VCT NA Challengers 1: The Current Group Stage Standings

Published: Feb 15, 2022

It’s time to jump into the VCT NA Challengers 1 and take a look at the current group stage standings. The past week has been a blast to follow, with plenty of ups and downs.

We’ll start with the underperforming teams, which include 100 Thieves who lost 2-0 to Cloud9, but also Sentinels who looked a bit rusty, despite winning 2-1 versus NRG.

On the other site, we have Cloud9, who are arguably the strongest Valorant team in North America right now. The Guard is also one of the biggest surprises of the tournament and potentially one of the most underrated teams in the region. XSET and Version1 both looked confident as well, taking clean 2-0 wins in their opening matches.

Image Credits | Riot Games

The Guard Takes the Lead

The first week of the VCT NA Challengers group stage is over, and The Guard currently find themselves sitting at the first place in group A. The underdog squad that fought its way through the qualifiers has started things off with a bang. They defeated Luminosity Gaming with 2-0 and secured an early lead in the group. This squad has some incredible potential.

Then there’s Cloud9 and XSET, who also ended their matches without losing a single map. Cloud9’s victory is definitely the more impactful one, given that their opponent was 100 Thieves. Still, XSET were in their element and completely dominated Evil Geniuses.

100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses didn’t really show much so far. Whether that’s just tournament jitters or a deeper underlying problem within the teams, still remains to be seen. The same goes for Luminosity, who have shown some real flaws in the first match against The Guard.

Group A Standings – Week 1

1 – The Guard
2 – Cloud9
3 – XSET
4 – 100 Thieves
5 – Evil Geniuses
6 – Luminosity Gaming

Rise Takes Down Newly Rebranded OpTic

Let’s take a look at the Valorant Champions Tour NA Challengers group B where Rise, Version1, and Sentinels currently occupy the top three spots.

One of the biggest surprises are Rise, who have managed to take down the ex-Envy squad who recently rebranded into OpTic Gaming. It was a close match, but Rise managed to come out on top and finish 2-1. They have a great lineup and team Synergy, with some heavy hitters like Shanks and neptune.

If you missed our first week of Stage 1 #VCTChallengersNA Main Event we've got you covered, check out our Top 5 plays of the week! pic.twitter.com/NHxVUXkipx

— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) February 15, 2022

Next we have Version1 who had an easy time against Knights. While it’s still a victory, and that’s what counts, their real challenge lies ahead. They got the weakest opponent in the first match, so this win will at least be a nice little morale boost for them. Next week’s match against Rise will be the true test. We’ll see how they’ll do there.

And that leaves us with Sentinels. They defeated NRG, but it wasn’t as easy as we expected. NRG played incredibly well and gave Sentinels a run for their money. Despite the rusty play, Sentinels still remain as one of the strongest teams in North America. Right now, something just seems to be missing from the team. If they can iron out a few things within the team, we can definitely see them ruling their region once again.