VALORANT Champions group stage: Day 2 match ratings

Welcome to our VALORANT Champions match ratings. As the tournament gets in full swing, Upcomer will rate every match of the first world championship so fans can easily tell which matches they need to watch and remember from the tournament. The matchups from Day 2 of the VALORANT Champions group stage include Gambit Esports vs. Team Secret, Sentinels vs. FURIA Esports and KRÜ Esports vs. Team Liquid in a full slate of VALORANT action.

Our rating scale

From one (lowest) to five (highest) stars, here’s what each star rating means in layman’s terms:

* Boring. Utterly skippable and something no one will remember by tomorrow

** Watchable. Possibly recommended based on your rooting interests

*** Good. Something I’d recommend checking out, even if you’re not a fan of either team

**** Must-watch. A game or series that you need to watch if you have any interest in VALORANT

***** An all-time classic. This perfect rating is only achievable if a game or match is at the highest level of entertainment, gameplay and will go down in the lexicon as a moment no VALORANT fan will ever forget

Let’s get started

Who's winning the match?@IRedgarI: pic.twitter.com/0teACJSJjx

— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) December 2, 2021

After a Day 1 of decent matches and a classic series from Fnatic and Cloud9, we’ll get to see some of the favorites of the tournament take the stage. Will Gambit and Sentinels look like their normal dominant selves, or will they have their work cut out for them against two underdog sides?

Gambit Esports vs. Team Secret: Icebox

*** stars

The VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Berlin champions have dropped a map, making everyone who has them highly ranked or winning this series in their pick’ems sweat. Team Secret could not miss a shot and looked incredibly sharp in their first match on the international stage. If this continues, we may have another classic match-up on our hands.

Gambit Esports vs. Team Secret: Breeze

*1/2 stars

Well, Gambit woke up and decided to shut down all talk of an upset. It was watchable because of the contrast from the previous map, but it went by fast and without much excitement. The Kill/Death ratios from both sides tell the tale all too well. Everyone from Gambit has a positive differential as Team Secret all went negative.

Gambit Esports vs. Team Secret: Bind

** stars

This was a back-and-forth first half followed by a decisive close-out by Gambit; a competitive map with great plays from both sides. Igor “Redgar” Vlasov was an animal and each Team Secret player had at least one hype moment. Watch the video below for a fun matchup with a predictable result. It doesn’t live up to the hype of the first map.

He just SNAPPED for the 1v2 CLUTCH! @IRedgarI | #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/FFf3XTJwTF

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) December 2, 2021

Sentinels vs. FURIA Esports: Ascent

*** stars

FURIA debuted on the international stage with a banger matchup against the former kings of North America. All Sage mains bow down to your new professional representative Gabriel “qck” Lima. Watching Sentinels adjust to FURIA’s tempered aggression and explosive site hits was masterful. For fans who have been let down by Brazilian teams in the past, let me introduce you to one of the region’s most aggressive teams and the joy in watching them run around.

Sentinels vs. FURIA Esports: Breeze

**** stars

Sentinels dropped a map and it was intense. FURIA held on to match point for so long that a Sentinels comeback seemed possible. Khalil “Khalil” Schmidt had a great first map but Breeze is where he really shined. Brazil vs. North America might be a regional matchup worth watching in VALORANT.

Sentinels vs. FURIA Esports: Haven

**** 1/2 stars

Somewhere in the depths of the Champions LED stage there is a production assistant with a large red button labeled “TECH PAUSE” and a vendetta against good VALORANT games. As FURIA led their comeback against Sentinels, he heard the shouts of excitement and rumors of a 9-3 curse which led him to make an unforgivable decision. This game should’ve been an overtime bonanza but was derailed by a poorly-timed, and overly long, tech pause. This would’ve been the first five star of the tournament, but Brazil just couldn’t catch a break. I believed in South American VALORANT, and I was burned for my hope.

Team Liquid vs. KRÜ Esports: Haven

* 1/2 stars

A pretty boring matchup right after two banger series before this map. Team Liquid looked comfortable and all that LAN experience KRÜ got from VCT Masters Berlin and Reykjavík has been thrown out of the window now that they are playing from their hotel. This game continues Liquid’s narrative of not losing since Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom joined the team and that’s about it.

Team Liquid vs. KRÜ Esports: Acend

** stars

This map was utterly watchable and not much past that. Started as a Team Liquid stomp then turned into a KRÜ comeback that was stopped by an incredible eco round after the South American side broke Liquid’s economy. Skip the first half and watch the rest.

This post will continue updating throughout the day.