X10 upset Envy to move on to VALORANT Champions playoffs

In a devastating loss for North American fans, Envy were eliminated by X10 CRIT in a close match to close out the group stage at VALORANT Champions.

This was a rematch between the two teams, who had battled it out earlier in the tournament in the opening matches. In that match, Envy beat X10 decidedly in a 2-0 match where X10 didn’t even win double-digit rounds in either map.

“In our first match against Envy, we were kind of lost,” Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong said. “You know, nerves and pressure. So after that game we lost we had a meeting and said ‘yeah, we can just play our own game, have fun and try to win some.”

Since then, Acend beat Envy in the winner’s match to send Envy to the decider match, and X10 beat Vivo Keyd to have a shot at getting out of groups. Now, Envy have been sent packing, while X10 move on to the playoff bracket.

Many had high hopes for Envy after their promising performance at Masters: Berlin. They made it all the way to the grand final against Gambit Esports, and even though they didn’t win, analysts placed them high in power rankings as a result, especially since they beat Sentinels in the semifinals.

Envy’s loss comes after Sentinels were eliminated from advancing to the playoff bracket as well after they lost a match against KRÜ Esports. Many had expected them to at least make it out of groups, but KRÜ pulled together a fantastic performance against them.

The last hope for North America to win the event is now in the hands of Cloud9, who made it out of what many are calling the group of death, which included Fnatic, FULL SENSE and Vision Strikers. Cloud9 will play Team Liquid in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

The first map of Tuesday’s match between X10 and Envy was a tense battle on Icebox, which was X10’s pick. The map started out in X10’s favor, and they ended the half 7-5, which gave Envy enough breathing room, but they were forced to play catch-up. Although it was well-fought, Envy ended up taking the map 13-10.

The first couple rounds on Split looked great for Envy. They took five straight rounds before X10 took a few to close the gap in score and tie the score 6-6 at halftime. X10’s momentum kept rolling in the second half and they took the map 13-8.

Map 3 was on Haven. Envy looked absolutely dominant in the first half and ended with them up 9-3 at halftime, a score that many refer to as the 9-3 curse. Again, X10 came back strong in the second half and closed the gap within the first five rounds.

One notable play was in Round 22 of the map, where Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut shot Envy down like fish in a barrel, pelting three players in less than five seconds. After that, there was nothing Envy’s sole remaining player, Austin “crashies” Roberts could do about it, and Envy were staring down the possibility of defeat.

At the end of Round 24, the score was tied 12-12. Overtime commenced, and X10 made quick work of Envy in both rounds and secured the win, punching ticket out of groups.

“It definitely sucks to be out of the tournament,” Pujan “FNS” Mehta said in a postmatch interview. “Obviously, like I said, Sentinels should have won, we should have won, we should have been able to close those games out. But it just goes to show that a lot of these regions have a lot of firepower and a lot of good strategy. And you know, today it wasn't our day.”

X10 will face Gambit Esports in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games