Total Shorty Kills
VCT NA Challengers 2 Qualifier: Round of 8 Day 2 Results
Phillip Miner
02/15/2021
The best of the best of North America in the Valorant Champions Tour has been distilled even further. The Round of 8 has just concluded. The four teams from this stage of VCT NA Challengers 2 will go on to face the Top 4 of Challengers 1: XSET, Luminosity Gaming, Immortals, and Sentinels. Yesterday we saw 100 Thieves and FaZe Clan earn their chances at glory. Today, the two teams joining them are Gen.G and Team Envy.
VCT NA Challengers 2 Qualifier: Round of 8 Day 2 Results
Gen.G 2:1 TSM
Map 1, Icebox, went smoothly for Gen.G, which was the idea since they picked it. What was surprising was how smoothly it went for Gen.G, as they won Icebox 13:7! Gen.G were dominant on the offensive side, and by halftime of the map they were up 8:4. TSM attempted to put up a valiant offense to counter the lead earned by Gen.G, but at this point they could only delay the inevitable.
Map 2, Ascent, was a much closer game, and went in favor of TSM 13:11. The casters described much of the match as “tit-for-tat,” and that was accurate. During the first half, TSM answered back for every round won by Gen.G. By halftime, TSM was barely holding onto a two-round lead. This two round lead ended up proving essential as more tit-for-tat action occurred. TSM was just barely able to avoid overtime rounds.
By the time Map 3, Bind, came to a close, I’m sure some viewers fingernails were shorter than they were with how nailbitingly close the map was. Gen.G ultimately prevailed, however, thanks to an insane clutch play by Kenneth “Koosta” Suen. I’d try to describe the beautiful play in words, but it’s better if you see the play for yourself:
Team Envy 2:0 Renegades
This matchup was more one-sided, although the Renegades did show signs of life at points. Map 1, Ascent, saw Team Envy start a little slow, as Renegades were able to get an early, but small, lead. Team Envy put a stop to that by halftime, however, as the score at that point was 7:5 in Envy’s favor. From there, however, it was the Victor “Food” Wong show as the Renegades could barely keep up with Team Envy’s offensive blitz. Team Envy won Ascent 13:7.
Map 2, Split, saw the Renegades come an inch closer to victory than the previous map. However, they still lost to Team Envy 13:8. The Renegades’ demise started early, as by halftime they were down by a margin of four rounds to Team Envy. They were able to claw back further than they did on Ascent. However, some key round clutches, such as a Round 17 clutch by Pujan “FNS” Mehta, put a stop to the Renegades’ dreams of a comeback.
Will the Top 4 teams of Challengers 1 put a stop to the aspirations of the Top 4 from Challengers 2 next week? Stay tuned to Run it Back next week as we cover the Main Event of VCT NA Challengers 2!
