Day 2 of NA Challengers Playoffs sees XSET and Envy survive
Brandon "Mothman" Moore
08/13/2021
The first day of NA Challengers Playoffs went as most expected. Two representatives for North America at Masters Berlin were decided with one spot still on the line. Day 2 of NA Challengers Playoffs began with two matches in Lower Round 1. It finished with a total of four teams eliminated after Lower Round 2. Two teams are left to fight for that final Masters Berlin bid.
Follow along for the full results of Day 2 of NA Challengers Playoffs and how the remainder of the tournament looks because of it.
Lower Round 1
- Rise 2:1 TSM
- FaZe Clan 2:1 Luminosity Gaming
Rise versus TSM was an insane contest. Everyone expected this tournament to be the return of TSM. After falling in the Upper Quarterfinals, bouncing back should have been no problem. Rise took the title of underdog and dropped everyone’s jaws here. TSM pulled out a close first map on Split that, truthfully, Rise should have won. Map two, Haven, was nowhere near as close. Rise took it 13:6. Moving to Breeze, TSM had to start off strong. They put together a few solid rounds before the half, but Rise was on another level as the attackers. They didn’t drop a single round in the second half, finishing the series 13:5.
FaZe Clan and Luminosity Gaming also went the distance. FaZe Clan enacted the reverse sweep after LG handed them defeat on Ascent 13:8. Split and Bind were 13:6 and 13:9 respectively. Not once did the losing team reach double digit rounds in this series. It has been said before that LG is full of individually talented players, but would need to get it together as a team to have a strong showing in this event. That didn’t happen as FaZe Clan was triumphant, moving on to face Team Envy in Day 2 of NA Challengers Playoffs.
Lower Round 2
- Team Envy 2:1 FaZe Clan
- XSET 2:1 Rise
FaZe Clan started off hot on Haven, but Team Envy and former FaZe member Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen were able to retaliate. The rounds went back and forth with NV looking to close it out. FaZe Clan managed to stand their ground and force overtime, however. OT ended in their favor 14:12. The second map took the series to Bind. Team Envy were the ones to take an early lead this time. That lead was enough despite some incredible rounds from FaZe, giving NV a 13:10 victory. Onto Ascent, Team Envy was up at the half. FaZe Clan took their turn as the attackers, closing the gap. Team Envy changed their tune quick, though. They crossed the finish line first by taking Ascent 13:8. One more win sends them to Masters Berlin.
XSET and Rise began with a very even score line on Haven. That continued throughout the majority of map one. Eventually, Rise surprised everyone yet again. They took the first map with a solid 13:7 victory. Map two was an even affair just like the first one to start. Rise fought with all their might to stop XSET from taking the lead, but map three became a certainty with XSET winning 13:10. Ascent kicked off with some technical difficulties. XSET came off from that break with a lot of strong rounds. Rise kept it close at halftime, but when sides switched, XSET kept up the pressure. They moved on to face Team Envy after beating Rise 13:7.
NA Challengers Playoffs — Day 3 Contests
Day 3 of NA Challengers Playoffs is up next. We will learn the third team from North America for Masters Berlin. It starts with the Upper Final between the two teams already locked in, Sentinels and 100 Thieves. The winning team will find themselves in the Grand Final on Sunday with the losing team moving to the Lower Final on Day 4, Saturday.
Following that will be Team Envy versus XSET to round out the VALORANT squads going to Germany for the Masters tournament. The winner is in the Lower Final while the loser is knocked out of the event. The meat of the tournament is winding down with NA supremacy and seeding as the goal in the final days.
Stay tuned to Run It Back for more coverage of the VCT as each region determines their Masters Berlin representatives!
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