Valorant First Strike NA – Week 2

The second week of the Valorant First Strike NA ended in a rather surprising way. The last stage of the qualifying tournament organised by Nerd Street Gamers has indeed had a lot of surprises in store.

Results of Week 2

There were 16 teams left in the game from the tournament of week 1. Out of the top four, only two ultimately made it to the main event of the Valorant First Strike NA, Envy and Renegades.

Qualified for the Valorant First Strike NA:

• Envy
• 100 Thieves
• Sentinels
• Renegades

Qualified for the UMG tournament during week 2:

• Cloud9 Blue
• T1
• Complexity
• TSM

Great victories...

Envy confirmed its excellent performances from last week. They're probably the strongest North American team around. They dominated all their opponents... except the Sentinels.

Indeed, Envy lost both of its Winner Bracket maps during the group stage, but not without pushing one of them far into overtime. However, they came back up after a brief stint in the loser bracket.

When Envy wins, it wins by far, and when they lose, it's never without making their opponents sweat. The semi-finals against Renegades are a good example (11-13, 13-4 and 13-3).

In second position, we find 100 Thieves. Recruitments have therefore been good for this team which was caught up in the turmoil throughout the Ignition Series. The Thieves' course is less impressive than Envy's (especially since the latter took them down in the final), but the results are there.

This is a real achievement for a newly formed team, whose players have not yet had the opportunity to play together in tournament, to succeed in winning against TSM and Sentinels, the two best teams of the Ignition Series, to their tally. A beautiful revenge.

... and big disappointments.

Nothing seemed to be able to stop Cloud9 Blue during Week 1. They even managed to beat 100 Thieves in group stage. And yet, after a very close match against Renegades, they ultimately lost. A defeat all the more bitter as it comes at the gates of the First Strike main event.

Comparable situation for TSM, 3rd place at the end of Week 1, but who ultimately lost against the 100 Thieves in the quarter-finals. The team is at least qualified for the UMG tournament, as a consolation prize.

That's a chance that won't have Gen.G Esports, 4th at the end of Week 1, which fails in the group stage. For the team and the 11 others that failed to reach the semi-finals, it's back to square one. They will have to try their luck in the UMG tournament, against a hundred other competitors.

So... what about the meta?

It's official this time, Sage is well and truly dead. Out of 66 maps played during the tournament, she was only selected 3 times. That's as many as Viper, which is the best clue of non-popularity since the launch of Valorant.

The fall of Brimstone is inversely proportional to the popularity of Omen who dominates once more, with 129 selections. Jett and Sova, who have no real equivalents, also remain at the top, with 104 and 101 selections respectively.

Reyna confirms her position as a situational pick, along with Cypher, Raze, Killjoy and Breach. While the community thinks the latter is way too strong, the pros seem to agree with the developers : he is visible, but not necessarily effective.

Towards a third stage

As of tomorrow, a new tournament of 128 teams will start, this time organised by UMG. This is another chance for the unsuccessful teams. They will be able to play without fear of encountering Envy, 100 Thieves, Renegades or Sentinels.

The 12 best teams from this tournament will find Cloud9 Blue, TSM, T1 and Complexity in a new tournament with 16 teams, from 18th to 22nd November. The 4 best of this fourth tournament will be the last to qualify for the Valorant First Strike NA.

Find all the information and results
of the Valorant First Strike