VALORANT Challengers 2 EU/NA: Liquid and TSM Victorious

The Challengers weekend concluded with the Grand Finals between Liquid and Giants, TSM and FaZe. Team Liquid and FaZe Clan were the ones to bring the trophy home, even though all four are heading for the Challengers playoffs anyways.

The European Challengers 2 were a brutal battle between newcomers and veteran teams desperately trying to advance to the EMEA Playoffs. Acend, G2, Guild, and FPX had already done it. For teams like Liquid, Fnatic, and Alliance, the qualifying spots were still up for grabs.

The newly reformed Giants Gaming managed to throw a wrench into their works, though. They defeated Fnatic in their second match, after which they recorded a 2-0 victory over Liquid as well! So they were the first to enter the Grand Finals. Similarly to the Icelandic Masters, Liquid and Fnatic had to fight for survival in the Lower Bracket. But this time, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and his men managed to narrowly escape and advance.

In the Grand Finals, Liquid pulled off a complete reversal and were suddenly invincible. On a decisive 13-6 scoreline, they concluded the fourth map and the Grand Finals with a 3-1 map score. But Giants had already reached their most important goal when they made the Grand Finals – qualifying to the EMEA playoffs, where they are going up against 14 additional teams.

TSM DOMINATE FAZE

Unlike Liquid, who had to fight through the Lower Bracket, Team SoloMid were in control from start to finish. They kicked things off with a narrow 2-1 win over Gen.G, in which they had to play out a whopping 20 Overtime rounds on Split. After passing that first big test, the remainder of the tournament was much easier for them. T1 were no match, just like Luminosity. In the Grand Finals, FaZe shocked them with a first map victory, but the Clan then had to swallow three quick losses. So TSM made first place on a 3-1 scoreline, but they had already secured their slot at the Challengers Playoffs beforehand.

WHO DID WE LOSE ON THE WAY?

Fnatic are arguably the most decorated team to have missed the playoffs and the chance to qualify for Masters Berlin. Not long ago, they stood in the Masters Grand Finals against Sentinels, but now they failed to even make it past Liquid. Version1 are also absent from the list of participants. Their journey ended after losses to T1 and Gen.G, respectively.

So the scene continues to change. After all, we’re at Challengers 2, the tournament meant for teams who had failed to make it at the first weekend. From the pool of Masters Reykjavik participants, Sentinels now were the only ones to make playoffs on their first attempt. Even if Liquid manage to advance further, G2 and their companions are the new favorites.

The EMEA and NA playoffs will show which teams actually have the upper hand. However, there’s more than a week of preparation time in between. While the Challengers 1 winners may have a little headstart, the newly qualified teams should get enough time to catch up and bring their absolute best to the server.