Starting September 10th, one of esport’s biggest events, Valorant masters began. And from there, it created a breakthrough in the current rankings of the scene. Filled to the brim with crushing upsets, heroic comebacks, and stories that these players will have etched into their souls were made here at this event, and fans of esports and the game itself alike found themselves entranced by the incredible action that happened during the event. If you haven’t already seen what kind of game Valorant is like, it is a team-based, 5v5 tactical shooter that features superhuman characters, specializing in combat. This game is free-to-play, drawing in millions of players across the world, and the best of the best team up to fight in what’s known as the Valorant Champions Tour. Japan, North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Brazil, and southeast Asia all come together to see just which team will stand on top. This event is split into 5 parts, the initial challengers series, to qualify for masters 1, 2, and 3, which have now concluded, and finally, the masters event coming up in December. What we’re talking about today though, is the most recent event; Masters Berlin. But before we dive into that, a quick preface of some backstory for you. The strongest team to come out of all these events leading up to Berlin(Masters 3) and win every tournament that they entered, was the team that recruited the young Canadian hopeful, Sentinels. Led by Shazam, and consisting of Zombs, Sick, Dapr, and our young hero from Nanaimo, TenZ. This unstoppable powerhouse of a team tore through every opponent in their path. Creating a name for themselves by flawlessly taking masters 2 Reykjavik without losing a single map. They looked unstoppable, and for good reason. This North American team had the skills to dominate the world, and with our Canadian representative becoming one of the best players in the world, I couldn’t help but cheer Sentinels on as hard as I could! It was exciting to see a storyline form around these players, and it was all coming together at one of the most highly anticipated events in esports, masters 3 Berlin.
Now Berlin was not only highly anticipated by the audience, but also the players themselves. In esports, playing online can be different from LAN due to different connection speeds. Playing “offline” is intense, fast, and responsive, and as an esports competitor myself, I can attest to just how much more smooth it feels to play someone who’s in the same room as you, compared to someone possibly a country away. All the competitors trained like their lives depended on it for masters 3, and every team was committed to bringing their A-game to not only win but also have the chance to dethrone the current gods of the game, Sentinels. Sentinels had a huge target on their back, and they were prepared for the challenge.
As masters Berlin began, teams played for their rankings within the main tournament bracket, and the matches were intense. Following the NA kings, Sentinels through the bracket, they played well in the initial matches, going into the main bracket with 3 wins, one over the powerhouse EMEA team, G2, and two over the new streamer team from Korea, F4Q. However, despite playing well, their one lass to G2 was a major upset that caused a ripple in the belief that Sentinels were untouchable! This was truly the first set that Sentinels had lost, and the other teams saw this as prime time to strike. The audiences online were shocked to see such a seemingly untouchable team drop a single set, but no team on this planet is perfect, and it’s truly an impossible task to expect players to be able to be completely immortal in each tournament they play in. But when these teams are playing for that 1st place $225,000 prize, what other choice do you have? Despite any kind of upset, however, Sentinels were determined to fight for the crown, and our Canadian local, and one of the best players in the world, TenZ, was hype to get started. Being a player that everyone has witnessed being one of the best at precise aim and fast reactions, Sentinels were still looking strong despite having been bled for the first time.
As the tournament went on, tension increased as teams prepared for the final bracket, and every spectator held their breath as over 800,000 viewers watched the #1 fan favourite to win, Sentinels. But looking closer, we have quite a few Canadian representatives to be proud of here at the finals. Over on team Envy, we have FNS and Marved, both incredibly strong newcomers to the Valorant scene. And on team 100 Thieves, we have Steel, who has seen tons of spotlight in his Valorant career. Despite being fellow Canadians, nobody has any plans of taking it easy on each other. These teams are playing for pride, prizes, and bragging rights aplenty. Not to mention, to become the new champion, potentially over the kings, Sentinels. The bracket begins, on September 17th, right at noon. Viewers are cheering for their favourites, and the chatbox for online spectators is blurring by as the match begins. Sentinels put up an incredible fight, until Envy snuck the first map’s victory from right under their noses, taking it to an overtime comeback. Sentinels looked confused, or maybe even stunned at how close a match it was, and how hard it may be to make a comeback now. And that comeback proved to be just a bit too difficult for them, as Envy proceed to put the final nail in the coffin for Sentinels. On the second map, Sentinels lose 13-7 and are immediately out of the tournament. From round one of the main bracket, the fan favourites, the gods of Valorant, have been struck down. Envy was now the team to look out for, and as they ended up finishing in 2nd place to team Gambit, the new champions of NA, Sentinels promised to come back stronger, as TenZ tweets out; “Masters 3 run is over but now we are looking towards Champions, plenty of time to prepare before then.” Keep your eyes out for Masters, as we have plenty of Canadian representation, and the potential, for gods to rise once again.
Fuck I suck at Raze, Lost to NV 0-2 GG’s to them. Masters 3 run is over but now we are looking towards Champions, plenty of time to prepare before then.
— TenZ (@TenZOfficial) September 17, 2021