The live audience was restricted to only the elimination and grand finals due to COVID restrictions. For the decider, the venue sold out shortly before the VCT Masters began.? ?Jean-Baptiste Blot, Executive Producer and Creative Director with Riot Games, shared a video of a long line of fans trying to gain entrance into the stadium with the caption informing the public that the stadium has been sold out.? ?

The grand finals were a thrill for the audience, both live and online. The finalists were the best of the best as they traded map picks to force a fifth game in the best-of-five series.?

?The grand final attracted nearly 200,000 viewers across multiple streams on YouTube and Twitch. The YouTube stream attracted over 71,000 people, while some 121,000 people tuned in on Twitch via various channels.

The Valorant esports scene is attaining massive growth, particularly with the new partnered-teams format to take effect in 2023. To further grow the esports title, it is said to be imperative that more live events are organized to engage and reward participating players.

The grand finals ended in favor of FunPlus Phoenix as the franchise won the fifth map to edge Paper Rex. The Chinese organization clinched its first Masters after a superb lower-bracket run.?

?The final VCT event for the 2022 season is the Valorant Champions, which is scheduled to take place from September 2-19 in Istanbul, Turkey, with 16 participating teams.

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?Paper Rex kept their Cinderella story alive with a surprise 2-0 sweep of Fnatic on Sunday, securing a top-three finish at VCT Masters Copenhagen. It was a relatively close affair, but Paper Rex came out on top with 13-10 on Ascent and 13-10 on Bind, leaving a massive statement ahead of their clash with OpTic Gaming.

OpTic Gaming have been just as impressive as Paper Rex this tournament, but they had encountered some obstacles. First, OpTic lost against Guild Esports (0-2) in the group stage, and then gave up a map against DRX (2-1). However, despite failing to produce a perfect run, OpTic have shown a high level of resilience and ability to perform in clutch moments.

OpTic and Paper Rex have never met before, and based on what we’ve seen from the teams so far, it’s tough to pick a winner. OpTic Gaming look stronger on paper, but we could have said the same thing for Fnatic and Guild Esports. It’s incredibly tough to prepare for Paper Rex due to their unique strategies and weird team compositions, which could make the difference on Friday.

A rematch from VCT Masters Copenhagen quarter-finals sees Fnatic chase their second head-to-head victory over FunPlus Phoenix. Last time out, Fnatic crushed their regional rivals (2-0), dropping just 14 rounds across the series (13-10 on Icebox, 13-4 on Haven), so it’s fair to expect another one-sided affair.

Admittedly, FunPlus Phoenix have looked better since that defeat, beating Guild Esports (2-1) and DRX (2-0), while Fnatic have lost some value with their 0-2 loss against Paper Rex. But it seems like the market has overreacted to Fnatic’s defeat over the weekend.

Paper Rex were better than Fnatic in the upper-bracket semi-finals, but that doesn’t change the fact that Fnatic are still stronger than FunPlus Phoenix. The two teams have met four times since May and all bouts ended in favour of Fnatic (9-2 aggregate score), including two sweeps at VCT EMEA S2 Challengers (3-0) and the upper bracket VCT Masters Copenhagen clash (2-0).

At the offered Valorant betting odds, we have to take a shot with Fnatic to produce another clean sweep. FunPlus Phoenix are good enough to win a map, but at $2.62, the value is with Fnatic to cover the map spread.

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FunPlus Phoenix’s Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov took to his Twitter page to post a picture of himself covered in a Ukraine flag, discussing his experience at the Masters Copenhagen tournament. He stated that he was restricted from walking out with the flag, but was keen on reminding the whole world of the conflict in Ukraine. He shared that he wants people to remember what is going on and to be able to talk about it.?

?“It is not allowed to go out on stage with a flag at Masters,” ANGE1 said.

“But I can remind all of you here in Twitter that I’m from Ukraine. Country where hundreds of civilian people die every day, just because Russia wants to see us as their colony or destroyed.”? ?

“All I want to ask is for people around the world do not forget about war, talk about it, remind your politicians that you care about us, pressure them to send us needed military help,” ANGE1 went on.

“Because there is only one line of defence between mordor and others and unfortunatly its Ukraine.”?

Tyler “Foxie” Lowton from Excel Esports commented on ANGE1’s post, saying it was “sad” that the organizers would deprive him of walking out with his country’s flag because it was “political”.

ANGE1, however, clarified that it was not limited to just him as it was a general rule applicable to all participants.

?Riot Games previously allowed multiple teams to walk out with flags from their home countries at previous events, most notably Masters Berlin last year.? ?At Masters Berlin last year, both 100 Thieves and Team Envy were permitted to walk out with the US flag, and Paper Rex was permitted to walk out with a flag.

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OpTic’s first game of the Copenhagen Masters was against Guild Esports. It was a memorable one for the British organization, who swept OpTic 2-0 to become the first debutants in Valorant esports history to defeat the defending champions in an international event.

Another loss would have spelled the end of OpTic’s run in the event, but they quickly regained their form. In the elimination match against Brazil’s LOUD, they completed an incredible comeback to win the game 2-1.

OpTic lost Ascent 13-8 and repaid the favor in Fracture. In the all-deciding third map, OpTic were down after the first round but managed to win Split 14-12 in overtime.

To claim the second qualification spot in Group A, OpTic had to square off against KRU. Although their performances have been less than convincing, they made quick work of the Argentine team.

With their heroic display, they now join Guild, who had a perfect group-stage record, in the playoffs. In Group B, DRX and FunPlus Phoenix advanced to the next round.

All four group-stage teams have been squared up against the top-seeded teams. Fnatic, XSET, Paper Rex, and Leviatan are the four teams who won their regional challengers and did not have to participate in the groups.

OpTic will play against XSET, the team that handed them a grand final loss in the North America Stage 2 Challengers. Although OpTic won the first map in that game, they lost three straight to a team they defeated in the upper bracket final.

Regardless of their grand final loss and slow start to the Copenhagen Masters, OpTic are the heavy favorites to win the playoff quarterfinals. They have odds of $1.45 across several esports betting sites, while XSET are paying $2.49.

A win would see OpTic advance to the upper-bracket semi-finals, where they’d face the winner of the Leviatan-DRX matchup. It is worth noting that a loss would not be the end of the road for OpTic, as they’d only be relegated to the lower bracket.

Regardless of the outcome of their best-of-three match on July 15, OpTic still have a chance to walk away with a large piece of the US$650,000 prize pool and VCT circuit points. The event, which started on July 10, will run until July 24.

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????FunPlus Phoenix placed qualified for the VCT Masters Copenhagen playoffs with a 2-0 sweep against Northeption on Wednesday, ending the group stage with a 2-1 record and a +0 map difference (87-87). It was a solid outcome knowing that FPX travelled to Denmark without their core lineup, but it seems unlikely that FPX will advance further.

Fnatic have received a direct invite to the playoffs for winning VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers champions, where they crushed FunPlus Phoenix (3-0) in the finals and twice before – 2-1 in semi-finals and 2-1 during the group stage.

FPX were playing with their main lineup at the time, so if they failed to defeat Fnatic at full strength, it is hard to believe they can do it now. The only thing going in FPX’s favour is that they are warmed up, unlike Fnatic, who played their last match at the end of June.

Regardless, Fnatic are one of the best Valorant esports teams in the world, and if Emir Ali “Alfajer” Beder can step up, the Black & Orange should be serious candidates to hoist the trophy.

Guild Esports topped Group A with a 2-0 record and a solid +11 map difference. They smashed OpTic Gaming (2-0) but had some issues making it past KRü Esports (12-14, 13-6, 16-14). Guild Esports could have played better, but they did just enough to reach the playoffs.

Paper Rex have taken the medal from DRX as “the Asian team” that can do some damage. They have been playing phenomenally well throughout the year, winning every tournament they’ve attended except for Masters Reykjavik, where Paper Rex placed fourth.

They have a unique playstyle, and their success looks pretty matchup-reliant. In Iceland, they lost only to DRX and ZETA Division but won against The Guard and G2 Esports. That doesn’t mean that Paper Rex should beat any western team, but it shows that they can be competitive.

The offered VALORANT odds on this match don’t make much sense since we wouldn’t say that Guild Esports are stronger than Paper Rex. At best, this is a 50/50 matchup, so we have to side with the Singaporean powerhouse at plus money.

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The outcome sent the?Argentine?franchise?to the decisive match to compete for the final position in Group A’s playoff bracket. In order to advance, KRü Esports will take on?the winner of the elimination match between?LOUD and OpTic in a decider match.

The matchup between KRU and Guild was fiercely contested, especially given that two of the three maps finished in overtime for the teams. Guild has officially advanced to the event’s playoff bracket, being the first team to do so in the tournament.

This is Guild’s first?international Valorant Masters tournament appearance, whereas KRü has four international appearances, including three Masters events and a Champions attendance last year. After winning Group A, Guild will be the top-seeded team entering the knockout stage.

With the exception of the Fracture map, which concluded with a score of 13-6 in favor of Guild, this victory was not an easy one for the EMEA squad to achieve. The opening map on Bind finished in overtime, with KRü coming out on top despite trailing for the majority of the map.

Map three on Icebox was by far the most intense map in the tournament thus far. KRü led 7-5 at halftime, putting them just a couple of?rounds away from the playoff bracket. But Guild caught their rhythm in the second half, winning round after round against KRü and forcing overtime.

While?this was not the longest overtime period ever seen in a VCT match, fans were kept on the edge of?their seats for the entirety of the overtime. As the game drew to a close,?Guild took the lead after catching up to KRü during overtime.

Guild won rounds 28, 29, and 30, thereby seeing?the British franchise?make their?way?to the playoff stage, gaining points for their Champions dreams. This victory brings?them a bit closer to appearing in the grand final in their maiden Masters appearance.

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