VCT Masters Berlin update — seven teams eliminated, G2 snaps Sentinels’ streak

The Valorant Masters Berlin kicked off on September 10. Since then, seven teams have been eliminated from championship contention. Sentinels still look strong, but G2 was able to end their 10-series streak in the second round of the groups. With tournament favorites looking shaky, the championship looks like it is still anyone’s to take.

Eliminated teams

After their respective elimination matches, seven teams have retired from the tournament.

• F4Q was eliminated when they went winless in the first round of the tournament-unique round robin group against Sentinels and G2.
• Paper Rex was initially looking good in the Group A elimination match. They took a 1-0 advantage over Supermassive Blackhole, but after an abysmal (2-13) map at Breeze and a close defeat (10-13) at Split, they were eliminated from the tournament.
• Zeta in Group B was unfortunately eliminated after a dominant performance by Vivo Keyd going 13-3 on Breeze and 13-4 on Split.
• Havan Liberty rallied late to push back against a Crazy Raccoons squad with a 1-0 map advantage. But the rematch-hungry Crazy Raccoons proved too strong for the Brazilian team. (Haven 9-13, Split 8-13)
• Vivo Keyd were eliminated by KRÜ 2-0 in Group B’s decider after two close games. Heroics in the second half tipped the scales into KRU’s favor, securing them a hard-earned spot in the playoffs (Split 13-11, Haven 13-11).
• SuperMassive Blaze leaves the tournament at the hands of Acend. The Turkish squad hit Acend first, winning on Ascent (13-6). The series tied on the Bind loss (7-13). Ultimately, SMB failed in a confusing third map on Split (10-13)
• Crazy Raccoon looked to avenge their humiliating first day against Gambit. However, they lost the first map (Ascent 8-13). The Japanese rallied to push Gambit into overtime, but fell just short of qualifying for the playoffs (Icebox 12-14). 

Best games so far

Sentinels vs G2 & Rematch

After losing their first map since the last Masters took place, Sentinels took a hard-earned 2-1 win over G2 amid intense (but innocent) trash talking. The European squad, however, came back with a vengeance in their second round rematch against their North American rivals. In an uncharacteristic performance, Sentinels were handed an eye-opening 0-2 loss by the hungry G2 squad. (Icebox 13-3, Split 13-11)

Gambit vs Crazy Raccoon (First round – group)

Gambit recently made history— much to the dismay of Crazy Raccoon. Gambit completely dominated the match. They went 13-1 on both Bind and Icebox in the most one-sided match in professional Valorant history. The two teams were set to meet again in Group C’s decision match, and while CR made it somewhat close, Gambit edged them out in the end and qualified for the playoffs.

Gambit vs 100Thieves 

100Thieves made an incredible comeback that secured them a spot in the playoffs. Gambit initially secured a comfortable first map win (Ascent 13-5) and an early second map advantage over 100T— who were down 11-3 on Icebox before winning ten straight rounds. 100T’s incredible comeback was topped off with a hard earned 13-10 victory over Gambit on Split.

Vision Strikers vs Acend

Vision Strikers’ stellar teamplay versus Acend fueled one the biggest upsets in the tournament so far. The Korean underdogs’ amazing teamwork and mechanics were too much for Europe’s top team. Vision Strikers have secured a playoffs spot after winning Haven (13-7) and Icebox (13-9) against Acend.

Tournament top performers

Keyd Stars’ Heat and Sentinels’ TenZ averaged 300+ ACS over the course of their first five maps. However, the two dropped behind Team Envy’s yay (291 ACS per map) after losing in their succeeding games. The two duelist-mains posted 2.07 and 2.3 KDA in their first matches. Sentinels, however, are still in championship contention while Keyd Stars have been eliminated by KRÜ. 

Take note that these stats do not necessarily measure game impact. It is hard to excel on teams with almost equally skilled players (which makes TenZ’ stats even more impressive), and there are teams that rely on strategy from captains— the performance of which cannot be measured numerically. 

Tournament Placements (as of September 16 – 04:00 UTC+8)

Place	Team	VCT Points	Prize
9th-12th place	F4Q (KOR)	225	$10K
	SMB (EMEA)
	Vivo Keyd (BRA)
	Crazy Racoon (JAP)
13th-15th place	ZETA Division (JAP)	175	$10K
	Havan Liberty (BRA)
	Paper Rex (SEA)

Upcoming Matches (Playoffs)

The playoff pools were seeded using a random draw. The four teams who finished first in their respective groups were matched against random second place teams from other groups. This results in an eight-team single elimination bracket with no team facing anyone from their original group.

Here are the playoff brackets for VCT Masters Berlin.

• Match-up 1: 100 Thieves vs Acend
• Match-up 2: Team Envy vs Sentinels
• Match-up 3: Vision Strikers vs Gambit Esports
• Match-up 4: G2 Esports vs KRÜ Esports

The playoff quarterfinals are set to begin after a one-day break on September 17 – 21:00 UTC+8. The semifinals will be played on September 18— with the grand finals concluding the tournament on September 19.