Fnatic make Masters Copenhagen without dropping a series

Jun 21, 2022

Fnatic, having dominated the group stage, won their first playoffs match, too, securing their spot at Masters Stage 2 whilst remaining undefeated.

Joining them are fellow British icons, GUILD, who took down M3C to score their spot at Masters. Marking their first-ever appearance on the global stage, there’s one more spot left at Masters Stage 2, but just who will walk away with it?

Looking for a recap of all of the playoffs action? Or simply excited to relive Fnatic and GUILD’s insane rise to the top? Here’s our rundown of everything that happened.

VCT Stage 2 - Challengers EMEA: Current standings

These are the current standings for VCT Stage 2 Challengers EMEA, with the top four squads yet to be decided.

Fnatic’s insane Masters run has been absolutely jaw-dropping

Coming into the playoffs as the only team not to drop a match during the group stages, Fnatic continue to impress. Pitted against FunPlus Phoenix in a matchup characterized by age-old rivalries and upsets, FPX didn’t make it easy for Britain’s finest but ultimately were unable to secure victory.

Fnatic styled on FPX on Icebox, where the latter’s choice of Japanese Duelist, Yoru, didn’t quite work out as planned. FPX then took Ascent in overtime, proving that Gods can bleed. As all eyes turned to Fracture, Fnatic walked away with a 13 - 9 win as well as their spot at Masters Stage 2.

While Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett’s celebratory tweet has made its rounds on Twitter, match MVP Enzo ‘Enzo’ Mestari (once known as Fearoth) bent Viper, Sova, and Fade to his will, putting up a performance that silenced any who doubted him and won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

GUILD score spot at first-ever global championship

While GUILD have always been a pretty dominant force in EMEA, Masters Stage 2 marks the squad’s first-ever appearance on the international stage – and they took down former Masters winners to do it.

Sweeping aside M3C in a 2 - 0 across Breeze and Fracture, they looked particularly dominant on the former, only dropping six rounds on a map once touted as one of M3C’s best. 

Leo ‘Leo’ Jannesson continues to wrack up MVP titles by consistently performing on the likes of Sova and Breach, truly marking himself as one of EMEA’s best Initiators. How will he perform on the international stage? We’ll have to wait and see, but we’re sure GUILD will want to come out of the gates swinging.

Acend & Team Liquid out early

While Fnatic’s insane run has dominated headlines, unfortunately for reigning Champions, Acend, their Masters dreams were snuffed out prematurely. Unable to topple M3C in the upper bracket, they dropped to the lower bracket, where FPX (after a shaky start) pulled out the reverse sweep, pulling out Yoru once again on Breeze, where Acend’s Neon struggled.

Just as Acend fell to the might of M3C, Liquid did, too. Dropping to the lower bracket after being beaten by FPX, they also fell victim to a pretty impressive reverse sweep that, while looked competitive, showcased just what M3C are capable of despite their 2 - 0 loss to GUILD. 

M3C and FPX will face off in the Lower Bracket semi-final next week, and whoever wins will challenge the loser of the Fnatic vs GUILD game. Given just how well the latter performed against M3C, we know for a fact that next week is going to be an absolute banger; so make sure you tune in!

Challengers EMEA Stage 2: Vods

If you missed out on any of the action, you can check out vods of the event on https://valorantesports.com/vods!