Sentinels are your VCT Masters Reykjavík champions after a thrilling victory over Fnatic

VCT Masters Reykjavík provided us with nothing short of peak VALORANT esports since the game's release. Now, we are at the Grand Finals. A winner has to be crowned between the two finalists, Fnatic and Sentinels.

FNATIC, a team led by Jake "Boaster" Howlett and his antics took down Version1 and Team Liquid prior to reaching this point. On the other hand, you have Sentinels. North America's hopes for international glory, with Tyson "TenZ" Ngo joining the roster as a result of Jay “Sinatraa” Won’s allegations. They come into this having taken down FNATIC before in the Upper Bracket Quarter Final in a 2-0 series. The series score is deceiving to say the least, as the EU representatives pushed them to 13-11 and 13-10 scorelines on Icebox and Haven respectively. Everything is on the line. All the pieces fell in place for this spectacle to take place. Now it is time for NA vs EU.

Sentinels came out of the gate at full speed. They didn't waste any time proving why they reached the VCT Masters Reykjavík without dropping a single map. The North American organization managed to grab themselves 5 rounds out of the initial 6. This put themselves on a comfortable 5-1 pedestal over their opponents. With an early Flawless round, Sentinels had a hefty economy to fall back on if things ever go wrong.

In a match with the stakes this high, and filled with arguably the most talented VALORANT players in the world, anything can happen. FNATIC was able to pull it back to 7-5 before switching sides. Sentinels on defense had all planting sites on lockdown. The team extended their lead to 10-5 before a brilliant double sheriff kill from Doma on A site broke the streak to make it 10-6.

The following round ShahZam didn't want to leave the spotlight to Doma. The player popped his Jett ultimate, and grabbed himself a triple kill. Unfortunately, his heroics were still not enough to secure the round as his teammates were caught out of position prior to the play. The score sitting at 10-7 is slowly becoming more uncomfortable to Sentinels than it is to FNATIC who are definitely starting to get into the game.

The momentum was real. FNATIC took the lead for the first time on Split at 10-11, making it anyone's game at this point. After an incredibly close 23rd round, Europe's hopes at glory were one step closer to becoming a reality. FNATIC were at map point, but Sentinels weren't going down without a fight. First map of the series, and we are into overtime already. Sentinels didn't waste time taking advantage over their opponents, and close out the map.

Bind started off differently than Split. This time around FNATIC were in the driver seat from the get-go. The European team kicked off the game on the attacking side. They took home 8 rounds, leaving only 4 in Sentinels' record. The score going before switching sides sat at 8-4. The two teams kept trading rounds, with SicK living up to his name. The Sentinels player was able to pull out an impressive 4K right at B site's entrance.

Sentinels kept slowly creeping towards FNATIC, breathing down their neck as the scoreline kept getting closer. They finally managed to equalize the score at 9-9 after another Flawless round from the North American representatives. This forced out a tactical timeout from FNATIC to regroup and rethink their approach. Luckily, it actually worked as they won the round right after, making it 10-9 and putting themselves in the lead.

Sentinels quickly turned the game over on its head, and get the series to 2-0. The score so far doesn't tell the whole story but it is what it is.

FNATIC is now cornered into the wall. Sentinels are 2-0 up in the series, but the European team surely didn't come this far to give up now. Boaster and co. managed to grab a quick 2-0 round lead after winning the pistol round. However, individual brilliance from Sentinels' stacked roster allowed them to quickly switch the score to 4-2. The clip below sums up nicely how TenZ and ShahZam might just be from a different planet.

They rode this momentum throughout the attacking phase. Sentinels switched sides with a 9-3 advantage, a tall task for FNATIC to overcome. At this point of the tournament, there is no looking back at lost rounds. FNATIC managed to pull back the score to equalize at 9-9. it is even ground from here, and anyone's game at this point. Of course, Sentinels have a two-map advantage, but the EU team will have to take it one map at a time if a reverse sweep is on the cards.

Sentinels once again showed why they are undefeated throughout the entire tournament. The pride of North American VALORANT took the following three rounds to put themselves at VCT Masters Reykjavík Championship point against FNATIC. After a valiant effort from FNATIC to stay in it for a few more rounds, Sentinels closed out the map, series, and tournament. They are your VCT Masters Reykjavík Champions. They are going down as the first international champions in the history of VALORANT esports. A team that will go down in history books.

With this victory, Sentinels has secured $200,000 in prize money and the title of the first ever International Valorant champion. Sentinels has also locked a slot in the Valorant Global Champions later this year which is the showpiece Valorant event.

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