Only eight teams remain from the 128 that entered the VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 3 open qualifier. These eight teams have now qualified for the VCT Stage 3 Challengers main event, taking place Thursday, July 8. Here’s how they all made it to the next stage.
Sentinels
There are no surprises here, as Sentinels were the first team to qualify for the main event. After qualifying for, and winning, Masters 2: Iceland, Sentinels got a bye to round 32 of the open qualifier. They swept Evil Geniuses 2-0 before edging out a win over Soniqs, 2-1, to earn a spot in the main event.
XSET
XSET has remained a top ten team in North America for several months now. After making it to Challengers Finals before Masters 2, it was expected that they would make it to the main event. XSET dominated their way through the open qualifier, before barely taking down DarkZero Esports. Their 8-1 record earned them the second spot in the main event for Stage 3.
Envy
Envy has been at the top of the standings alongside Sentinels and 100 Thieves for quite some time. Despite making a roster change in the off-season, that didn’t slow the team down. They dominated all the teams in the lower bracket before facing off against T1 for a chance to qualify. In an impressive 13-0 victory during map three, Envy became the third team to qualify.
100 Thieves
100 Thieves have been honing their skills for a month since they failed to qualify for Masters 2. However, they had one of the scrappier routes leading to qualifying. SoaR and Noble both took maps off 100 Thieves, but they inevitably prevailed, to be the fourth team to qualify.
Version 1
Like Sentinels, Version1 also had a bye to round 32 of the open qualifier after making it to Masters 2. They swept YFP and Luminosity Gaming to become the fifth team to qualify for the main event. Even without their full roster, Version1 remains a team to be feared.
Gen.G
Gen.G has been on the outskirts of the league for some time now. However, they banded together with their newly formed roster to soar through the open qualifier. They only lost maps against Knights and Andbox, before becoming the sixth team to qualify for the main event.
Rise
Rise is an up-and-coming team that surprised everyone during the open qualifier. They were able to take down Built By Gamers in the earlier rounds of the bracket, to face off against Cloud9 Blue. The surprises continued when Rise swept Cloud9 Blue, who almost qualified for Masters 2, to become the seventh team to qualify.
Kansas City Pioneers
The Kansas City Pioneers were newcomers to the VALORANT scene and they did not disappoint. They turned heads when they took down Finals-qualified team Immortals. That impressive play continued when they took down VIRTUOSO to become the eighth and final team to qualify for the VCT Stage 3 Challengers main event.
