VALORANT – VCT: Fnatic is the First Team to Qualify for Playoffs

In a fierce and exciting Group D winners match yesterday, Fnatic defeated Vision Strikers, making them the first team to qualify for the playoff stage of the ongoing VALORANT Championship Tour.

With this outstanding victory, Fnatic has solidified their place as one of the teams to beat in the ongoing Esports event in Berlin. This may come as a surprise to many Valorant fans, as team Fnatic was initially considered one of the weakest teams from EU and NA. Contrary to popular belief, Fnatic has remained strong and undefeated. Now, by beating Vision Strikers, which has been the strongest Korean team in recent times, Fnatic has changed the impression everyone has about them, and now all eyes are watching keenly to see what other trick they have up their sleeves.

How the Match Went Down

As the game began, Fnatic choose the Icebox map and immediately started terrorizing Vision strikers to win the first five rounds. The Korean team tried to pull a resistance, planting the Spike on each successive round, but Fnatic was always swift to reclaim the sites and remain in control. As expected, Vision Strikers didn’t go down without a fight.

They won the next six rounds and flipped the game to assume the leading score. During an isolated situation in the ninth round, Stax won a one-vs-four faceoff, proving how much of a dangerous player he could be when playing in a lone situation. Fnatic bounced back by winning the last round of the half, bringing the scoreline to a crucial 6-6 draw.

Starting off the second half with a draw, Vision Strikers strengthened their defense and quickly clinched a win in two rounds before Fanatic struck hard in round 15, ending their winning streak. Vision Strikers won again in round 16, and in what seemed like a wakeup call, Fnatic raved up their offense and crushed Vision Strikers back-to-back in four consecutive rounds. Derke and Doma were unbelievably brutal during these rounds, they both showed off their raw gun skills, securing 4Ks each. Vision strikers tried to make a comeback by winning one final round, but Fnatic sealed the map with a 13-10 victory.

Haven

As the teams advanced to Haven map, they both spent the first half clamping down on each other, ensuring that no team wins more than three rounds in a row. In an attempt to skew the battle in their favor, Fnatic tightened up their defense, but they couldn’t stop feeling the heat, as Vision Strikers was bent on making sure they go through fire before they could clinch any victory. The first half ended in a 6-6 draw, and Vision Strikers charged up to be the dominant team in the second half.

They were victorious in the pistol round and one more round before Fnatic once again flipped the battleground and clinched a devastating four-round victory. The London team, however, didn’t taste a victory on this map again, as Vision Strikers dominated the map so heavily and won the last five rounds.

Fracture

The battle moved on to the third map Fracture. This was Fnatic’s second time playing on this new map at Valorant Champions. Despite losing three rounds in the first half, they got their second win on this map. Vision Strikers, of course, fought pretty hard, but their fate was sealed when Derke planted the Spike that destroyed Mako, ending the round in favor of Fnatic.

The last two rounds of the first half and the following pistol round ended in the favor of Vision Strikers. The teams fought fiercely in the next four rounds, rotating the wins between them. In Round 17, Derke killed four enemies without batting an eyelid, thus pulling off one of the tournament’s best flanks so far. Vision Strikers won Round 18, but Fnatic won the 19th round, clinching their second victory in the Berlin Valorant Championship Tour.

They have now qualified to compete in the playoffs on December 8. The fate of Vision Strikers will now be determined in their next match on December 6, where they will face whichever team wins the battle between FULL SENSE and Cloud9 Blue.

 

 

Photo: ValroantEsports Twitter