Seven Teams Qualify for VCT NA Challengers 2 Playoffs
Seven North American teams have secured playoff spots after a decisive week 4 of the group stage.
The group A teams that have solidified themselves in the top three spots are 100 Thieves, Ghost Gaming and XSET. Over in group B we have Evil Geniuses, OpTiC Gaming and Luminosity Gaming in the top three, with FaZe Clan as the fourth and last qualified team.
Both Sentinels and Cloud9 have been eliminated, ending the group stage with disappointing scores in group B. The Guard, TSM and NRG are still fighting for survival in group A. All three are sitting with 1 – 3 scores, so they all need to win their next match in order to have a chance at surviving this stage.
Week 4 Recap
Week 4 was crucial for many teams in this esports tournament. For some, it was an opportunity to make that last push and secure an early playoff spot, while for others it was the final chance to survive elimination.
Group A
100 Thieves, XSET and Ghost Gaming were the winners of week 4. All three teams secured convincing victories and qualified for the playoffs.
100 Thieves defeated NRG without breaking a sweat. Both maps went to 100 Thieves and the final score was 2 – 0. With this win, 100 Thieves took over the first spot in group A with 3 wins and 1 loss.
Ghost Gaming also had an easy time against TSM, beating them with 2 – 0. The first map on Breeze was a real stomp, but they had to work a bit harder for the second win on Split, where they finished the match in overtime.
Finally, XSET secured a 2 – 1 victory against The Guard, the former VCT NA Challengers 1 champions. It was an excellent match with lots of back-and-forth action on both sides. Ultimately, it was XSET who claimed the victory and secured the third spot in group A.
Group B
Sentinels and Cloud9, two favourites in group B, failed to use this opportunity and both suffered defeats in week 4.
Sentinels were playing with a weakened lineup where their coach Rawkus had to swap in for SicK, who is still on an extended leave. They lost 2 – 0 to FaZe and suffered their fourth loss in the tournament.
Similarly, Cloud9 entered this week with a 1 – 2 score, so they really had to win against Luminosity here. Sadly, that didn’t happen. Luminosity secured a 2 – 0 win and qualified instead.
Evil Geniuses defeated OpTiC Gaming with 2 – 1, which was a huge win for them. They’re currently the top team in group B.
What to Expect in Week 5
There’s not much to look forward to in week 5 as the majority of the teams have already qualified. As such, this will be a risky week for those looking to place some Valorant bets.
Still, we don’t expect the qualified teams to simply roll over and let their opponents trample them in the end, but instead, everyone will most likely try to finish strong to secure better playoff seeds.
Group A will definitely be the more interesting group as there’s still 3 more teams battling for the fourth spot. It will be a real frenzy and you should definitely not miss it.
The match we recommend the most is the match between NRG and The Guard, as both of these teams will be putting everything on the line to secure this final victory. And last but not least, we have the match between Sentinels and Cloud9. Both teams have been eliminated so they have nothing left to lose and very little to gain. Expect a real deathmatch.