Valorant Champions Tour 2022: Europe, Middle East and Africa continue to bring many hectic series to the stage. The most anticipated match-up of week 5 saw FNC dominating Acend to maintain its place on the top of the standings. The first map of the series, Haven, concluded with FNC domination and Acend was expected to reciprocate. After a 13-4 encouraging loss on Haven, Acend could not turn things around as they did at Champions 2021. Acend lost 13-10 to FNC on Ascent even though they looked better on their map. The reigning champion tied in fourth place with 2-2, and their chance to finish first in the group stage has run out.
FunPlus Phoenix had great work against Team Liquid on the second day of week 5. Taking down their closest rival on group B relieved FPX’s hand for the lead a week before the knockout stage. The point to be noted is that FPX took this clean victory without resistance. FPX dominated both Ascent and Haven maps, while Team Liquid looked like a wreck, which means they need to recover as soon as possible. Besides that, they need to get back to their form in the Last Chance Qualifier.
Guild and Fnatic are on the top!
Guild Esports faced off a demoralizing loss against SuperMassive Blaze on the first map of the series, Haven. Despite having nothing to say about qualifying for the next stage, SMB’s first map win in the tournament brought excitement to the series. Guild bounced back to the fun with a crushing 13-1 Breeze win over the only team without a victory in group B. The decider map, Icebox, was closer than expected. Guild Esports closed the series 19-17 in overtime and maintained its win streak led by Tombizz.
G2 Esports had to beat BBL Esports to secure their spot in the knockout stage. Although they are not in their best form, G2 is still a strong team, and sometimes they can be ruthless against underdog teams.
So far in the tournament, we have seen European teams love to play on Icebox. Thus, G2 Esports had an excellent start to the series against BBL in their pick, finishing Icebox 13-7. They took the mental supremacy, then wiped out the Turkish representative on Split by giving the opponent only one round. G2 Esports put their second win in their pocket as they tied in third place ahead of Acend.
The remaining schedule for week 5 of the VCT 2022: EMEA Stage 1 Challengers is as follows:
- G2 vs Guild
- LDNU vs FPX
- TL vs BIG
- BBL vs Acend
Guild and FPX will try to extend their win streak against mid-rank teams of the tournament, G2, and LDNU, while BBL Esports will look for a win against Acend to enter the last week of the group stage with hope. If BBL Esports squeeze Acend and Guild do not let any surprise against G2, the Turkish representative can take advantage of qualifying for the next stage. You can catch all the action from Riot’s official Twitch channel.
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