After months of intense regional qualifiers, heartbreak for some and success for others, the lineup for the VCT Stage 2 Masters in Reykjavik, Iceland is finally been complete. These are the ten teams that’ll be traveling to Iceland for the first VALORANT international LAN starting on May 24, 2021.
North America
Sentinels
NA'S TRUE HOPE.
ICELAND BOUND! pic.twitter.com/LWo6LBVNd3
— Sentinels (@Sentinels) May 1, 2021
Representing NA as their top seed, Sentinels are a team that needs no introduction. Having found success throughout the early Ignition Series days of VALORANT, Sentinels have since been one of the most consistently competitive teams in the world. The NA Stage 1 Masters winners have gone from strength to strength especially with the addition of fan-favorite Tyson “tenz” Ngo. They have found a lot of success in their region and many will now look to them as one of the favorites going into VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik. It’ll be interesting to see if whether have what it takes to finally bring esports glory back to the land of NA.
Roster:
Shahzeb “ShahZam” Khan (US)
Hunter “SicK” Mims (US)
Jared “zombs” Gitlin (US)
Michael “dapr” Gulino (US)
Tyson “tenz” Ngo (CA) [currently on loan]
— Yinsu Collins
Version1
Checkout @Vanityxz learning new strats for Iceland 😂 pic.twitter.com/ohYFwrEJGf
— Version1 (@version1gg) May 7, 2021
Everybody loves an underdog story and, in a region with so much talent and competition, not many expected Version1 to be the second team to make it to Iceland. However, they did so in style, bulldozing through the lower bracket and taking down the likes of Envy and Cloud9 Blue to qualify. Under the leadership of their IGL Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, this team has fully embraced the Astra and Viper meta, bringing their own flair while they’ve been at it. Although most wouldn’t consider them to be at the level of Sentinels just yet, Version1 are definitely worth keeping an eye out for at VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik.
Roster:
Anthony “vanity” Malaspina (US)
Loic “effys” Sauvageau (CA)
Erik “penny” Penny (CA)
Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro (US)
Maxim “wippie” Shepelev (RU)
— Collins
EMEA
Team Liquid
After a bloodbath Challengers 2 Playoffs, both teams that will be representing EMEA at Iceland will come from the European region. After the initial transition period of integrating CS:GO prodigy Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen into the roster, Team Liquid started to improve immeasurably; eventually solidifying themselves as the best EMEA team by beating BBL, Oxygen, FPX and Fnatic. There is nothing more frightening than having to go up against the headshot machine Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom. But, now with the team’s newfound creativity and structure, this roster is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. They are expected to make it pretty deep into the competition at VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik.
Roster:
Dom “soulcas” Sulcas (UK)
James “Kryptix” Affleck (UK)
Travis “L1NK” Mendoza (UK)
Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom (BE)
Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen (FI)
— Collins
Fnatic
Fnatic peaked at the perfect time. After some below par results in early 2021, the org decided to make some changes and bring in Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev and Martin “Magnum” Peňkov. With just two days of practice under their belt, the new members made an immediate impact and managed to ride the momentum all the way to the finals of the EMEA Challengers Playoffs. Although they fell to Team Liquid in their best-of-five rematch, Fnatic proved themselves to be one of the most creative and structured teams in the region. Their star player Derke has the potential to rival some of the world’s best at VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik.
Roster:
Jake “Boaster” Howlett (UK)
Domagoj “Doma” Fancev (HR)
James “Mistic” Orfila (UK)
Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev (FI)
Martin “Magnum” Peňkov (CZ)
— Collins
Korea
NUTURN Gaming
Congratulations to NUTURN Gaming! Winner of #VCT Stage 2 – Challengers KR! 🇰🇷🏆 pic.twitter.com/CVhgyTerUE
— VCT Pacific (@vctpacific) May 2, 2021
The absence of Vision Strikers at Reykjavik is one of the biggest shocks of the VALORANT competitive scene so far. But, fortunately, NUTURN Gaming will be representing Korea at Masters II. Everyone expected Vision Strikers to be the team to qualify but NUTURN have been challenging their crown for a while now. They chose the most opportune time to take down Korea’s most well-known roster. NUTURN’s squad is extremely versatile and creative; their ability to switch up their playstyle and pace is something that’s going to cause a lot of headaches to other international teams. Expect these guys to pull off an upset or two at VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik.
Roster:
Jung “peri” Bum-gi (KR)
Park “allow” Sang-wook (KR)
Seo “Suggest” Jae-young (KR)
Kim “Lakia” Jong-min (KR)
Kang “solo” Keun-chul (KR)
— Collins
Japan
Crazy Raccoon
【#VCT STAGE2 Challengers Playoffs GRAND FINAL】
👑1st place👑
🏆3-1🏆
vs Absolute Jupiter⚔MAP1 Ascent
13-3
⚔MAP2 Icebox
13-5
⚔️MAP3 Bind
12-14
⚔️MAP4 Haven
15-13@FortheMedusa@zephe6 @MUNCHKING_
@nethydra_vz @R_7qq@BP_Twinkl @mun_zip #CRwin pic.twitter.com/kzGJ0BaKGu— Crazy Raccoon (@crazyraccoon406) May 2, 2021
If one had asked a few months ago who the favorite to represent Japan at the first international Masters would be, the answer would probably have been Absolute Jupiter. But Crazy Raccoon has begun to make strides recently and, after losing to Absolute Jupiter in Challengers 1, they put their foot down on the gas and did not let up. They faced Absolute Jupiter twice more on the way to Reykjavik and shut them down both times. Since adding Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom from Cloud9 Korea ahead of the VCT, the team has vastly improved. Munchkin is a jack-of-all-trades, who allows his team to shine by playing whatever agent is necessary at the time. Whether that’s going to be enough to take it to the absolute best, however, remains to be seen.
Roster:
An “Medusa” Min-cheol (KR)
Hiroto “rion” Tateno (JP)
Jyousuke “zepher” Matsuda (JP)
Yusuke “neth” Matsuda (JP)
Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom (KR)
— Michael Kloos
Brazil
Sharks Esports
🇧🇷 FIZEMOS HISTÓRIA! Uma campanha cheia de dedicação, resiliência e MUITA VONTADE de ganhar. Tem que respeitar os tubarões!!!
Orgulho de vocês @gaabxxvlr, @frafps, @prozin_sales, @lightrs_, @DeNarofps e @fxfps1.#GoSharks #SharkAttack pic.twitter.com/m4BeVMXdbW
— YNG Sharks (@sharksesportsgg) May 9, 2021
Sharks Esports is one of the newer teams at the top of Brazil. Formed in January of 2021 as Squad5, and signed by Sharks that March, the fully Brazilian team has quickly managed to rise through the ranks. Their road has not been easy, with consistent losses to fellow Iceland contenders Team Vikings along the way. They also repeatedly lost to FURIA esports, another Brazilian favorite. But, when it truly mattered, in the lower final to determine who went to Iceland, Sharks finally got their win against FURIA (after losing the first map). However, they’ve got their work cut out for them at VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik.
Roster:
Matheus “DeNaro” Hipólito
Matheus “fra” Fragozo
Wallacy “prozin” Sales
Gabriel “gaabxx” Carli
Winicius “light” Alves César
— Kloos
Team Vikings
SOMOS BICAMPEÕES BRASILEIROS
Vencemos a @sharksesportsgg e conquistamos a Challenger Final! PODE GRITAR, É NOSSO! 🏆🏆#GOVKS pic.twitter.com/DhKfuenNTS
— Team Vikings (@TeamVikings) May 10, 2021
Unlike Sharks, Team Vikings almost cruised their way to VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik. They only had a single slip up during Challengers 2 vs. Gamelanders — one of the four Brazilian top teams — when they lost Map 3 in overtime. But, they otherwise left nothing up to chance. With a 269 ACS and a 77/51 KD in the grand final against Sharks, Vikings’ Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi showed his importance for the team. Vikings are the undisputed Brazilian favorites, but Masters 2 will have to tell if they have what it takes to beat the best of the best.
Roster:
Leandro “frz” Gomes (BR)
Gustavo “gtnziN” Moura (BR)
Matias “Saadhak” Delipetro (ARG)
Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi (BR)
Gabriel “sutecas” Dias (BR)
— Kloos
South East Asia
x10 Esports
Congratulations to 🇹🇭 @X10Esport your champion for VCT Regional Masters – SEA
What an amazing finish to this grand final, X10 Esports has brought home the champion title as well as pride to 🇹🇭 Thailand VALORANT fans!
GG WP!#VALORANTMasters #VCTMastersSEA pic.twitter.com/prBjg3Smtn
— ESL Asia (@ESL_Asia) March 21, 2021
X10 Esports are one of the more dominant teams in the South East Asian region. Formed in December of 2020, they’re a newer squad that didn’t really hit their stride until Overwatch prodigy Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong joined from rival team FULL SENSE; who X10 beat in their Challengers grand finals to make Masters 2. Patiphan is the team’s main driver in many of their games on Jett. He regularly puts up impressive numbers and put up over 80 frags in their finals matchup against FULL SENSE. The series did have one overtime map, but it goes to show what he can do when given the time and space. The team is not all about their star Jett and Duelist player but, at Master II, fans should keep an eye on the Thai Jett to see how he stacks up against the best in the world.
Roster:
Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong (TH)
Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut (TH)
Nutchaphon “sScary” Matarat (TH)
Panyawat “sushiboys” Subsiriroj (TH)
Itthirit “foxz” Ngamsaard (TH)
— Declan McLaughlin
Latin America
KRÜ Esports
QUE LO SEPA EL MUNDO: KRÜ VA A ISLANDIA@onurthegreat @MBetony @Nagzet @KlaussOW @Mazinofps @bnjssj @delz1k @keznitdeuS
LET THE WORLD KNOW: KRÜ IS COMING TO ICELAND#VamosAJugar #VALORANTMasters #VCT pic.twitter.com/F3T6ZP3LfA
— KRÜ Esports (@KRUesports) May 13, 2021
KRÜ Esports recently entered the Latin American VALORANT scene in January of 2021 and have already shown what they’re capable of. They finished top three in all of the tournaments they’ve taken part in so far. That includes back-to-back first place finishes at LAS Stage 2 Challengers and LAS Challengers Finals, where they defeated Infinity Esports to qualify for Iceland. After losing to Furious Gaming at the LAS Open Qualifier back in early April, KRÜ Esports have gone undefeated in their matches. In their eight-game win streak, they have only dropped two maps to 9z Team and Infinity Esports during grand final games. They will be ready to challenge the other regions when they meet at the end of the month for VCT Stage 2 Masters: Reykjavik.
Roster:
Nicolas “Klaus” Ferrari (AR)
Roberto Francisco “Mazino” Rivas Bugueño (CL)
Juan Pablo “NagZ” Lopez Miranda (CL)
Benjamin “bnj” Rabinovich (AR)
Joaquín Ignacio “delz1k” Espinoza Soto (CL)
— Danny Appleford
