VCT Stage 3 Masters recap: Day 2

Day 2 of VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 3 Masters Berlin was quite a spectacle. Two matches came down to the wire, with many underdogs proving that they had the right to be at Berlin. Several players made a name for themselves, and the Group Stage losers brackets are starting to fill out. Here is what happened on VCT Stage 3 Masters Day 2, and the bigger picture.

Game Highlights

Today, the heavily favored teams won, signaling a strong start to the tournament for the most fearsome VALORANT regions.

Match A1 — Vision Strikers v Paper Rex (2-0): This was a close match. In the beginning, it looked like Visions Strikers would take Haven, leading 8-4 at the half. But then Paper Rex put them on their toes, forcing mistakes and even a tactical timeout. Vision Strikers took the map 13-9, but Paper Rex looked good going into Map 2. Icebox was a nail-biter. Paper Rex started with a lead, 9-3, on their attack round then Vision Strikers came back with a seven-round win streak on the next half. Paper Rex put up an amazing performance and proved that the rest of the world is sleeping on the South East Asian region. The 2-0 does not accurately display how close these games really were.

Match C1 — Gambit Esports v Crazy Raccoon (2-0): In sharp contrast to the first, this match was a clean sweep from Gambit. With a near-perfect 13-1 on Bind and Icebox, this game was clear cut.

Match B1 — Vivo Keyd v Team Envy (0-2): The starting map, Icebox, was the first overtime of Berlin. After a super stressful 13-15, Team Envy eventually pulled ahead, with Vivo Keyd looking incredible. On Bind, it looked all done for Vivo Keyd, with Team Envy taking an early seven-round win streak, but then the tables turned. Vivo took the next five rounds, ending the half 7-5. The game went back and forth for several rounds, but finally ended with Team Envy taking Bind 13-9. Both teams displayed strong Duelists and fragging power, and it was one that left viewers on the edge of their seats.

BRINGING THE ENERGY WE NEED! #VALORANTMasters @EsportsDoug + @RivingtonThe3rd 🙌 pic.twitter.com/01wLNBksRz

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 11, 2021

A quick stat to highlight from that game: Vivo Keyd’s Olavo “heat” Marcelo had an entry frag stat of +11 (14 First Kills to 3 First Deaths) which is the highest in Berlin right now. In contrast, Team Envy’s Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker had a stat of +4. The man popped off, and really opened the map for Vivo Keyd.

Stat Highlights

Stats provided by vlr.gg and runitback.gg.

Stats are based off of VCT Stage 3 Masters Day 2 performances.

Top five players based on Average Combat Score

1. Vivo Keyd’s Olavo “heat” Marcelo: 302.0
2. Gambit Esports’ Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin: 300.0
3. Paper Rex’s Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto: 294.0
4. Gambit Esports’ Igor “Redgar” Vlasov: 263.0
5. Team Envy’s Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker: 261.0

Top 5 players based on Kill/Death ratio

1. Gambit Esports’ Bogdan “Sheydos” Naumov: 3.00
2. Gambit Esports’ Igor “Redgar” Vlasov: 2.64
3. Gambit Esports’ Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov: 2.40
4. Gambit Esports’ Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin: 2.00
5. Gambit Esports’ Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov : 2.00

Berlin Overall

Top five players based on Average Combat Score

1. Vivo Keyd’s Olavo “heat” Marcelo: 302.0
2. Gambit Esports’ Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin: 300.0
3. Paper Rex’s Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto: 294.0
4. Acend’s Mehmet Yağız “cNed“ İpek: 293.0
5. 100 Thieves’ Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk: 280.5

Top 5 players based on Kill:Death ratio

Yup, Gambit takes the top 5 for Berlin. They stomped.

1. Gambit Esports’ Bogdan “Sheydos” Naumov: 3.00
2. Gambit Esports’ Igor “Redgar” Vlasov: 2.64
3. Gambit Esports’ Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov: 2.40
4. Gambit Esports’ Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin: 2.00
5. Gambit Esports’ Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov : 2.00

Top five agents pick rates

1. Sova: 85%
2. Jett: 77%
3. Astra: 58%
4. Skye: 54%
5. Sage 50%

Group Standings

Group A

Acend: 1-0 (2-0)

Vision Strikers: 1-0 (2-0)

Paper Rex: 0-1 (0-2)

SuperMassive Blaze: 0-1 (0-2)

Group B

Team Envy: 1-0 (2-0)

KRÜ Esports: 0-0 (0-0)

ZETA DIVISION: 0-0 (0-0)

Vivo Keyd: 0-1 (0-2)

Group C

100 Thieves: 1-0 (2-0)

Gambit Esports: 1-0 (2-0)

Crazy Raccoon: 0-1 (0-2)

Havan Liberty: 0-1 (0-2)

Group D

G2 Esports: 1-0 (2-1)

Sentinels: 0-0 (0-0)

F4Q: 0-1 (1-2)

The day’s impact

With Gambit Esports winning their game today, they have locked in a minimum of 12th place at VCT Stage 3 Masters. This means they garner enough circuit points to push Fnatic out of first in the Europe Middle East and Africa region, putting them into that scary second place spot. In order to stay in second, Fnatic needs Acend to lose their next two matches and land in 8th-12th place. They also need G2 Esports and SuperMassive Blaze to stay below second place.

Meanwhile, here are the teams still waiting to see if they make it to Champions automatically or go to their regional Last Chance Qualifier. The names in bold are currently at Berlin:

Team Envy, 100 Thieves, Fnatic, Gambit Esports, Acend, G2 Esports, SuperMassive Blaze, Team Vikings, Shark Esports, Havan Liberty, Vivo Keyd, Crazy Raccoon, Zeta Division, NUTURN Gaming, Vision Strikers, F4Q, X10 Esports, Bren Esports, Paper Rex.

Finally, here are the teams who need their respective regional team to win Berlin to make it to the LCQ:

TSM (North America), forZe (Europe, Middle East and Asia), NOORG 2.0 (Brazil), Northeption (Japan), DAMWON Gaming (Korea), Alter Ego (Southeast Asia), Border Monsters (Latin America)