VCT Masters Reykjavík – Fnatic and Version1 Move Forward, NUTURN Gaming Beat Sharks Esports
Published: May 25, 2021 - Last Updated: Jul 19, 2023
The Valorant Champions Tour Masters 2 event has begun, and the first round of matches is already over. The Upper Bracket Play-Ins saw Fnatic face off against KRÜ Esports, and they quickly dismantled them in both maps. The second matchup was between Version1 and Crazy Racoon. It was a close fight, but Version1 emerged victorious in the end and claimed a 2-0 victory.
The first match of the Upper Bracket Round 1 was between the Korean Challengers, NUTURN Gaming, and the Brazilian Sharks. Sharks opened up strongly on Haven, but didn’t offer much in the other maps, allowing NUTURN to take a 2-1 victory.
Fnatic comes out victorious, will fight Sentinels next
The European giants have won their first match, and judging by their performance, it seemed like an easy match for the boys from the UK.
The first map opened on Haven, and right off the bat Fnatic took control and never let go until the very end. They played fast and overwhelmed KRÜ very quickly, leaving them little room for recovery.
The second map was played on Icebox, and this time was no different. Fnatic dominated the fights, showing superior performance. The only rounds KRÜ were winning consistently were the pistol and eco rounds, but that was far from enough to make a difference in this case.
Fnatic have secured an easy win and will now be looking forward to fighting Sentinels, the strongest NA team, and one of the main favorites in this tournament. If they play like they did against KRÜ, then Sentinels could be in a lot of trouble.
Version1’s shaky performance still results in a win
Version1 faced the Japanese Crazy Racoon in the second match of the Upper Bracket Play-Ins.
While the North American regions is clearly favored in such a matchup, the Version1 crew were at a slight disadvantage given that their Russian Viper star was unable to attend due to visa issues. His last-minute replacement was Jamal “jammyz” Bangash, an American player who was a member of beastcoast up until recently.
The NA crew took a 2-0 win, but this matchup was anything but easy. The Japanese squad saw the opportunity to cause an early upset in the tournament, and they went for it. After a lot of back-and-forth, the V1 crew ultimately managed to wrap up both matches, but one little mistake could have changed the outcome of this match.
Team Liquid will be a real challenge for this team, and if they wish to move past them, they’ll have to bring their A game.
NUTURN secure the spot at Semifinals
The match between the Korean and the Brazilian teams was an interesting one. Sharks picked Haven, a map they were statistically very likely to win, and that came true. They played with confidence and forced NUTURN on the defense. After a relatively quick match, Sharks claimed their first map win and were heading into map 2 with confidence.
However, this is where their dreams came crashing down. NUTURN picked Bind and went in aggressively, giving the Sharks a taste of their own medicine. The first half mirrored the one from map 1, only this time NUTURN were completely dominating the pace of the game and the control Sharks showed on Haven was now nowhere to be seen.
NUTURN evened the score and used the momentum to wrap up the match in map 3 on Ascent. The same story repeated itself, and NUTURN took a decisive win with 13-5 as the final score.
Overall, this was a great start for both NA and EU region, as both runner-up teams have scored clean 2-0 sweeps. The Korean Challengers NUTURN Gaming are also the first team to secure a spot in the Upper Bracket Semifinals, so they can finally breathe a sigh of relief as they wait for the match between Team Liquid and Version1 to see who they’ll have to face next.
We can’t wait for the next wave of VCT Masters 2 matches, so follow us to stay up-to-date with all news, reviews, and Valorant betting tips.
