by The 2022 Valorant Champions Tour EMEA Stage 2 has been played to a conclusion, with three teams sealing their spots in the Copenhagen Masters. Fnatic, FunPlus Phoenix, and Guild Esports are the deserved participants in the Stage 2 Masters.
VCT EMEA Stage 2 started on May 13, with 12 teams coming together to compete for a spot in the Masters and a piece of the $212,421 prize pool. After a riveting six weeks of action, the EU’s best teams have been revealed.
Fnatic currently holds the title after defeating FunPlus Phoenix on the last day of the challengers. They swept FunPlus, who were the EMEA reigning champions, 3-0 in the grand final.
FunPlus defeated G2 Esports 3-1 in March to become the European champions. Unfortunately, they were unable to feature in the Reykjavik Masters due to travel restrictions in Ukraine.
CHAMPIONS OF EMEA! #FNCWIN pic.twitter.com/1s7SyAAciN
— FNATIC (@FNATIC) June 26, 2022
Fnatic’s run in the Stage 2 challengers was near perfect. Out of five group stage best-of-3 matches, they only lost two maps, one to FPX in week 1 and the other to G2 on the final group stage day.
It was more of the same in the playoff upper bracket semifinal, as they won FPX 2-1 while sweeping Guild Esports 2-0 in the upper bracket final to reach the grand final.
After losing to Fnatic, FPX had to reach the grand final through the lower bracket. They defeated Acend, M3 Champions, and Guild to seal their grand final spot.
Unfortunately, it seems like all the action in the lower bracket zapped FPX’s juices. Despite being one of the two teams to come close to handing Fnatic a loss, they crumbled in the grand final.
While the grand finals result shows a 3-0 sweep, it was no cakewalk for Fnatic, who were the heavy favorites with a $1.50 winning odd across esports betting platforms. The UK-based team had to win two of the three maps in overtime.
The game started on Split, which was FPX’s map choice. Although FPX maintained control of the environment, they failed to close out the game in regular time. Fnatic’s precise reading of FPX’s attacking schemes helped them secure the victory in overtime.
Devastated by the result, FPX completely lost their way on the second map. They were blown out of the water with a 13-5 victory on Icebox.
Although Haven was another closely-contested map thanks to a second-half comeback by FPX, Fnatic won 15-13 in overtime. The newly-acquired Emir Ali “Alfajer” Beder was the star of the show, finishing the series with a +26 kills-deaths and a game-high average combat score of 306.
European teams had a ridiculously poor outing in the Stage 1 Masters and will be looking to better that performance. Fnatic failed to make it out of Group A on the back of two sweeps by Ninjas in Pyjamas and ZETA DIVISION.
The Copenhagen Masters will commence on July 10 and will run to July 24. All 12 teams from different regions will slug it out for a larger piece of the yet-to-be-disclosed prize pool and points for the 2022 Valorant Champions Tour.
