XSET win VCT NA Stage 2 Masters

The NA VCT Stage 2 Challenger has come to a close with XSET emerging victorious after a series of exciting matchups amongst the top Valorant teams of North America. OpTic Gaming put up a valiant fight despite the Covid-19 contagion in the team but ultimately fell short of winning the competition.

XSET and OpTic’s domination in VCT Challengers

XSET and OpTic both established their superiority in the NA region, regardless of the outcome, by earning spots at Masters Copenhagen. Both of the teams showcased top-notch performances while being consistent throughout the event. XSET finished the group stage with a 4-1 record, defeating NRG, Ghost Gaming, The Guard, and TSM. With only one loss against 100 Thieves in the group stage, the team secured a semi-finals seeding.

OpTic, on the other side, also topped the group stage with a 4-1 record, losing just one game to Evil Geniuses. After taking down the FaZe Clan early on, they rallied and crushed Cloud 9, Luminosity, and Sentinels.

Group Stage Results

                                           Group A

1	XSET (Q)	4-1
2	Ghost Gaming (Q)	4-1
3	100 Thieves (Q)	3-1
4	NRG (Q)	2-3
5	The Guard	1-4
6	TSM	1-4

 

                                         Group B

1	OpTic Gaming (Q)	4-1
2	FaZe Clan (Q)	3-2
3	Evil Geniuses (Q)	3-2
4	Luminosity Gaming (Q)	3-2
5	Cloud9	2-3
6	Sentinels	0-5

Playoffs

The contest, however, took a thrilling turn during the semifinals when XSET and OpTic faced off against the only teams they had previously lost a match to. While XSET left no room for error this time and swept 100T, OpTic also managed to complete the revenge sweep with a 2-0 victory over EG.

XSET and OpTic met first time in the upper bracket final, where OpTic swept their opponents 3-1 and sent them to the lower bracket. However, XSET returned for revenge in the Grand Final after eliminating FaZe Clan 3-1.

OpTic kicked off the supercharge finale with a dominating performance on Fracture taking a 1-0 lead in the series. However, XSET bounced back to thrash OpTic 13:3 on Haven, handing OpTic their most disappointing loss of the series. XSET carried their momentum to Bind, again thrashing OpTic 13:7 to extend their lead to 2-1. OpTic rallied on the fourth map Ascent, but Zachary “zekken” Patrone and Brendan “bcj” Jensen destroyed their counterattacks, denying them the chance to recover. With their accurate aim, brilliant decision-making, and coordinated teamwork, XSET won the thrilling series 3-1 to become the VCT NA Stage 2 Champions.

Final Results

Place	Team	Reward
1st	XSET (Masters)	$50,000
2nd	OpTic Gaming (Masters)	$32,000
3rd	FaZe Clan	$26,000
4th	NRG	$20,000

Both teams will represent the NA region at VCT 2022 Stage 2 Masters LAN event, scheduled to run between July 10 – 24 in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen. The tournament will be the first international Valorant LAN competition to take place in front of a live audience. 

Although this will be XSET’s first LAN tournament, the young lineup has a great chance of success at Masters, considering their recent performances.

Header: Riot Games