First Strike Regional Finals all over the world are closer and closer. Alongside North America, Europe will be another region to watch out for, as the action will be just as hot. All eyes will definitely be on G2 Esports, as they have won all the European Ignition Series events in Europe.

With eight teams emerging as the best of the best in Europe after two gruelling qualifiers, the Qualifier #1 and Qualifier #2, the Regional Finals bring us only the finest and toughest teams currently on the European Valorant scene.

The Regional Finals kick off on Thursday, December 3, and run through until Sunday, December 6. This means we’ll have four total days of hardcore Valorant action. The format is a single-elimination bracket with best-of-three (BO3) matchups with the exception of the grand finale, where a best-of-five (BO5) will be played out. To sum it all up, we are in for a real treat this coming weekend.

The teams will battle it out for the biggest prize we’ve seen to date in Valorant. With a $100,000 prize pool, the winner gets to take home $40,000, which is definitely nothing to scoff at. Getting into the final already guarantees a $20,000 prize (runner-up).

First Strike Main Event – Europe Preview

Teams

The eight finalists of First Strike Europe are:

• G2 Esports
• Team Liquid
• SUMN FC
• FunPlus Phoenix (FPX)
• nolpenki
• Orgless (ex-Prodigy)
• Purple Cobras
• Team Heretics

Naturally, all ayes will be most focused on the big trio of Europe, G2, Liquid, and FPX. They are deemed to be the best and up there when it comes to tier 1 European Valorant teams. However, we’ve seen that G2 are a team that can be beaten, as showcased by Guild (but then overturned), showing that none of the top teams are unbeatable. SUMN FC was a team that qualified in the first round alongside FPX, Liquid, and G2, also showing that they are to be taken just as seriously.

Qualifier #2 victory teams may not present such dominant nature, but can be a threat nonetheless. Team Heretics absolutely demolished Team Finest in their Round of 8 final match. nolpenki managed to repent Guild Esports, while Purple Cobras defeated Ninjas in Pyjamas, in what was one of the biggest upsets of the qualifiers. The potential for upset at this event is huge, and no team should be considered an underdog.

Opening Matches

Team Liquid vs Team Heretics

While many will argue that Team Liquid should have an easy time here, we like to think otherwise. Team Heretics are filled with talent featuring former CSGO pros of Christian “loWel” Garcia Antoran and Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas. To that, Heretics have one of the Turkish finest soldiers, Melih “pAura” Karaduran. The Spanish team featuring an all-European medley will be an initial test of resilience for Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and his British teammates, as most likely, they will have to face G2 Esports in the semifinals.

G2 Esports vs Orgless

Formerly qualified as Prodigy, the Orgless team is what it is, a team without an organization behind them that has made it into First Strike Regional Finals. The Orgless cinco, featuring CSGO’s once finest, Vincent “Happy” Cervoni, as well Daniil “pipsoN” Meshcheryakov, will have to take down Europe’s most consistent and scary Valorant squad, G2 Esports. Despite a minor hiccup during the qualifiers, Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas Colocho’s side is undeniably the strongest team in Europe and they have a cabinet absolutely filled with trophies to show that. If Orgless somehow manages to take down G2, this will be the biggest upset perhaps in the whole First Strike event.

SUMN FC vs Purple Cobras

This matchup may very well be the most fierce match on the opening day of this event. We’ve seen Jake “Boaster” Howlett’s side qualify alongside the other giants in the first round of the qualifiers. However, Purple Cobras looked dangerous in the qualifiers themselves, knocking out NiP in the process. If you’re wondering which match to devote your time on fully, it may very well be this one as it’s shaping up to be an absolute nail-biter.

FunPlus Phoenix vs nolpenki

FunPlus Phoenix are by some dubbed to be the next big thing in Europe after G2. They’ve come extremely close at BLAST Twitch Invitational to beating G2 Esports in the final, but fell just short in the decider map of the BO5 series. They’ve looked equally fierce at the qualifier, as Kirill “ANGE1” Karasiow’s side wants glory above everything else. Meanwhile, their first opponent is nolpenki, the fourth and last organization-less team at this First Strike Europe event. An initially Lithuanian team, nolpenki has become a squad represented by five different European nationalities. Featuring a win over Guild in the second qualifier, nolpenki look like a very solid side. However, given FPX’s overall form, it’s going to be a tough sell to put nolpenki forward over FPX.

You can watch First Strike Europe Regional Finals action over on Twitch and YouTube. For all the latest updates on First Strike all over the world, remember to follow us right here at Run It Back.

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