VCT Stage 2 Challengers 1 North America recap

This weekend saw the end of VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 2 Challengers 1 NA, a big esports tournament to determine who plays in the next event, ended with 100 Thieves beating XSET Gaming.

Congratulations @100Thieves, our #VCTChallengersNA Stage 2 Week 1 Champions!

? @Asunaa
? @nitr0
? @Hiko
? @JoshNissan
? @ethanarnold pic.twitter.com/FXCGX33YbG

— Nerd Street Gamers (@nerdstgamers) April 11, 2021

VCT Stage 2 Challengers NA

With a $50 thousand prize pool on the line, this event was crucial for participating teams. The top teams here could go straight to VCT Challengers Finals, a $100 thousand tournament on April 29. That’s the event that truly matters since the best teams there move to VCT Stage 2 Masters – Reykjavík.

The event was played on VALORANT Patch 2.05, meaning Viper didn’t get her big rework just yet. Knowing that, pros didn’t feel as good as Viper as they could have. The double elimination bracket saw multiple teams beat expectations and outperform. Version1 and Envy in particular had good runs in the lower and upper brackets respectively. But it was XSET Gaming who made it to finals, winning four matches and meeting 100 Thieves in the VCT Stage 2 Challengers 1 NA finals.

Image credits to Liquepedia.

100 Thieves VALORANT Esports

Catching just 76 kills throughout the match, in-game leader Spencer “Hiko” Martin carried the 100 Thieves VALORANT esports team. In fact, during the whole grand finals match, 100 Thieves only dropped one map to XSET. Even then, the map was close, with XSET Gaming winning Ascent 13-11. Part of this may be from XSET playing unconventional picks like Astra and Viper in nearly each map.

Although the thieves won VCT Stage 2 Challengers 1 NA 3-1, each map was not easy with XSET Gaming only a few rounds behind. VALORANT esports fans couldn’t believe a smaller team like them gave the First Strike winner so much difficulty. It goes to show that the unexpected can happen and the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour will see even more surprises.

Written by Justin Amin

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