I promised you guys a VCT Japan Group B article very soon. Before we jump in, make sure you take a look at the results of VCT Japan Group A. It is now time to see how the Group B matches went!

REJECT VS CNCI BLUE BEES

REJECT had a hell of a run in VCT Japan Challengers 1, rolling through any team that stood in their path. The BEES on the other hand are a new arrival to VCT. Looking at the Icebox stats though, you wouldn’t think that’s the case. REJECT had a four round head start in the first half but BEES managed to get enough rounds to almost win it. It was a 7:5 half in favor of REJECT but the second half was even spicier. There was a pattern of BEES winning two, then REJECT shooting back with one. It went on for so long that the teams actually went into overtime. The BEES’ luck had seemingly run out and REJECT took both overtime rounds to take the win 14:12.

The BEES took a stronger lead on Ascent but that was quickly nullified in the latter part of the first half by five consecutive wins from REJECT. BEES looked determined to not take this one into overtime, especially Zenakukin with a 184.6 ADR. Those efforts proved to be fruitful and took the BEES to a 13:11 win against REJECT. A very close match and an unexpected performance from the newcomers.

FAV Gaming VS Crazy Raccoon

FAV Gaming was a favorite of Group B in Challengers 1 while Crazy Raccoon has one of the greatest names in all of Valorant. The teams looked very evenly matched on Haven, with neither taking more than a three-round lead in the first half. On the Racoon side, Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom looked very dominant with a 197.9 total ADR. FAV Gaming won the first half in the end but with a very close 7:5 scoreline. Crazy Raccoon didn’t give up just enough and brought the second half close enough to where the game went into overtime once again. But, much like the first match of Group B, FAV Gaming took both overtime rounds and closed out the game 14:12.

Ascent looked like it was the hometown map for FAV Gaming, and they didn’t let Crazy Raccoon take more than one round over them for the most part. After a 7:5 half, it looked like the game was going to go to FAV Gaming again but you would be sorely mistaken in thinking so. Something must have clicked for Crazy Raccoon because they only dropped one round in the second half and won Ascent 13:8 over FAV Gaming.

CNCI BLUE BEES VS Crazy Raccoon

In real life, bees fighting a raccoon might be a pretty one-sided outcome but here, it was quite the opposite. Crazy Raccoon took a strong four round head-start in the first half of Icebox, complete with two bomb defuses. The BEES stung back with five rounds of their own but they were not enough to break the Raccoon’s lead and the first half went to the latter team 7:5. Crazy Raccoon’s dominance continued to show in the second half, despite a strong lead from the BEES. No overtime for Crazy Raccoon this time though, and a 1v3 from neth on round 15 won them the match 13:8.

Ascent was an entirely different story. In the first half, Crazy Raccoon won eight rounds in a row without even needing to plant the bomb. They were all eliminations. All the BEES got this entire game was two rounds, meaning Crazy Raccoon won Ascent 13:2. Only one player on the BEES side even broke double digits. Rough game for them.

FAV Gaming VS CNCI BLUE BEES

The BEES were back with a vengeance on Split, but not in the first half. FAV Gaming kind of rolled them there and only gave them three rounds, taking the first half 9:3. The second half though, that’s when stuff got serious. The BEES were hell-bent on turning this around and had a dominant second half as a result. The comeback only lasted so long though and despite another strong lead from the BEES, it was not enough to take the 13:11 victory away from FAV Gaming.

The beginning of the first half on Ascent looked very similar, except it was the BEES in the lead for part of it this time. That lead didn’t last for long and FAV Gaming evened it out to a tied 6:6 half. That tie also didn’t last very long and FAV Gaming took the lead, and the win, once more. 13:7 was the final score as the BEES buzzed their way back into the hive.

REJECT VS Crazy Raccoon

REJECT didn’t have the greatest time in Group B so far so I wasn’t sure what to expect here. What I didn’t expect was for Crazy Raccoon to absolutely crush REJECT in the first half of Haven and take it 9:3. They didn’t even give them a chance to fight back! REJECT did a bit better in the second half with six rounds under their belt, but Crazy Raccoon only had to win four more to win. And win they did! 13:9 was the final score, with REJECT taking yet another loss.

There’s something about teams flipping their scores around in the second map and that’s exactly what happened here. REJECT took a strong lead from round three to six but were unable to keep it as the first half was once again tied 6:6. That tie quickly turned into a crazy lead for Crazy Raccoon and eventually a 13:7 win for them. That’s a 2:0 win for Crazy Raccoon.

FAV Gaming VS REJECT

The first half of Icebox went swimmingly for REJECT this time around, as they denied FAV Gaming’s first-round win with a five-round winning streak. Their streak was broken up by a few rounds from FAV Gaming but it was nothing they couldn’t handle and the first half went to REJECT 8:4. FAV Gaming took the loss in stride and grabbed four more rounds in the second half but REJECT still closed it out and took their second win of the day with a 13:8 score.

REJECT started Ascent just as strongly as Icebox with another winning streak in the first half. They were one round off from their Icebox score but still won the first half 7:5. But, unlike Icebox, they did not carry the victory into the second half. This time around it was FAV Gaming doing the steamrolling and eventually won the map 13:9.

• REJECT 1:1 CNCI BLUE BEES
• FAV Gaming 1:1 Crazy Raccoon
• CNCI BLUE BEES 0:2 Crazy Raccoon
• FAV Gaming 2:0 CNCI BLUE BEES
• REJECT 0:2 Crazy Raccoon
• FAV Gaming 1:1 REJECT

VCT Japan Challengers 2 was much crazier than Challengers 1 with some absolutely unexpected wins from teams you might have never heard of before. It was also surprising to not see BlackBird Ignis make a comeback and to see REJECT being taken down by the likes of Crazy Raccoon, FAV Gaming and CNCI BLUE BEES.

Thanks to their results, Absolute JUPITER, Crazy Raccoon, FIRST Gaming, and FAV Gaming have made it directly to the VCT Japan Masters stage. Hexad, REJECT, Novagis Gaming, and CNCI BLUE BEES will get another chance to go to Masters through Challengers 3. Make sure you don’t miss our coverage of that either! Follow us at Run it Back and join our Discord for all your latest news, extensive guides, and exclusive interviews in the world of Valorant.