“To come up with results on the global stage, it proves that it’s all the correct ways we’ve been preparing” – Zeta Division crow

Coming in as one of the biggest underdogs at VCT Masters Reykjavik, Zeta Division had one goal at the start of the tournament: to win a match. A win at Reykjavik would be the team’s first international win. The team has been able to stave off the door of defeat with incredible plays by individuals and a collective effort by the team led by Zeta Crow. 

Today, Zeta Division eliminated yet another EMEA team. This time it was Team Liquid, a team that was not even supposed to be here at VCT Masters Reykjavik in the first place. Unfortunate circumstances allowed them to play in this event, replacing FPX who were unable to make it. 

“We had no expectations coming into this event,” Link said echoing a similar statement by Dom "soulcas" Sulcas yesterday. 

There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Team Liquid after their Challenger loss. The players were in for role changes, composition changes and a change in preparation. Amidst all of this transition, they were also preparing for Masters Reykjavik. With the lack of time to prepare properly, they had to put those changes on hold and revert back to the old system. 

In the future, L1nk might take on the role of the IGL at Team Liquid. When asked what he thought about transitioning to a new role within the team, Link had nothing but words of praise for all the IGLs in Valorant. 

“It's a lot more difficult than anyone gives you credit for. It's incredibly difficult. A lot goes into it. Obviously I couldn't try and fulfill that at this LAN. It's a very difficult role, very demanding, all the players that don't do it can sort of chill after practice, do it individually. feels like the IGL goes on throughout the night and doing everything for the team. All the IGLs are trying to become big and you go to give them huge props for what they're doing. “

Japan is one of the underrated regions in Valorant. But with Zeta Division’s performance this month, Japanese Valorant fans have a new team to cheer for, their Home team. Zeta Division’s crow is thankful for the growth of the Japanese esports scene and feels confident there will be stars from the region in future VCT events. 

There are three Asian teams, DRX, Paper Rex and Zeta Division in the top six.

“Within the Japanese FPS scene, we have been looked down for the longest team. So being able to come up with some results on the global stage, we're happy about that. It sort of proves how we've been practicing and dedicated our practice towards these events, it proves that it's all the correct ways we've been preparing.”

Coming into this series, fans expected a Team Liquid win, either a one-sided dominance or a close match if Zeta plays well. What they got, instead, was the complete opposite. Zeta Division went 8-0 in the first few rounds, a dominant score on the Fracture defense. 

Team Liquid tried to bring it back, a strong start to their defense with Scream’s 4k in the 14th round. The marvelous individual performance helped Team Liquid string together a few more rounds, but the first half lead for Zeta Division was just too big to overcome.

Team Liquid started strong on the second map amassing four consecutive rounds. But they went aggressive in the after-plant in the 5th round, giving Zeta Division some leeway in terms of kills. The next round was a very bizarre round as a late-round lockdown single-handedly won Zeta Division the round. With 9 players surviving the round, it was an easy win for Zeta Division.

But Team Liquid was quick and aggressive, refusing to give Zeta Division any space on their offense. Team Liquid had a dominating 13-4 result on Haven, after a 10-2 half on the attacking side. 

The third map was relatively closer with the two teams trading a bunch of rounds on Split. But Liquid had no answer to Zeta Division’s attack, winning just one round even as Zeta Division cruised through to seven wins to finish the map. 

WIth this win, Zeta Division will now face the loser of DRX and OpTiC Gaming. Having already secured the top six, Zeta Division Crow hopes to face OpTiC Gaming in their next match. 

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Valorant news and updates.