Sentinels dominate VCT Masters Reykjavík, advance to grand finals

North American team Sentinels are making a strong case to being the best VALORANT team in the world, as they have gone on a perfect run to advance to the grand finals of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 2 Masters tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland.

It wasn't much of a surprise that Sentinels have been this good in the first-ever international VALORANT tournament. The team boasts just the right mix of veteran experience and young talent with a roster comprised of former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pros Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan, Hunter "SicK" Mims, and Michael "dapr" Gulino as well as newcomers Jared "zombs" Gitlin and Tyson "TenZ" Ngo.

Sentinels started their campaign in VCT Masters Reykjavík strong with a 2-0 sweep over European team Fnatic. The North Americans arguably faced their toughest challenge thus far in their opening match, as they took close 13-11 and 13-10 wins in Icebox and Haven.

Sentinels were then pitted against top Brazilian squad Team Vikings in the upper bracket semi-finals, with the North Americans looking dominant in 13-7 and 13-6 victories in Icebox and Haven as they swept the series and advanced to the upper bracket finals.

Sentinels looked unstoppable against South Korean team NUTURN Gaming in the upper bracket finals, as they stomped their opponents to the tune of 13-5 and 13-4 wins in Bind and Haven to advance to the grand finals.

TenZ, who is notably on loan to Sentinels from Cloud9 Blue, has emerged as the difference maker for the North American powerhouse in VCT Masters Reykjavík. He has notched 127 kills and 30 assists against 78 deaths thus far, topping the list of players with the best kill-to-death ratio and kills per round, thus making him the top-rated player in the tournament according to VALORANT stats tracker thespike.gg.

Only four teams remain ahead of the penultimate day of VCT Masters Reykjavík, which will start with European teams Fnatic and Team Liquid battling in the lower bracket semi-finals for the right to take on NUTURN Gaming in the lower bracket finals. The team who emerges victorious from the lower bracket will then challenge Sentinels for the championship on the final day of the tournament.

Six teams — Sharks Esports, Crazy Raccoon, KRÜ Esports, X10 Esports, Team Vikings, and Version1 — have already been eliminated after five days of competition in Iceland.

The champions of VCT Masters Reykjavík will take home the lion's share of US$200,000 out of the tournament's US$600,000 prize pool as well as 400 VCT points, which will go towards securing a spot in the VALORANT Champions tournament in December, where the first-ever VALORANT world champions will be crowned.

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