It was an intense affair between North America OpTic Gaming and Brazil LOUD. However, OpTic showed its dominance by sweeping the series.
.@OpTic sweep the Grand Finals to become the #VALORANTMasters Reykjav��k 2022 winners!!! pic.twitter.com/SsuNqUtcbh
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) April 24, 2022
It has been an eventful couple of weeks for Valorant lovers, as teams from all parts of the continent have come to represent their region in the Masters. A total of ten group stage matches, including elimination and decider matches, were played before the playoffs began.
The offline event was played in Reykjavik, Iceland, bringing together 12 teams to compete for a piece of the $675,000 prize pool
Due to travel restrictions in Ukraine and Russia, FunPlus Phoenix gave up its spot in the Masters. They won the EMEA Stage 1 Challengers and got a direct seeding to the Masters.
Unfortunately, they could not be physically present, and Riot Games did not take the initiative to allow them to compete remotely as they extended to LPL’s Royal Never Give Up ahead of the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational.
Team Liquid, who finished 4th in the EMEA Challengers, was bumped up one spot and took the third slot for EMEA. However, they failed to win a game in the playoffs despite a perfect run in the group stage.
Meanwhile, FPX has been awarded $25,000 and 200 circuit points due to non-participation. Perhaps they could have earned more with $200,000 and 75 points being the grand prize.
Speaking of winners, OpTic were outstanding in their final game of the tournament and will walk away with the aforementioned sum and circuit points. Across several sports betting platforms, LOUD were the favorites with a $1.77 moneyline odd, but their 10-game winning streak saw a bitter end.
Both teams met for the first time ever in this competition, and each won one game. LOUD bested OpTic in the Upper Bracket Finals, and after an incredible sweep by OpTic in the Lower Bracket Finals, they were ready to exact revenge against the Brazil-based team.
Brazil had only one spot in the Masters, and LOUD took it after a masterful display in the Brazil Stage 1 Challengers. After playing a combined seven games in the group stage and playoffs, they lost only one map.
Following such an asserting display throughout the tournament, they failed to win a single map in the second meeting against the NA heavyweights.
OpTic, on the other hand, had to feature in the Masters’ group stage as they came second in the NA Challengers. However, OpTic first showed their knack for taking revenge after defeating their NA counterpart The Guard in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals.
Another win against DRX saw them reach the Upper Bracket Final, but they were defeated by the streaking LOUD. After sweeping ZETA Division in the Lower Bracket Final, they faced off against LOUD once again, and as they say, the rest is history.
Twitter has been buzzing with the win as OpTic secured the title in exquisite fashion. They asserted their dominance early on, and even though LOUD attempted to make a come back in Ascent, they fell short.
OpTic went ahead to win Bind and Breeze, completing the sweep in the best-of-5 series. It was indeed a poetic end to the 2022 VCT Masters Reykjavik.
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?Coach Mathew “mCe” Elmore has ruled the loss as a result of the inability of the team’s rising star, Trent “trent” Cairns, to listen to music during the competition. While he has always been listening to music during his games prior to this time, he was prevented from doing so at the VCT Masters Reykjav��k in Iceland. ??His go-to method of reducing edginess and retaining focus was apparently not allowed on LAN.
With his ability to listen to music hampered, the 17-year old couldn’t perform at his best, thereby losing the game.??
His coach – a.k.a. ‘the Guard-father’ – disclosed in an interview the difficulties the team have had to face adapting to LAN in Reykjavik, as compared to their boot camp in Texas. These differences he suggested would be addressed if the players learn to adapt to the “standard setups”.
??��The guys have got to get used to more standard setups,�� mCe suggested.
��Trent listens to music while he plays, and [he wasn��t] allowed to listen to music here. It could be a nerves thing that helps him calm down, and these are things that we learned that were too late to try and switch.��
??When trent found out he was not allowed to listen to music, he was shocked. So was mCe when he found out that his player had been beating the best of NA VALORANT with music blasting as his focus tool. The player’s talent was witnessed during the NA Challengers group stage and playoffs as he solidified himself as a rising star. ??
��I found out when we got here he was listening to music,�� mCe said.
��Today mid-match he opened Spotify and realized that he was actually super nervous and uncomfortable. He asked the admin if he could play music, [but] the admin said ��no’.��??
The coach admitted that all his players, including Michael “neT” Bernet, Jacob “valyn” Batio, Jonah “JonahP” Pulice, and Ha “Sayaplayer” Jung-woo, were nervous, but trent had it worse with Masters Reykjavik being his first event on the big stage.??
��I don��t think [trent��s level of play] was as bad as trent thought,�� mCe said.
��I think he didn��t play up to his level and I think he got in his head because of it. Comments online are pretty brutal anytime you lose anything like this and I think it definitely got to the guys a little bit.��??
It was deduced that the young player’s playlist will likely include songs from Kanye West and Juice WRLD, but more especially those from Lil Uzi Vert.
The Guard-father has resorted to having the players take a well-deserved break as they have been very active since January 7.
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