Breaking down the final four teams at VCT Masters: Copenhagen

July 21, 2022

by Sage Datuin

Just four teams remain in contention for the title of VALORANT Champions Tour Masters: Copenhagen 2022 champions. Each of the four remaining teams has taken a different path to reach their current place.

Although all four teams have already booked their tickets to VCT Champions 2022 in September, a win at this tournament would be a major statement and likely make them the favorite heading into Champions.

Here are the remaining teams competing for the title of VCT Masters: Copenhagen champions.

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OpTic Gaming

Photo credit: Riot Games

The reigning VCT Masters: Reykjavík champions have enjoyed a strong run through the playoffs after enduring yet another shaky start to an international tournament. OpTic Gaming went into Masters: Copenhagen as North America’s second seed following a 3-1 loss in the VCT NA Stage 2 Challengers grand final to XSET.

At the time, the reigning champions were hampered by a number of positive COVID tests. The rocky path continued for OpTic as they began their campaign in Copenhagen with a 2-0 loss to Guild Esports and were on the brink of elimination against Reykjavík finalists LOUD.

However, time and time again, the consistent North American powerhouse has proven time and time again that they are a team that only gets better as they go deeper into a tournament. After their 2-1 series win against LOUD, OpTic dominated KRÜ Esports in decisive 2-0 fashion.

This momentum then carried over into the Masters: Copenhagen playoffs where they took down North American counterparts, XSET, and South Korean powerhouse DRX.

Now, for the first time, OpTic Gaming will have an opportunity to showcase their LAN experience in front of a crowd, something that Austin “crashies” Roberts is particularly excited about.

“I think we’re all excited to play in front of a crowd. It’s one of the main goals we had coming here for sure,” crashies said in a postmatch press conference. “I think it’ll only make us better. We’re a super crazy stage team. We love the energy and we feed off of it, so I think we’ll only be better.”

After already securing a top-three finish at Masters: Copenhagen, OpTic Gaming will have an opportunity to reach another grand final. In order to do this, they will need to beat APAC’s Paper Rex. The stage is set for Paper Rex’s Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto and OpTic Gaming’s Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker to battle toe-to-toe in an exciting Chamber duel.

Paper Rex

Photo credit: Riot Games

Expectations were quite high on this team to make yet another deep run at an international VALORANT event, but not many people expected Paper Rex to do it in as dominant fashion as they have in Copenhagen. Currently, Paper Rex are the only undefeated team at Masters: Copenhagen after a pair of dominant 2-0 wins, first against Guild Esports and, most recently, EMEA first seed Fnatic.

Paper Rex have a unique aggressive style that OpTic Gaming head coach Chet “Chet” Singh sees as an incredible advantage that works really well for the team.

“I think you can’t really copy their comps and how they play because it’s very unique to their players,” Chet stated. “I think it’s really nice and unique. It only compliments that team.”

Now, the Southeast Asian lineup is in a prime position to take down OpTic Gaming in the upper bracket final as they look to capitalize on very strong tournament showings from star player Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie and duelist f0rsakeN to upset the reigning Masters: Reykjavík champions.

Regardless, Paper Rex are in a strong position to qualify for the grand final as they will have another chance even if they lose to OpTic.

FunPlus Phoenix

Photo credit: Riot Games

A deep run at an international tournament has been a long time coming for this EMEA powerhouse. Now, they stand three matches away from hoisting their first international title. For FunPlus Phoenix, the journey to an international tournament has been an arduous two-year journey that has been hampered by a string of dominant performances and unfortunate circumstances out of their control.

At Masters: Copenhagen, FunPlus Phoenix have shown their strength through adversity. They secured a spot at VCT Champions after taking down EMEA third seed Guild Esports in the lower bracket.

For FPX, qualifying for Champions was their ultimate goal this year. From that point on, everything has been extra according to FunPlus Phoenix in-game leader Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov.

“Our whole goal for the year was to qualify for Champions, like that was the main goal,” ANGE1 said. “Now, we’re setting another goal and going forward. We did everything we wanted in this tournament, and now everything from here on is [a] bonus.”

That being said, FPX now have an opportunity to extend their bonus to a possible spot in the Masters: Copenhagen grand final if they can take down their rivals, Fnatic.

Fnatic

Photo credit: Riot Games

This year in the EMEA has been a series of back-and-forth matches between Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix with Fnatic winning three times and FPX taking one series.

Now, both teams find themselves facing off once again, though this time it is do-or-die for both teams. Unlike FunPlus Phoenix, Fnatic were granted an automatic bye to the Copenhagen playoffs because they were champions of the EMEA Stage 2 Challengers grand final, where they beat FPX. They kicked off their Copenhagen run with a resounding 2-0 win against, of course, FPX.

However, Fnatic’s flaws were highlighted in their very next series against Paper Rex as the EMEA first seed dropped down to the lower bracket after a 2-0 loss. With a lot of pride on the line to win this EMEA Stage 2 Challengers grand final, the pressure is on Fnatic to continue their recent winning ways against FunPlus Phoenix. The biggest question for this team is if they will be able to bounce back from their loss to Paper Rex or will a plucky FunPlus Phoenix take them out.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games