VALORANT Challengers 2 EU: How Four Teams Qualified for Masters

The second European Challengers event of Stage 1 has concluded. Four teams will make their way to the Masters event, which is scheduled to take place in March. Two newcomers put themselves on the map with victories, but G2 Esports remain in the battle for qualification.

The boys around Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas, who had won almost every single trophy last year, failed to keep their heads above water in Challengers 1. So they were forced to take the Open Qualifier route once again, but they eventually lost out to the Ninjas in Pyjamas in a Best-of-Three at this Challengers 2 tournament.

THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL NIP LINEUP

After countless attempts to build a top-tier international roster, the Ninjas have finally cracked the code for success. Kévin “Ex6TenZ” Droolans and his players have now repeatedly won over G2 Esports – and this time around it was even more decisive.

NiP quickly got into the match on Ascent. On the defense, they won five rounds of the first half and positioned themselves well for the offense. There, they quickly secured eight round victories for a 13-9 scoreline, with Emir “rhyme” Muminovic recording 23 kills. On Haven, they mounted a huge lead early on and managed to secure a similarly strong 13-10 victory. Yaroslav “Jady” Nikolaev” presented himself with 24 kills and a 1.41 rating.

So G2 Esports continue to fail in their goal of reclaiming the European top spot. But for the Ninjas in Pyjamas, the first leg of 2021 was a total success already. With their two victories, they’re now through to the Masters event and won’t have to play out Challengers 3. As a former CS:GO professional and in-game-leader, Ex6TenZ’ experience has really paid off and now gives the team a real chance to set themselves on top of their European opposition.

ALLIANCE DEBUT NEW ROSTER AND SECURE MASTERS SPOT

Alliance had unfortunately faced FunPlus Phoenix in the first Challengers Qualifier. There, they were soundly defeated and had to watch the main tournament unfold from the sidelines. This time around, however, they managed to get through and received a manageable opponent in the form of Wave Esports. Still, the majority-German team gave them quite a rough time.

On Icebox, Alliance got an early lead and mounted a 13-9 victory, but on Haven they entered overtime. Only through the heroics of Niels “luckeRRR” Jasiek, who received a 1.39 rating for 26 kills, they held themselves in the game. The teams traded rounds until Alliance finally secured the match victory on a 17-15 scoreline. So they’re now qualified for the Stage 1 Masters event as well, but it remains to be seen whether they can actually go up against the likes of FPX.

HERETICS VICTORIOUS WITH THEIR SIXTH MAN

In December, Team Heretics won the First Strike event. After that, they signed Ruben “RUBINO” Villaroel as their official sixth man. At Challengers 2, the Norwegian now got the chance to prove himself and did so perfectly well.

Team Heretics had to go up against OG and made quick work of them. After a 16-6 on Ascent and another 13-7 win on Bind, they effortlessly advanced to Masters. With 50 kills, 24 deaths and a fantastic 1.89 rating, Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas was the absolute star in this Best-of-Three. None of the OG players managed to record positive ratings and so the team will now have to take the Challengers 3 route.

At this event, RUBINO took the place of Dustyn “niesoW” Durnas. The Norwegian got into the roster as a sixth man, but maybe he is set to become a permanent active member if the team continues to succeed.

FPX SHOW STRENGTH AGAINST FNATIC

Even though FunPlus Phoenix and Fnatic played out the only “real” Best-of-Three series with three maps at this event, the game was still cut short by a dominant display from FPX. The Fnatic boys opened up with a 13-6 on Bind, in which the British core of the team got to shine. But on Split, Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow and his men turned the game on its head and delivered an absolutely dominant 13-3. Kostas “tsack” Theodoropoulos only recorded three meager kills, whereas the FunPlus Phoenix roster got positive ratings throughout.

After both teams had won maps, Haven became the deciding battle of the series. But FPX took the lead once again. After an 8-4 half, the moved over to the defense, in which they only needed to secure five more rounds. On a 13-7 scoreline, they robbed Fnatic of a Masters slot and are now themselves heading to the apex of this Spring’s VALORANT competition.

At the third Challengers event, the losers from last weekend will get a final chance to make Masters. This will require full focus from G2 Esports, OG, and the rest. Otherwise, they will have to watch this event unfold from the sidelines.