Fnatic Win VCT Challenger EMEA

Fnatic Valorant team won its first tournament since April 2021 this weekend, when they swept FunPlus Phoenix 3-0 in the finals of VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers. With that, Fnatic secured the top seed for Masters Copenhagen, slates for July 10-24.

Fnatic emerged victorious at the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022: EMEA Stage 2 Challengers this Sunday, June 26, winning the organization’s first Valorant title in over a year. Although a monumental achievement for the Black & Orange, their success at VCT Stage 2 Challengers was hardly surprising.

Fnatic have emerged as one of Europe’s top Valorant teams in 2022, and they finally confirmed their status with an incredible run to the Challengers 2 title. While they faced some obstacles along the way, it never seemed like Fnatic wouldn’t be able to reach the top.

Fnatic kicked off VCT EMEA Challengers 2 in Group A, alongside Acend, FunPlus Phoenix, G2 Esports, OG LDN UTD, and FOKUS. And even though Fnatic had been placed in an adamant group, they did not need long to prove their worth.

Fnatic ended the group stage with a perfect 5-0 record, beating all of their opponents while managing an impressive +59 round difference. Moreover, Fnatic have dropped just two maps throughout the group stage – against G2 Esports and FunPlus Phoenix.

Fnatic looked just as impressive in the playoffs, having dropped a single map over the three series. As a top-seeded team, Fnatic got placed into the upper-bracket semi-finals, where they face FunPlus Phoenix.

And just like in the group stage, Fnatic defeated their regional rivals 2-1. They continued showing strong form, with a 2-0 sweep of Guild Esports, which earned them a spot in the finals.

There, they met again with FunPlus Phoenix, but just like in the first meeting, FPX proved no match for the Black & Orange.

Fnatic proved to the world that they’re the best European Valorant team with an explosive performance in VCT EMEA Challengers 2 final. However, the final match started with a closely-fought map.

In Map 1 (Split), Fnatic and FPX went back and forth, with Fnatic taking an early lead and FPX fighting their way back into the game. The map eventually entered overtime, which ended in Fnatic’s favor with 15-13.

Despite facing tough resistance on Split, Fnatic rolled over FPX on Icebox, which they won 13-5. They kicked off the map with a 10-2 lead as attackers and closed out the deal with 3-3 as defenders, grabbing a 2-0 series lead.

In the final map of the finals, the two European Valorant juggernauts played yet another close series on Haven. In a bid to fight their way back into the game, FPX picked up an unusual team composition, but even that proved futile.

FPX did, in fact, cause some serious damage early on, thanks to Shao’s Jett. Moreover, FPX found some momentum in the attack, picking up four straight maps, which saw them take the lead before the switch.

But despite FPX’s strong showing, Fnatic were no less impressive. Although the game could have ended in FPX’s favor, Fnatic caught up to their European rivals and pushed the map into overtime. But as with the first map, Fnatic pulled ahead with 15-13, thus closing out the series with a perfect 3-0.

By winning VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers, Fnatic claimed a $42,281 prize share and a ticket for the Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen. The tournament is slated to kick off on July 10 and conclude two weeks later, on July 24.

It will feature 12 teams from seven different regions, including EMEA, Korea, NA, APAC, Japan, LATAM, and Brazil. It will mark the final big Valorant event ahead of VALORANT Champions 2022, slated for September 2-18 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Despite losing the finals, FPX have also received an invite for the Copenhagen Master event, alongside the third-place Guild Esports.