The second closed qualifier for the Valorant Champions Tour has officially ended with Envy taking down Sentinels in the finals. Envy played out of their minds during the closed qualifier, but teams like 100 Thieves and FaZe Clan disappointed us.
Envy only lost two maps during their run at the second closed qualifier. They lost one map to Sentinels in the Upper Bracket Semifinal and Immortals in the Upper Bracket Final. Envy appears to be a completely different team from their performance at the last closed qualifier, where they were only able to win against Andbox before being knocked out by XSET in the lower bracket.
Sentinels also looked dominant in their performance throughout the event, especially after winning the last qualifier. However, they were no match for Envy who won the first map 13-9 and then the second 13-3. Envy did come into the match with a one map advantage because they won the Upper Bracket Final.
What happened to 100 Thieves and FaZe?
100 Thieves failed to make the closed qualifier during the first challengers because they were unable to play with Nick “Nitr0” Cannella. Nitr0 sat the first qualifier out to spend time with his wife and baby who was born during the tournament. Despite having their full roster for the second qualifier, 100 Thieves weren’t playing well. They struggled in their first game against Luminosity, who won 2-1 overall. 100 Thieves were able to pull it back against Gen.G in the lower bracket before falling to Sentinels later on. The team who won First Strike in North America appear to be losing their dominance over teams at the top.
Congratulations to @Envy on being crowned the champions of #VALORANTChallengers Week 2. 🏆 They came out firing from the start and never looked back.@FNS
@mummAyTV
@kabooseCS
@food_cs@Crashies pic.twitter.com/Gm4KmG6nPa— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) February 23, 2021
FaZe Clan is one of the few teams that have stuck with their same roster from the beginning. They were considered a mid-tier team in 2020 but have had disappointing performances this year. They were eliminated in round 16 by Luminosity during the first qualifier despite placing 2nd at the JBL Quantum Cup. While they were able to make it to the second closed qualifier, they played all the teams close. Version1, eUnited, and Built By Gamers were all able to take FaZe Clan to game three before they qualified.
Professional Valorant teams are beginning to close the gap on the previous top five teams. There is still another Challengers to be played through before Masters, but the title is anyone’s to have. FaZe Clan and 100 Thieves will have to play through the next qualifier for their third chance at Masters.
