Thai team X10 Crit have knocked out Team Envy from VALORANT Champions 2021 after a 2-1 upset and a tense overtime in the final map.
Both teams entered the last two rounds ready to send the other home, but a large push by X10 Crit on the A site of Haven helped secure the 13th round win. With X10 Crit on defense next, the casters said they were at an advantage. And as Envy pushed through garage onto the C site, Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong nabbed three quick kills, leaving Envy dangling by a thread. Then Nutchapon “sScary” Matarat finished off his last two opponents through a Cloudburst, snuffing out the hopes of another North American team.
This win makes X10 the second Southeast Asian team to make it into the VALORANT Champions playoffs after Team Secret defeated Team Vikings in a 2-0 sweep, ending the team’s hopes of a Brazilian team qualifying for the next phase of the event. X10 will face Gambit Esports on Thursday in the playoff stage of the tournament.
After winning the match, X10 player Panyawat “sushiboys” Subsiriroj expressed what the victory meant to him.
“This victory is an unlocking for me because Envy was the second place team for the previous Masters,” sushiboys said, as translated by X10’s manager. “Right after this win we want to get to Champions.”
Meanwhile, Envy join Sentinels, who were eliminated by KRÜ Esports in another close match on Monday, as the second North American team to fall in the group stage of the tournament.
Envy faced a slew of problems since arriving in Berlin for the Valorant Champions Tour due to Victor “Victor” Wong testing positive for COVID-19. Due to the circumstances, both teams had to play the matches from their hotel rooms.
