The kings of Masters Reykjavík are back as North America’s second Challengers tournament in VCT 2022 starts this weekend. NA Challengers hosts two champions: after their successful campaign in Reykjavík, OpTic Gaming comes back as the favourites of the tournament and The Guard will be looking for their second North American championship with their young roster.
The Guard defeated OpTic in the finals during Stage 1, but Masters did not go well for them. However, Iceland experience must have made them a more mature and experienced team overall, and we will definitely see improvements from their side. On the other hand, OpTic improved a lot during the Masters and finally came from the losers bracket to finish the job and bring the Masters trophy back to NA.
Latest news from NA teams
Most North American teams had a busy offseason, due to the fact that how strong their opponents are and they have to improve in the short-term in order to make Masters and eventually, Champions. Find a brief summary of the transfers below:
After their disappointing Stage 1 run, 100T made some changes. Hiko retired and Ethan was benched, the team almost built a whole new roster around Asuna and bang, with Derrek, stellar and Will. After getting benched by 100 Thieves, Ethan went to NRG to replace ANDROID.
FaZe Clan brought supamen, poised and POACH in, TSM got Canadian gMd and Mexican seven aside from changes in the coaching staff, EG signed C0M and Apotheon. Ghost Gaming signed aproto, Sentinels benched zombs to get Kanpeki and changed their head coach, bringing in Rawkus. The top four which secured a Stage 2 NA Challengers spot through their performance in Stage 1 did not hesitate to keep their rosters intact, showing their confidence in their players.
Schedule for the first week
Stage 2 NA Challengers is starting this weekend on May 13, it will be a long marathon which will end with the grand final on June 26. Check out the schedule for the very first week below:
May 13, Friday
The Guard (1.55) vs 100 Thieves (2.30) - 22:00 CEST
May 14, Saturday
Luminosity Gaming (2.30) vs Sentinels (1.55) - 01:00 CEST
OpTic Gaming (1.35) vs FaZe Clan (2.90) - 22:00 CEST
May 15, Sunday
XSET (1.28) vs Ghost Gaming (3.40) - 01:00 CEST
NRG (1.58) vs TSM (2.25) - 22:00 CEST
May 16, Monday
Cloud9 (1.06) vs Evil Geniuses (7.50) - 01:00 CEST
If you are interested in VALORANT and especially the North American teams, check out Luckbox to find the games, watch them live and place your bets on your favourite teams.
