Total Shorty Kills
NA Challengers Playoffs — Sentinels and 100 Thieves are going to Berlin
Brandon "Mothman" Moore
08/12/2021
The first day of NA Challengers Playoffs was a long and brutal day of competitive VALORANT. At the end, the first two teams to represent the region during Masters Berlin were decided. The third spot is up grabs with plenty of teams remaining. Fighting through the Lower Bracket won’t be easy, but whoever does it will prove they deserve that final entry to Masters Berlin from the NA Challengers Playoffs.
Read ahead for the results of each series and how the outcomes will set up the following days of competition.
Upper Quarterfinals
- Sentinels 2:1 Rise
- Team Envy 2:1 TSM
- 100 Thieves 2:0 FaZe Clan
- XSET 2:0 Luminosity Gaming
It all started with Rise taking on Sentinels. A massive Sentinels victory occurred in the first map, but Rise battled back and took Ascent. That shocking development had everyone questioning whether they’d be able to pull off the upset. Sentinels turned around with a 13:4 win on Bind to take the series.
Team Envy and TSM showed up to NA Challengers Playoffs with chips on their shoulders. Only one could make it through to the Upper Semifinals, however. The newcomer to NV, Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker, put on a show as his team took the first and third map to score the series win. TSM put up a hell of a fight, taking map two 13:11 in a close battle on Breeze.
100 Thieves did exactly what you would expect out of them. FaZe Clan was shut down before they could really even begin. A 13:6 followed by a 13:9 saw 100 Thieves advance to the Upper Semifinals and FaZe Clan fall down to the Lower Bracket. Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk went off when it mattered, helping his team secure the dub.
The final contest of the NA Challengers Playoffs Upper Quarterfinals was XSET vs. Luminosity Gaming. XSET was not playing games in this one. They held LG to 11 total rounds over the two maps. Haven ended 13:6 and Split finished 13:5. Only one member of LG managed to put up over 20 kills.
Upper Semifinals
- Sentinels 2:0 Team Envy
- 100 Thieves 2:0 XSET
No matter how good Team Envy has looked as of late, Sentinels remains the number one team on the planet. They persevered through two close 13:11 maps against NV. Granted, the first was a lot closer than the second. A few altered outcomes to Haven could have easily delivered us the need for a third map. Team Envy moves onto the Lower Bracket and Sentinels, to no one’s surprise, is the first North American team to punch their ticket to Masters Berlin.
XSET was looking hot again, but 100 Thieves extinguished that flame early on. Down 9:3 on Haven, 100 Thieves turned things around on attack, winning 13:11. Ascent saw 100T keep that same energy. Their attack side was dominate, leading 8:4 instead of being down at the half. XSET could not mirror the comeback from Haven, but managed to string some rounds together late to keep Ascent very close. The Thieves finished off XSET right before OT and cemented their place at Masters Berlin.
NA Challengers Playoffs — Day 2 Contests
The second day of action will see four total matches, completing both Lower Round 1 and Lower Round 2. The former will consist of Rise vs. TSM and FaZe Clan vs. Luminosity Gaming. The winner of the first game will take on XSET and the winner of the second game will go against Team Envy.
These four contests still won’t decide the final NA team going to Berlin. There are a few more days of competition ahead as the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs continues. We are all truly spoiled with these incredible teams gracing our screens.
Stay tuned to Run It Back as the VCT NA Challengers Playoffs continues and the third representative for Masters Berlin is decided!
