EMEA competition resumes - VCT 2022 Week 1 recap

The second phase of the VCT is in full swing around the globe. The 12 teams competing for the Challengers 2 EMEA have shown some great stuff in this first week of competition. If you want a quick look at the final scores, you can refer to the week 1 summary.

History of the VCT EMEA 2022

In the first split, and after several weeks of fierce competition, it was finally G2 Esports and FunPlus Phoenix who made it to the Final. A match that ended in victory for the latter. Despite their performance, FPX could not participate in the Reykjavik Masters, which followed this first Challengers EMEA.

This second EMEA tournament will therefore be an opportunity for teams to take revenge or to secure their supremacy. In addition, the two best teams will participate in the next Masters of the year, namely the Copenhagen Masters 2.

A crazy first week

This first week of competition set the tone for this Challengers 2 EMEA. The teams faced each other in intense matches, with a total of 4 ACEs and even a 6K from NaVi player Cloud. Fun Fact: Breeze was completely absent, while Icebox appeared in 5 out of 6 games.

Group A matches

Acend, the former world champions, faced OG LDN UTD for this resumption match. Thanks to Zeek and his KAYO, Acend quickly established himself as the leader on Icebox and concluded the map in just 20 rounds, 7 to 13. On Split, it was a different story. The two teams battled it out until overtime. OG LDN finally lost, 12-14.

The match between Fnatic at FunPlus Phoenix was full of twists and turns! After a first map, secured 13-3, Fnatic lost, painfully 5 to 13 on Ascent. Everything was played out on Icebox. Both teams were determined to win the game, so much so that they were tied at the side change. FPX ended up winning the map 13-10, thus winning the game 2-1. Despite the defeat, Fnatic showed some very good things, notably 2 ACEs, one from Derke on Icebox, the other from Alfajer, the new recruit,on Ascent.

For the last game of the weekend, FOKUS faced the behemoth G2 Esports. Fokus is the only new team in this second split. They got their place during the promotional tournament. The least we can say is that the players defended themselves very well, despite the defeat 2-0. On Fracture, they gave the G2s a scare, going into overtime when they were 4-8 down at side change. Nukkye and his teammates remained solid and won 14-12. On Icebox, the FOKUS even took the lead in the first phase. Unfortunately, they were reeled in after the side change and the match ended 13-11.

Group B matches

The very first match of this split 2 saw BBL Esports and Natus Vincere. Even if the score, 2-1, is in favour of the BBL, both teams did not lose, on the contrary! The match was played in 3 maps. NaVi won the first one, Ascent, 6 to 13. Unfortunately for them, BBL Esports didn't give up, and won twice, Icebox 18-16, then Fracture, 13-6. QutionerXThe BBL player is the man of the match. At the end of the match, he has an impressive KDA of 78/46/9. With Chamber on Icebox, then Fracture, he finishes at 44/23/4 and 26/9/2. On the NaVi side, it was Cloud who shone. He is the only player, so far, to have managed a 6K!

Despite an elimination in the quarter-finals of the Reykjavik Masters, Team Liquid did not give up. The players are coming back strong and fit. Against BIG, they showed a clean game and quickly imposed themselves 2-0. On Icebox, won 13-5, Nivera made all the difference with Viper, as he finished this first map with a KDA of 21/6/3. Split was a little tighter in the first game, but BIG was unable to come back and lost 13-7.

For their first meeting, the Guild Esports faced M3 Champions, Gambit Esports players who play under a different name. Just like Team Liquid, the team led the match and had a great win 2-0, a quite easy match: 13-9 on Ascent, then 13-6 on Haven. In this match, two players from Guild, trexx and Leo, distinguished themselves. The latter showed all his skills with Sova on Haven. The latter showed all his know-how with Sova on Haven and finished the map with a very nice KDA of 21/5/12.

The ranking at the end of this first week

This is only the first week of the second VCT EMEA tournament. So far no team is really leading in either group. Overall, almost all the matches have been close. However, it is worth noting that Guild Esports and Team Liquid secured their victory without a hitch. The best teams in both groups will start to emerge after the second matches next week.

To follow the rest of the competition, see you on 20th May.

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