VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin has completed the quarterfinal stage of the tournament. The final game of the quarterfinals featured two of North America's heavyweights, as Sentinels faced Team Envy.
Defending champions Sentinels were handed their first defeat by G2 Esports in the group stages. Regardless, they managed to prevail over F4Q to qualify for the quarterfinals. But, their reign was short-lived as regional rivals Envy booked them a safe flight back home.
Team Envy dethroned the defending champions Sentinels to progress ahead to the semifinals. Here are the results from the final quarterfinals of VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin.
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VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin: Sentinels vs. Team Envy
Sentinels were clear favorites going into the quarterfinals against their regional rivals Team Envy. Their unquestioned supremacy on LAN faced a harsh reality check in the form of G2 Esports. However, fans believed that the defending champions were prepared for the quarterfinals.
On the other hand, Team Envy had a great run in the group stages where they won both matches convincingly with a 2-0 scoreline. Their performance so far shows how much they have improved in the last few months, and that they are ready to conquer the world.
As the map picks began, Envy banned Breeze as Sentinels are clearly strong on the Caribbean map. Sentinels banned Ascent, which was a little surprising considering their record on the map.
The first map pick was Haven, followed by Split and Bind. Both teams were equally strong on these three maps from a statistical standpoint. Nevertheless, fans were expecting to see a hard-fought tussle and both teams lived up to the expectations.
Shroud was hosting a watch party, decoding the action for fans. He mentioned how Sentinels and Envy play against each other all the time, and it's perfectly normal for them to lose.
He highlighted how Hunter "Sick" Mims still plays Phoenix on Haven, who is one of the weakest Duelists in the game right now.
Map 1: Haven
Team Envy picked Haven, and it's not the strongest map for defending champions Sentinels. Their composition on Haven is not the strongest in the current meta.
Envy, on the other hand, were prepared to go hunting with their double Initiator composition. A Sova and a Skye proved to be incredible for team Envy as they dominated the first half.
Sentinels were at their most vulnerable during the defensive half. Pujan "FNS" Mehta and Victor Wong got crucial frags for Envy on the attack, and it made all the difference during the first half.
The first half scoreline ended 9-3 in favour of Team Envy, and fans were quite disappointed to see the defending champions trailing. However, VALORANT pros are quite aware of the 9-3 curse, and it was clearly visible why.
Envy took the scoreline to 12-7, but Sentinels won five consecutive rounds to take the map to overtime. An ace from Tyson TenZ Ngo in the 23rd round reflected his confidence during clutch situations.
Envy woke up late, or did Sentinels choke? Call it whatever you want to but the defending champions were not at all at their best. They took the game to overtime, but Team Envy showed their mental fortitude to secure the victory.
The scoreline ended 15-13 in favour of Team Envy. This is the third time Sentinels dropped a map in VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin.
Map 2: Split
Split is perhaps the best map for defending champions Sentinels, but their recent loss against G2 revealed their weaknesses on the map. Envy looked to take advantage of this weakness as they started strong by winning the first two rounds.
Sentinels tried their best in rounds 3 and 4, but that barely fazed Envy. In fact, Envy went on to take five rounds straight on their defensive half, and this crippled Sentinels economy.
Individual performances from ShahZam or TenZ didn't count for much as Envy had a solid defensive setup. They were reading every play from the defending champions like it was an open book, and they skimmed past all the chapters.
Sentinels could only put up five rounds in their attacking half, as Envy managed to keep the mighty TenZ at bay. The first half ended 7-5 in favour of Envy who started equally strong on attack.
Envy won the first four rounds and made sure that Sentinels didn't get to play with rifles until it was too late for a comeback. They wrapped up the map 13-7, proving that even gods can bleed in the world of VALORANT.
Team Envy progressed to the semifinals of VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin, and they will face 100 Thieves next. The defending champions Sentinels will be catching an early flight home, but don't count them out just yet. They will look to avenge this loss in the upcoming VALORANT Championship which is scheduled to start later this year.
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