Gambit take VCT EMEA Playoffs – Can EU’s new faces win in Masters Berlin?

This round of playoffs in the EMEA Challengers series was one of the biggest upsets any region has seen thus far. In North America, LATAM, Korea, and Japan, at least one of the teams from Masters Reykjavik qualified again for Berlin. This was not the case for the EMEA region, as four fresh faces will represent the region. Fnatic failed to make the playoffs while Team Liquid we’re eliminated at the hands of the eventual regional champions, Gambit. How did Gambit win it all, and perhaps more importantly, want can we expect from the teams internationally?

Gambit – The CIS super team?

The CIS has risen this past year in FPS titles across several genre, with specifically Gambit showing prowess. Gambit now added a VALORANT title to their already vast collection of trophies. Gambit has almost always had a presence in the VALORANT esports scene, but only recently found this level of success. Keeping their same roster throughout the majority of their run, Gambit’s resilience allowed them to finally place first despite the stiff competition.

As a team, Gambit have improved immensely. Gambit heralded plus 50% win rates on 5 out of the six maps, displaying themselves as one of the best defender side teams. The team also showed impressive compositional diversity, running multiple different winning compositions on Haven specifically.

Individually, Gambit also have some of the best rising talent in the EMEA region right now. Ayaz “nAts” Akhetshin was relatively unknown by the larger community before this run, but ended as one of the most noteworthy players. Nats finished with the fourth highest overall rating (1.22), K/D (1.31), and finished with the highest overall frags (359). Of course, nAts was not alone as other members like Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov and Bogdan “sheydos” Naumov similarly excelled.

Can G2 and Acend carry on the EU flag?

The only two teams from EU who qualified for Masters Berlin come in form of Acend and G2. Both have been fighting for recognition for quite some time, and finally have the chance to break out after impressive performances. Acend has one of the single most impressive players in the region on their side in Mehmet “cNed” Ipek. Often referred to as the “EU TenZ”, cNed has the stat line to back up this claim.

For G2, this Masters clinching placement feels like a long time coming. Once, G2 were on top of the EMEA region, dominating the Ignition Series with a win streak only comparable to Vision Strikers in South Korea. Both teams are promising, though have obvious problems that have prevented them from reaching this peak before.

Supermassive Blaze – What to expect

Supermassive Blaze initially appeared to be the early favorites in the EMEA playoffs. Their upper bracket run saw the Turkish squad drop FunPlus Phoenix, G2, and Acend almost all in 2-0 fashion before being ultimately defeated by Gambit in the grand finals. As one of the best all-around teams, Supermassive Blaze have a monuments task as the only Turkish representative going into Masters Berlin. Should the team keep their form, they could contend with the top teams from NA, and all other regions.

Also read:

• Will Stewie2K be making the leap to VALORANT?
• Sentinels defeat 100 Thieves in Challengers Playoffs grand finals
• VALORANT Champion Tour: Who makes it to Berlin

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Image Credits: Riot Games