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Category: Valorant

Sinatraa banned from VALORANT Competition till September

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Yesterday, Riot Games released a statement which states that former Sentinels VALORANT pro Sinatraa is banned from all VALORANT competition till next September. Here is their statement:

Sinatraa banned from VALORANT Competition till September – Why?

As you may know, Sinatraa has been inactive from the VALORANT competitive scene for quite some time. This happened due to sexual allegations between Jay “Sinatraa” Won and his ex-girlfriend. The investigation was still ongoing throughout this time, but it ended yesterday as Sinatraa was unable to provide the evidence that he promised that he had. Due to non-cooperation from his side, Riot have opted to hand him a 6-month ban from competition.

The ban ends on the 10th of September, just after the Stage 3 Challenger season + Masters conclude. This means that he’ll be eligible to continue his VALORANT career for the Last Chance Qualifiers and Champions event.

Sinatraa’s response

After Riot’s statement, Sinatraa took to twitter to apologize and state his thoughts on twitlonger. He added that he does not possess the evidence required for the investigation to continue and that he will take the following months to develop a better set of interpersonal skills. Here is his statement:

Since Sinatraa’s benching from the Sentinels lineup, the team has been doing quite well. Now, the Sentinels are tasked with the Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík event, set to take place on the 24th of May. Do you think the team will be successful without their main player?

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How to Watch VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters Reykyavik; teams, format, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

Over the past few months, competitive VALORANT has been building up to one event. Yes, we’re referring to the upcoming VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters event, hosted at Reykyavik. Indeed, with the teams finalized, we’re ready to show off all of the viewership details you need for this S-Tier event!

Event Background

The Valorant Champions Tour is the highest level of competitive VALORANT currently available. Hosted by Riot Games, this upcoming event will be the second stage of competition. Running from 24th-30th May, the offline event in Reykyavik is allowing the top 10 teams in the world to fight for global dominance.

Credits: VALORANT Champions Tour Twitter

So far, there is $600,000 to play for – but there’s more than that to play for. Besides the Points, the pride of winning is definitely a massive prize for the following 10 elite competitive teams:

  • Sentinels
  • Version1
  • Team Liquid
  • Fnatic
  • NUTURN Gaming
  • Team Vikings
  • Sharks Esports
  • KRU Esports
  • Crazy Raccoon
  • X10 Esports

Format

valorant champions tour to feature global competition in feature
Credits: VALORANT

The format is a classic and simple one, very fitting for an event of this level. A classic double elimination bracket with BO3 games leads up to a BO5 Grand Final match. Seeding was done based on North America and Europe having the largest player base, followed by other regions – this reflects as shown below:

bracketvct
Credits: Liquipedia

Schedule for the VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters Reykyavik

It looks to be a complex schedule – we recommend you check out the Liquipedia page for an up to date schedule.

Watch the VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters Reykyavik on esportsguide

You can also watch the VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters Reykyavik live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

VCT 2021 Stage 2 Masters Reykyavik

Predictions

Screenshot
Credits: VALORANT

It’s definitely clear that the attending teams are the best competitive VALORANT teams in the world. Yet, the fact that all teams are hailing from their very own regions, it makes these international encounters rather unpredictable.

One team I’d like to highlight off the bat is none other than Sentinels. For the past two years, this team has shown no sign of stopping thanks to some top tier performances – regularly placing first at most of the regional events. Many consider this team the top dog from NA, and a prospective favourite for the region.

Screenshot
Credits: Nerd Street Gamers

Over in Europe, it’s rather contested between the two front runners of Team Liquid and Fnatic. Perhaps Fnatic are favoured over the two European teams after claiming the first spot for this event, but it is still very close between these two.

Moving over the lesser known regions, the teams from Brazil, LATAM, JP and SEA are all champions in their own regard. Notably, X10 Esports have almost one every single event in the region ever held. The same can be said for Crazy Raccoon over in Japan.

As you’ve grown to understand, it’s impossible to count out any of the competitors heading to this event. This should be incredible!

For more esports new, please visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

TSM Adding Chet as VALORANT coach

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

TSM have revealed that they are adding Chet as their newest VALORANT coach. Here is their announcement:

TSM Adding Chet as VALORANT coach – Who is he?

24-year-old Chet “Chet” Singh started his esports career in 2016 with CLG as their CS:GO analyst. He then moved into a coaching role a few months later, and from then he went on to coach a couple more teams within the CS:GO space. Namely: OpTic Gaming, NRG Esports, Evil Geniuses and 100 Thieves. However after this departure from 100 Thieves he found it hard to find a solid coaching role within the top teams of Counter-Strike. 

This is when he decided to retire from CS:GO and switch to VALORANT. He started his VALORANT coaching career with NRG in October of 2020. He stayed with the team till April of 2021, and is now interested in continuing his coaching career with the newly revamped TSM roster.

Here are his best results in VALORANT as a coach:

  • 1st in Nerd Street Gamers – Monthly December – 27th December 2020 – $6,000
  • 5th/6th at VCT 2021: North America Stage 1 Challengers 3 – 5th March 2021 – $3,000
  • 7th/8th in VCT 2021: North America Stage 1 Challengers 1 – 4th February 2021 – $1,000

What’s next?

It’s fair to say that Chet wasn’t super successful with the NRG lineup, which is why he probably prompted for such a change. The TSM squad has shown promise in the past, and with their recent changes, they’re sure to compete with some of the best in North America. Hopefully this will improve their performance heading into Stage 3 of the VALORANT Champions Tour.

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VCT Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík Teams Finalized

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

With the LATAM Challengers Finals concluding, we now have the VCT Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík teams finalized. Here’s everything you need to know.

VCT Stage 2 Masters Reykjavík Teams Finalized – Who are they?

As stated when the VALORANT Champions Tour was announced, 2 teams from each of the major regions (NA, EMEA, BR) would be invited. Other regions like Korea, LATAM, Japan, and SouthEast Asia were also invited, but were only allowed a single team. Here’s a short list of every single team participating, sorted by region:

North America:

  • Sentinels
  • Version1

EMEA:

  • Team Liquid
  • Fnatic

Korea:

  • Nuturn Gaming

Brazil:

  • Team Vikings
  • Sharks Esports

LATAM:

  • KRÜ Esports

Japan:

  • Crazy Raccoon

SouthEast Asia:

  • X10 Esports

All of these teams have gone through long journeys of qualifiers to make it to this prestigious event. It’s fair to say that the list above indicates that these are the best teams in the world currently. 

Predictions

This is the first ever international event for VALORANT. The first time we’re going to see region versus region in the 1 year old esport. Obviously predictions are quite tough to make, however we can identify that the current lineups of Sentinels and Team Liquid are very strong. Team Vikings from Brazil also have a solid roster, and will surely compete with the best there is at this event. In the end it will have to go down as to which team performs better.

So make sure to tune into the action on the 24th of May and keep yourself updated with our website on the daily!

Team Heretics expected to sign al0rante, monsteer, Ardiis & Patitek

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

According to reporter Haloofthoughts, Team Heretics are expected to sign al0rante, monsteer, Ardiis & Patitek. Here’s everything you need to know.

Who are they signing?

Starting with Felix “al0rante” Brandl, a player from Germany who has been around the scene for quite some time. He’s played for a variety of teams, most notably The Alchemists, peanuts and most recently Volvo Peek. He’s truly shown what he’s made of with this Volvo Peek roster, as they’ve beaten teams like Tarren Mill, as well as the recently formed Excel Esports lineup. 

Heretics are also bringing on Czech player Ondřej “monsteer” Petrů. He represented multiple teams, namely: AVENUE Esports, Enterprise Esports, unsigned, and now LDN UTD. With LDN, monsteer has had solid performances, but will truly showcase his abilities with Heretics.

The G2 Duo

The last 2 are pretty familiar faces to the scene. Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks kicked off his career with the UK fish123 roster. After a couple of weeks in competition he signed with G2 Esports. Patitek on the other hand started with Fordon Boars, and also signed to G2 esports a few months later. Both of these players were considered as the best during G2’s dominant period, but are they still strong figures within the scene? We’ll have to see how it all plays out, but they will surely impact the Heretics lineup in a positive manner. 

Team Heretics expected to sign al0rante, monsteer, Ardiis & Patitek – What’s next?

Having 4 new players joining the team is quite a major update to the lineup. With these changes, loWel will be the only original remaining member. It’s no secret that Team Heretics has had a decline in performance since Stage 1 Masters after losing to team Acend. Hopefully with the rebuilding of the lineup the team improves and we’ll see another dominant European team.

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

New game mode, Replication coming to VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Riot Games have just revealed that a new game mode by the name of Replication is coming to VALORANT. Here is everything you need to know about it.

How to play? 

This new game mode is similar to normal VALORANT, but not at the same time. Players are split into 2 teams of 5, and take each other on in a best of 9 spike mode. These 9 rounds will consist of 80-second rounds, but pistol rounds are 45-seconds long, with 30-second subsequent rounds.

Each player on the same team will play as the same agent (for example 5 Cyphers versus 5 Brimstones). Each player’s abilities refresh at the beginning of each round (except ultimate abilities). At the beginning of the round, every player receives +1 Ultimate points. Weapons and shields are also reset each round. If a player is flashed twice within a 4 second window, the player receives Flashguard, which basically means that the player cannot be blinded.

After each round win or loss, there are a set credit amounts. They are as follows:

  • 900
  • 2400
  • 3900
  • 6000

New game mode, Replication coming to VALORANT – What about XP?

When it comes to the experience points, Replication will give the same amount as Unrated does. For each round played, players will receive 100XP, and for each round win, 200XP.

Unfortunately, the Replication game mode is only going to be available for 2 weeks, ending on the 25th of May. Riot have stated that they’ll be updating us on their plan of new game modes for VALORANT.

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

VCT 2021 Stage 3 Masters to be hosted in Berlin

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Riot Games have just made it public that the VCT 2021 Stage 3 Masters is to be hosted in Berlin, Germany. Here is the announcement:

VCT Masters Berlin – Where?

As mentioned above, the 3rd Masters event for the VALORANT Champions Tour, will take place in Berlin, Germany. The tournament will play out in the Verti Music Hall, which hosted the Worlds 2019 Championship for the group stage. All of the matches in this Masters event will stream live on all of VALORANT’s platforms, mainly Twitch and Youtube.

Scheduling

As stated in their announcement the event will kick off on the 9th of September and 16 of the best teams in the world will compete against each other to qualify for the VALORANT Champions event. Riot added that the Grand Final of the tournament will play out on the 19th of September.

HyperX Partnership

With the announcement of the VCT Stage 3 Masters, Riot also revealed a new partnership with HyperX. This will probably mean that a majority of the equipment being used will be HyperX peripherals.

Concluding Thoughts

Masters Reykjavik is the first offline event that Riot Games will have for VALORANT. As it stands, the tournament is certain to be successful, and we can’t wait to see how it all plays out. We’re sure that if the Stage 2 Masters event is going to be a bang, then Masters Berlin is definitely going to be better!

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

The Sentinels’ rise in VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

The North American VALORANT scene has been incredible to watch since the release of the game. We’ve seen the rise and fall of many teams, but one team has stood out as the region’s best. In this article we’ll be going through the Sentinels’ successful journey and rise in the VALORANT world.

Sentinels’ rise in VALORANT – Signing the roster

Sentinels were one of the few teams that were quick to start picking up players from a variety of esports. They started by announcing 4 members at once, Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan, Hunter “SicK” Mims, Jared “zombs” Gitlin, and Jay “sinatraa” Won. ShahZam and SicK came from a CS:GO background, whereas Zombs came from Apex Legends, and Sinatraa from Overwatch. All from different esports backgrounds, and many were doubting how well this roster could function. During the first few weeks, the team had Dizzy and Dephh standing in, until they announced their 5th member in June, Dapr.

Competition in the initial months

It’s no secret that the team was very disappointing in the very start of VALORANT’s esports scene. The team was placing 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, and was nowhere near being at the top-. However after a couple of weeks after their 5th signing, the team showed signs of progress, placing 3rd at the Pulse Invitational, and later winning the PAX Arena Invitational versus Cloud9. From then, Sentinels were very consistent at placing themselves in the Grand Finals, and created multiple rivalries with C9, TSM, and 100T.

Sinatraa’s drama

On the 10th of March, Sentinels released a statement that they were putting Sinatraa on the bench due to investigations concerning his personal life. Unfortunately this was horrible timing for the team as Masters Stage 1 was just around the corner. Luckily, former player for Cloud9, Tyson “TenZ” Ngo accepted the stand-in offer and represented them for that event. What surprised everyone was what came after, as the core 4 of Sentinels with their stand-in, managed to dominate North America and win the event. With this win, many put into question TenZ’s break from competition, and his future with the Sentinels. We do not know for sure what is going to happen with the team once the investigation of Sinatraa is over, but we can expect that TenZ is interested in sticking with the team.

Winning Stage 2 Challengers Finals

Another big statement by the team was made recently, as they won the Stage 2 Challengers Finals and booked their ticket for the Stage 2 Masters in Reykjavik. This will be the team’s first international and offline event, and will certainly be a challenge for the North American squad. They will be going up against the best from a variety of regions, but we’re sure that they have the strength and power to take any team down. 

Screenshot
Credits: Sentinels

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JcStani parting ways with Immortals VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

JcStani has made it public that he is parting ways with the Immortals VALORANT lineup. Here is his announcement:

JcStani parting ways with Immortals – Why?

In his twitlonger, Noah “jcStani” Smith states that his main reason for departing the Immortals lineup is due to his interest in testing out free agency. He added that esports contracts are not very long, and very few get the opportunity to leave the team on their own terms. Now with free agency he’s able to explore a wide variety of options with other teams. He might also have the ability to switch his current role and step into something that he desires.

Here are some of JcStani’s best achievements with Immortals:

  • 2nd at VCT 2021 NA Stage 1 Challengers 1 – 7th February 2021 – $10,000
  • 7th-8th at VCT 2021 NA Stage 1 Masters – 13th march – $7,500
  • 3rd in the FaZe Clan Invitational – 9th August 2020 – $7,500

What’s next for Immortals?

As you may have seen, they’ve also had NaturE depart the team recently. This leaves the team with a missing member in the role of JcStani. With VCT 2021 Masters Reykjavik being the main focus for the time being when it comes to VALORANT competition, we’re sure that Immortals have more than enough time to pick up a solid replacement, or at least a temporary stand in.

Be sure to keep yourself updated on all the latest important esports news by tuning into www.esportsguide.com!

Team Liquid win EMEA Stage 2 Challengers Finals

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

This weekend we had Team Liquid win the EMEA Stage 2 Challengers Finals. They took down some of the best in Europe and got themselves a ticket to Masters Reykjavik. Here’s our recap:

Final Standings + Winnings:

  • 1st – €35,000 – Team Liquid
  • 2nd – €15,000 – Fnatic
  • 3rd-4th – €9,000 – Oxygen Esports
  • 3rd-4th – €9,000 – Gambit Esports
  • 5th-6th – €6,000 – FunPlus Phoenix
  • 5th-6th – €6,000 – Guild Esports
  • 7th-8th – €4,000 – BBL Esports
  • 7th-8th – €4,000 – Futbolist

Team Liquid win EMEA Stage 2 Challengers Finals – How did they do it?

Group Stage

Team Liquid started it all by placing 1st in Group A during the group stage of the tournament. They first beat BBL Esports, and then Team Liquid 2-0’d the fearsome FunPlus Phoenix lineup.

Playoffs

This seeded the team into the semifinals versus Oxygen Esports. Here Team Liquid showed what their true potential is, as they took them down shamelessly. TL won the first map (Haven) 13-0, and the second map (Ascent) 13-3, leaving every European fan speechless.

Grand Finals

With this win, Team Liquid got into the Grand Finals against Fnatic. Fnatic started the series with a win of their own, in which Liquid replied with 2 big wins on Icebox and Ascent. By this point Team Liquid were in the lead, and Fnatic were destined to get that series tie. Bind (4th map) went the way of the orange and black, but the final map (Split) was for the blue and white. With this victory, Team Liquid grabbed the EMEA Stage 2 Challengers Finals trophy, and are considered the best team in the region.

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