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VCT Masters Reykjavík Day 11: OpTic sweep ZETA to secure finals berth

North America's OpTic Gaming swept Japan's ZETA DIVISION in the lower bracket finals of the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 1 Masters tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland. OpTic will soon be facing Brazil's LOUD in the grand finals. (Photo: OpTic Gaming)
North America's OpTic Gaming swept Japan's ZETA DIVISION in the lower bracket finals of the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 1 Masters tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland. OpTic will soon be facing Brazil's LOUD in the grand finals. (Photo: OpTic Gaming)

Only two teams remain standing after the penultimate day of the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 1 Masters tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland.

North America's OpTic Gaming finally ended the miracle run of Japan's ZETA DIVISION with a 3-0 sweep in the lower bracket finals, securing a rematch with Brazil's LOUD in the grand finals.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of all the action that went down in VCT Masters Reykjavík Day 11.

Lower Bracket Finals:

OpTic Gaming 3 - 0 ZETA DIVISION

The Masters Reykjavík lower bracket finals pit two teams who both made it out of the group stages and pushed through into the playoffs.

As the underdogs of the series, ZETA were determined to continue their dream run and take Japan into the grand finals.

Despite some earlier defeats, the Japanese squad took each stumble as an experience and improved throughout the tournament, seeing off all challengers as they made their way through the lower brackets.

Meanwhile, OpTic were just as poised to make it through the grand finals. With the memory of their Day 1 loss long gone, the crowd favorites performed well in the playoffs before getting bested by LOUD and dropping into the lower bracket finals.

With Haven as the first map pick, ZETA started strong with five round wins in a row — OpTic only managed to get a round after a much-needed timeout.

Despite that, the Japanese squad looked poised to reach the grand finals by staying in the lead, ending the first half at 7-5.

Come the second half, ZETA picked up where they left off, taking the pistol round, the one after, and even the bonus round for OpTic.

The North American squad responded with a thrifty round right after, only for Shota “SugarZ3r0” Watanabe to use a smartly placed Cosmic Divide to get a 2k and put ZETA up 11-5.

As a result, OpTic took another timeout.

That break proved fruitful, as OpTic took the next two rounds and forced ZETA into a timeout. Unfortunately for the Japanese squad, OpTic slowly but surely closed the gap in the following rounds.

Canadian Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen managed to plant a spike and win a 2v4 alongside squadmate Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker's Chamber.

Marved continued the momentum right after with a 3k to take another win, putting OpTic only one round behind. That made ZETA retaliate with a flawless round, stopping the North American squad’s momentum.

Suddenly, ZETA found themselves in another 4v2, only this time, OpTic were able to win the round.

At 12-11, Marved forced the match into overtime by clutching a 1v1 against Yuma “Dep” Hashimoto.

OpTic took the first round on defense, but ZETA were able to tie the map at 13-13 thanks to excellent coordination. It would be short-lived, as OpTic would reach match point in the next round on the back of yay.

Then, during the next round, yay took to A-Site and wreaked havoc on ZETA, ending the map at 15-13 for OpTic.

The teams took to Fracture for game two, where the scores quickly tied at 2-2 after a pistol round that went ZETA’s way.

The Japanese squad threatened a thrifty in the round after, only for OpTic to take the lead thanks to Marved and his Brimstone’s excellent duelist skills.

Down 5-3, ZETA solved their economy by winning a thrifty round. To their dismay, OpTic responded with a thrifty of their own off the back of a 4k from Victor “Victor” Wong.

Although the North American squad would win the round after, ZETA pushed back with another thrifty to put the scores at 6-5 in favor of OpTic.

With both teams winning three consecutive thrifty rounds each, the game entered halftime at 7-5, favoring OpTic.

The North Americans extended their lead come the second half by taking early map control, winning the pistol and shutting down any attempts made by ZETA.

Down 5-11, the roles were now reversed for ZETA, who were then forced to make the same comeback OpTic pulled off in game one.

But OpTic closed all openings and put the final two nails in ZETA’s coffin, winning the following rounds to close the map at 13-5.

With the North American squad at match point heading into game three, the teams took to Bind. OpTic started strong with a clean 5v5 post-plant defense, but a 4k from Tenta “TENNN” Asai and a thrifty from ZETA would follow shortly.

After a quick timeout, ZETA took another win before an ace from Marved shut them down.

With yay and Marved at the helm, OpTic’s driving force continued pushing ZETA back, entering the halftime with a strong 8-4 lead.

Come the second half, OpTic pushed their score to double digits by winning the pistol and anti-eco rounds, although ZETA continued to push back using a handful of solid A executes. This put the Japanese squad back within shooting distance.

But, just as ZETA were preparing for a comeback, Pujan “FNS” Mehta and co pulled off a heroic retake to stop them in their tracks.

With their backs against the wall and their economy in shambles, ZETA made one final push, managing to get a Viper’s Pit down on A.

Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t enough to beat OpTic’s full buy, and the North American squad closed out the map at 13-8 and secure the 3-0 sweep.

Match MVP: Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen

With today’s results, ZETA end their miracle run in Iceland with a respectable third place finish, taking home US$85,000 and 400 circuit points in consolation.

Meanwhile, OpTic will be facing LOUD once again, but this time in the best-of-five grand finals for the Masters Reykjavík title.

The victors will walk away with the grand prize of US$200,000 and 750 circuit points.

Feb has been trying to speedrun Super Mario 64 ever since he started playing video games at 11 years old. He has never succeeded, but has completed other video games in the time since. When not playing, he's usually playing music or building Gunpla.

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