100 Thieves crowned VCT Stage 2 Challengers champions

100 Thieves become Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 2 Challengers champions after pulling ahead of XSET in a back-and-forth Grand Final.

100 Thieves haven’t won an event since they dominated TSM at the First Strike Grand Finals. Since then, there have been several changes to the Valorant meta and their roster. Quan “Dicey” Tran was removed from the roster after inconsistent performances at qualifiers after First Strike. Ethan “Ethan” Arnold replaced him. 100 Thieves have been shifting around team roles since Masters but have finally settled on a composition that works.

XSET has been viewed as the underdog team in Valorant despite being considered one of the top-five teams in North America by TheSpikeGG. The team made it to Masters last month but struggled to perform and ultimately exited the tournament early. 100 Thieves had a similar performance at Masters and fell short against Gen.G. Now the two teams that failed to perform at Masters have faced off in the first event of Stage 2.

100 Thieves inch out the win over XSET

XSET started the series off hot on Icebox which had been picked by 100 Thieves. They took a two-round lead at the half on defense and continued their lead on attack. After securing the first two pistol rounds, 100 Thieves pushed the game into  overtime. The first round of overtime went the way of XSET before 100 Thieves got the last three rounds to earn the win 15-13.

The final round. #100T @JoshNissan with the flank to bring it home. 👏 pic.twitter.com/D074udJuk6

— 100 Thieves Esports (@100T_Esports) April 11, 2021

The Thieves came out the gate strong with a four-round lead at the half on attack. The lead didn’t after XSET went on a hot streak, ultimately losing 13-11 in that series.  Both teams played well on remaining maps, but 100 Thieves came out on top.

The final map of the series had XSET with their backs against the wall.  Down by two rounds and on the brink of losing, they were only able to push back with four more rounds before 100 Thieves eventually got the upper hand. Josh “Steel” Nissan went on the flank during the last round to secure them the win 13-11. 100 Thieves claim the $20,000 and the number 1 seed for the Challengers Finals.