VCT NA Challengers 2 Group Stage concludes

After five hard-fought weeks, the Group Stage of the VALORANT Champions Tour North American Challengers has come to an end. The eight remaining teams progress to a double-elimination knockout bracket.

With the VCT Stage 2 Masters in Copenhagen drawing ever closer, the top teams in North America have spent the past month battling it out in hopes of earning one of the region’s two spots at the tournament. The five-week Group Stage reduced the field from 12 to eight.

Group A

100 Thieves, Ghost Gaming, NRG, The Guard, TSM, XSET

Group A was decided during the final week of play. Entering Week Five, which took place between June 10 and June 12, XSET, 100 Thieves and Ghost Gaming were all still in the running for the top seed, while NRG and The Guard would battle it out for the final qualifying spot. 100 Thieves needed to beat Ghost to win the group, while XSET would be the top seed if Thieves lost. And despite taking significant early leads, 100 Thieves would go on to be swept by Ghost, falling to third in the group.

At the other end of the group, NRG and The Guard faced off in a winner-takes-all match for fourth place. In a clash for the ages, NRG reverse swept The Guard, sending the Stage 1 Masters qualifiers home.

Qualified: XSET, Ghost Gaming, 100 Thieves, NRG

Group B

Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, FaZe Clan, Luminosity, OpTic Gaming, Sentinels

Stage 1 Masters champions OpTic Gaming dominated Group B of the NA Challengers, the only team in the group to go 4-1.

Behind was a chaotic mess of teams fighting for qualification and seeding. The only team to be truly out of contention was Sentinels, who had seen various issues ravage their roster throughout the Group Stage. Cloud9 were also eliminated, having lost three consecutive matches after an opening week win.

Amongst the remaining three teams — Evil Geniuses, FaZe, and Luminosity — none were able to find consistent momentum in the group. Luminosity, who will leave VALORANT at some point after this tournament, qualified despite losing their last three matches. Meanwhile, FaZe went in the opposite direction, winning their last three after starting 0-2.

Qualified: OpTic Gaming, FaZe Clan, Evil Geniuses, Luminosity

Knockout Stage

The double-elimination knockout bracket begins on June 16. In the upper bracket, FaZe face 100 Thieves with XSET waiting in the next round while Ghost Gaming take on Evil Geniuses for a chance to play OpTic. The losers of those matches will meet NRG and Luminosity respectively in the lower bracket.

The playoffs will run until June 26, when the two qualifiers for Stage 2 Masters will be decided and one team will be crowned Stage 2 North American champions.

Header: Riot Games