VCT Masters Stage 1: OpTiC Gaming emerge victorious in the most insane tournament yet

Apr 26, 2022

With powerhouses like EMEA’s Fnatic and LATAM’s KRÜ Esports not even making it out of the starting gate, Masters Stage 1 is an underdog story if ever we’ve seen one. With OpTiC Gaming emerging triumphant after a largely unexpected victory run, there’s a lot to break down.

So, without further ado, here’s our full recap of Masters Reykjavik strap in, because it’s a wild one.

VCT Masters Stage 1: Final placements

* FPX could not attend Masters, but will receive points for qualifying.

The return of the kings: OpTic bring the trophy back to NA

Right from the get go Masters Reykjavik was a competition characterised by upsets. With Fnatic and KRÜ Esports going 2 - 0 and dropping out before playoffs, we saw underdogs like Brazil’s LOUD and SEA’s Paper Rex steal the show from these seasoned veterans.

Paper Rex were one of the tournament’s most enchanting squads, with Jason ‘f0rsakeN’ Susanto making waves by pulling out Yoru for the first time since his rework. Seeing mixed success on the Japanese Duelist, players across the globe have grown to love the feisty Indonesian player.

Joining their APAC comrades at the top of the table were ZETA DIVISION, the Japanese representatives. Taking down EMEA’s Team Liquid, Korea’s DRX, and Paper Rex on their journey to the semifinals, they fell before the might of OpTiC Gaming, ending their insane run in somewhat anticlimactic fashion. Again, though, VCT audiences across the globe will never forget the impact Shota ‘SugarZ3ro’ Watanabe and Tenta ‘TENNN’ Asai had on Masters Reykjavik, 2022.

Following in the footsteps of the East’s underdogs were LOUD, a squad who very much lived up to their name. Startling onlookers by demolishing Team Liquid, G2 Esports, and OpTiC, Erick ‘aspas’ Santos helped his team ride the high all the way through the upper bracket and into the finals, where a rematch against OpTiC saw two of VALORANT’s toughest titans clash once more.

Unfortunately, this time things didn’t go as smoothly. Unable to take a game off of North America’s finest, every map was a back and forth affair that ultimately ended in an OpTiC victory. Battling across Ascent, Bind, and Breeze, Jimmy ‘marved’ Nguyen utilised Brimstone, Chamber, and Omen to help the squad net the win, wracking up 64 kills in the process.

Following their victory, OpTiC now hold the Masters Reykjavik trophy, and will go into VCT Stage 2 with a target on their backs. Will they be able to steal away the Masters 2 trophy? Or will Paper Rex, LOUD, and ZETA DIVISION be looking for revenge? Only time will tell - but as the sun sets on Masters 1, we know that the rest of the year is set to be a banger.

VCT Masters Stage 1: Vods

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