The group stage of the VCT 2022: Masters was held on April 13. A total of four teams, two from each group, advanced to the playoffs. The next gave a fast start and there are only a few games left until the Grand Final.
So far ZETA DIVISION, Paper Rex, LOUD and OpTic Gaming are the only four teams with a chance to play in the Grand Final. All the big boys in the tournament have missed their chances and now it's time for the others.
Upper Bracket Quarterfinals
The first phase of the Upper Bracket of the playoffs began on April 14 and concluded on April 16. Here are the results for the four matches:
| Upper Bracket Quarterfinals | ||
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 2-0 | ZETA |
| LOUD | 2-1 | TL |
| PRX | 1-2 | DRX |
| TGRD | 1-2 | OPTC |
The match between G2 Esports and ZETA DIVISION kicked off the Upper Bracket. G2 skipped the group stage and went straight into the playoffs. Their strong squad therefore made them the favourites for the match. As expected, G2 won both rounds 13-7 and 13-10, and Mixwell was voted MVP of the match.
LOUD was the second team to qualify directly for the playoffs. At that point, their rival was Team Liquid, a replacement team in place of FunPlus Phoenix. The teams played three rounds, with LOUD winning 13-10 in the first round. After Team Liquid's shocking performance, they won the second round 13-3. The third round was LOUD 's and they moved on to the next round.
APAC Challengers team Paper Rex played against DRX in the Upper Bracket. DRX made a name for themselves by finishing their group undefeated and that continued at Masters. They played two matches and won both for DRX. In the match against Paper Rex, they made a comeback after losing in the first round. DRX's Korean player MaKo was voted MVP.
The last match was between The Guard and OpTic. OpTic finished their group in second place by winning the elimination and “decider” games, while The Guard went straight into the playoffs. OpTic won the first round 13-7 and after losing the second round, they stepped up a gear and won the third round with a big turnout from Yay.
Upper Bracket Semifinals
G2 Esports and LOUD played the first match of the semifinals. G2 was considered one of the best teams of the Masters and was the favourite of the match. Contrary to expectations, the Brazilian team LOUD was the winner of two rounds. Aspas was voted MVP of the match after two rounds.
DRX's rival in the Upper Bracket Semifinals was OpTic Gaming. It is fair to say that DRX did very well up to this point, as they were not one of the favourites in the playoffs. They lost 2-1 to OpTic and the last game was very exciting with OpTic winning 13-15.
The Upper Bracket final will be played on April 22 between LOUD and OpTic Gaming. While one team will go directly to the Grand Final, the other team still has the chance to enter the Grand Final via the Lower Bracket Final.
Lower Bracket Round 1
ZETA DIVISION and Team Liquid met in the Lower Bracket Round 1. Up to this point, Team Liquid had used their chance very well. They finished the group stage without a defeat even though they were not expected to. In the Lower Bracket it seemed as if they could achieve more, but ZETA DIVISION won with a 2:1 score.
The second game was between Paper Rex and The Guard, two teams that went straight into the playoffs. The first round in Haven ended with Paper Rex winning 13-10. Paper Rex also won the second round 13-8 to advance to Lower Bracket Round 2.
Lower Bracket Round 2
DRX moved into Lower Bracket Round 2 after losing to OpTic in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. Their opponent in Round 2 was ZETA DIVISION. Despite being considered one of the weakest teams in the Masters, the Japanese team pulled off a surprise at every stage of the tournament. They won 2-1 against DRX and moved into the Lower Bracket Round 3.
Looking at G2 Esports and their past achievements, the team plays a big role in VALORANT esports. Their performance in their region was also a testament to that. However, G2 lost to Paper Rex 2-0 in Lower Bracket Round 2. They finished the tournament in 5th-6th place and won $40,000.
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