The Sentinels were crowned North America’s first regional champions, but just how dominant was their showing and how have other prospective top teams faired?
Sentinels became the first regional champions of the VCT but the long journey to their championship win was paved with trials of tribulations of their fellow competitors. Through the many ups and downs all but one team witnessed, here are the major takeaways from the first NA Masters event.
100 Thieves face an identity crisis
The North American First Strike champions came into this tournament with a revamped roster in hope of finding another first place finish since the inaugural VCT event. Ultimately falling flat with only a series win against Immortals, 100 Thieves have mixed takeaways from this event.
The main positive is that Ethan, their latest pickup from the Evil Geniuses’ CS:GO roster, seems to have transitioned relatively well into the game and lineup. Putting up the highest K/D(1.00), ADR (142), and KPR (.76) on the team, as well as landing in the top 10 among players in the tournament overall, it is clear that Ethan has incredible potential as a VALORANT player.
Onboarding a new player was a double edged sword for 100 Thieves, as while Ethan provided an incredible clutch potential for the team, it seriously limited their versatility and trapped them into a one-dimensional playstyle. 100 Thieves by far had the lowest team composition diversity, only showing two unique compositions whereas their competitors averaged five. Forced off his mainstay Omen role to cushion Ethan’s transition to VALORANT, Nitr0 played most of this tournament on Sage while Steel and Hiko similarly were only off their comfort picks once each.
Alongside this, 100 Thieves still haven’t found a dedicated Operator ever since Dicey had been cut from the roster. While having an constant Operator threat is not necessary, as the entirety of FaZe and Sentinel’s rosters primarily used rifles, the presence of a ShahZam or Babybay like figure certainly provides an amount of flexibility. Steel and Hiko have largely traded the sniping role to varying degrees of success, however perhaps as Nitr0 and Ethan continue to find their role on the squad, a more consistent Operator will appear.
FaZe impresses, though falling short at the final (twice)
Starting as a group of former Overwatch players making the jump into VALORANT, FaZe’s early presence in VALORANT was mostly characterized by disjointed plays, constant point rushes, and a general lack of tacticality. The addition of Coach Trippy truly seemed to have a fundamental impact on how FaZe played the game.
Still centered around the aggressive and in-your-face style their duelists brought, the overall team coordination and execution of their notorious flash-and-dash compositions was seemingly elevated throughout the Closed Qualifier and coming into NA Masters. Baybay’s unwavering Jett performance cannot be overstated as he finished the event with the third overall highest K/D (1.29), the highest ADR (179), and the second highest KPR (.95). Certainly among the favorites going in, FaZe at least initially met the expectations of many with Babybay as their pillar.
Sentinels proved to be FaZe’s undoing, standing as the only team to hand FaZe their two series losses. Unfortunately, both the upper bracket and grand finals were runaway games for the Sentinels as only one map had FaZe lose with less than a 5 round differential. FaZe seemed to revert to their old style of play against the eventual NA Masters Champions, rushing a single point on their own map pick so often their opponents didn’t even bother sending defenders to the opposite site.
Showing incredible strides by sticking with their core roster and general playstyle, FaZe have a lot to be proud of despite the underwhelming finish, as they are still posed to be a favorite to represent NA in their international event as Masters 2.
Sentinels resurge and reclaim their NA throne
Mainstays in the VALORANT scene since its inception, the Sentinel’s organization have faced countless roster setbacks and challenges on their slow climb back to the top of the North American scene. The introduction of TenZ saw this team performing better than ever. Dropping only a single map, Sentinels also lost the fewest individual rounds as they only averaged 7 round losses in their victories. With the exception of Split, Sentinels also maintained the highest individual round win rates on both attacker and defender sides across the board with the third overall most rounds played.
This kind of sustained dominance is unprecedented in North American VALORANT and only comparable to the prevalence of the Vision Strikers in the South Korean circuit or G2 in the early days of European VALORANT. In no small measure the pure mechanical skills of all members as TenZ, SicK, and Dapr all landed in the top 5 for overall rating at the event’s conclusion.
Perhaps the most impressive feat from the Sentinels was their ability to integrate TenZ into the roster so seamlessly. Entering this event after a months long hiatus from pro-play, TenZ return to form individually finally paid off by granting him his first tournament victory. Seemingly reinvigorated by recent success, rumors have spread that TenZ plans on remaining on the Sentinel’s lineup. With TenZ’s buyout likely increasing, if Sentinels can pull him into a permanent position they may solidified the most dominant roster in NA VALORANT history.
Also read:
- A starter guide for Jett
- EU Masters: Acend continues their Cinderella run
- Former OW Champion, ANS, joins T1’s VALORANT roster
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