully woke up for Split, winning the first half 8-4. The prodigy, zekken, went 20/9/6 in the first half to put out the fire of t3xture, who was heating up on his Raze with three First Bloods. 

Meteor’s Jett was starting to come alive for the Gen.G squad, but with a joint team effort, the Sentinels could tidy up their offense to win the map 13-10, forcing a fifth game. It was only right that a series like this should go all the way. 

Map 5 – Icebox

On Icebox, fans were unfortunately not treated to an intense conclusion to such an entertaining Grand Final. With a solid performance from Zellsis, Gen.G could not get too much going on their attacking half, losing it 5-7. 

The Sentinels quickly showed why Icebox was an attacker-sided map, winning the first two rounds of the second half and then four of the five following rounds. These consecutive rounds allowed Sentinels to close the map 13-6, meaning TenZ would lift his first trophy in a very long time.

SENTINELS HAVE DONE IT!!

Sentinels are your Masters Champions pic.twitter.com/MPe44xXfD8

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) March 24, 2024

After three years of hardship and continuous roster shuffles, the community believed that the Sentinels were done for. Nothing seemed to be working out, no matter which players they brought in. However, things started turning around when the team’s coach, Kaplan, was appointed.

The Unsung Heroes – putting in the hours and supporting this team all the way to the top pic.twitter.com/SHDWyG7z2E

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) March 24, 2024

The roster suddenly started working extremely well together, and more credit has to be given to johnqt, who led the team to victory in his first international LAN tournament. 

Absolute Cinema – led and conquered his first international tournament pic.twitter.com/YxllwTYdEC

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) March 24, 2024

Still, it cannot be argued that zekken was the catalyst to the pop-off Sentinels went through in the past month. He is the team’s top-performer and the person who bailed Sentinels out of many dire situations.

Undeniable MVP – the kid prodigy is finally a champion pic.twitter.com/LPV6h0Cpqo

— Sentinels (@Sentinels) March 24, 2024

The Sentinels had the hardest route to championship, as they were almost eliminated from the regional Kickoff numerous times. But, the roster persevered and their hard work paid off. 

Header: Sentinels