What to watch at 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour Masters: Reykjavik

April 10, 2022

by Sage Datuin

Twelve of the best teams around the world will compete for an international championship at the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour Masters: Reykjavik.

Last year, North America’s Sentinels were crowned victorious at VCT Masters: Reykjavik, receiving the $200,000 top cash and 400 circuit points.

But with the reigning champions out of the picture at this year’s Masters: Reykjavik, a new winner will be crowned – and, this time, teams are competing for something even greater than the lion’s share of the prize money and a pile of points.

What’s at stake?

For starters, VCT Masters: Reykjavik 2022 will see teams vying over an increased pool of circuit points – a total of 3,300. Points will be distributed to the remaining teams as follows based on their performance at the event:

First place – 750 points
Second place – 500 points
Third place – 400 points
Fourth place – 300 points
Fifth and sixth place – 2500 points
Seventh and eighth place – 200 points
Ninth and 10th place – 150 points
11th-12th place – 125 points

The total was increased this year due to the reduction to the number of stages in 2022 compared to 2021. The awarding of additional points is sure to make a major impact on the road to the VCT Champions in September.

Schedule and format for the VCT NA Stage 1 playoffs (all times ET)

April 10

DRX vs. ZETA Division at 11 a.m.
KRU Esports vs. Team Liquid at 2 p.m.
OpTic Gaming vs. XERXIA 5 p.m.

April 11

Fnatic vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas at 1 p.m.
Group B winners match at 4 p.m.

April 12

Group A Winners Match at 11 a.m.
Group B Losers’ Match at 2 p.m.
Group A Losers’ Match at 5 p.m.

April 13

Group B Decider Match at 1 p.m.
Group A Decider Match at 4 p.m.

April 14-18

Double-elimination bracket matches

April 22

Upper and lower bracket semifinal match

April 23

Lower bracket final at 1 p.m.

April 24

Grand final at 1 p.m.

Following the matches on April 13, the remaining eight teams will be seeded accordingly into a double-elimination bracket which will run from April 14 to April 22.

All playoff matches will be best-of-three format until both the lower and grand final, both of which will be best-of-five series.

Here’s a breakdown of the 12 qualifiers and what you should watch for on their quest to win VCT Masters: Reykjavik.

Teams competing at VCT Masters Reykjavik

The Guard

Photo credit: The Guard via Twitter.

From rookies to Reykjavik, The Guard enter VCT Masters Reykjavik as the number one seed from North America. A new team that was formed less than six months ago, The Guard are competing in their first international event with designs on proving they are the real deal.

As the top seed, they are automatically seeded into the playoffs and will await the results of the group stage to find out who they match up against.

Photo credit: Riot Games

Masters: Reykjavik will be the lineup's third consecutive international event. After spending the majority of 2021 cursed as fourth in NA, they have finally broken through to become the region’s most consistent team, as well as shown their ability to adapt to the new meta for 2022.

OpTic qualified as the No. 2 seed after losing a close series to The Guard in the NA VCT Stage I. Now, they are considered a favorite to win Reykjavik.Up first, a rematch with XERXIA – previously X10 CRIT – the opponent that eliminated OpTic from last season’s Champions.

Fnatic

Fnatic qualified for VCT Masters Reykjavik after taking down M3C in the upper bracket semifinals of the Europe, Middle East and Africa qualifier. However, they struggled in their next two matches against Funplus Phoenix and G2 Esports, resulting in their missing out on the region’s top seed here.

Looking to improve upon last year’s second place finish, Fnatic has dealt with roster issues surrounding players Brave and Derke which could diminish their performance going forward.

G2 Esports

With Funplus Phoenix unable to attend Masters: Reykjavik this year due to the ongoing Ukraine war, G2 Esports have now been bumped up to the first seed and are automatically through to the double-elimination bracket. G2 qualified by making a miracle run through the loser’s bracket, taking down M3C, Team Liquid, and Fnatic before dropping the grand final 3-1 to FunPlus Phoenix.

With the new additions of former Giants Gaming duo Meddo and Hoody, G2 Esports are back for their second LAN event as they look to finally add a trophy to their trophy case.

Team Liquid

If not for Funplus Phoenix’s forced withdrawal from the event, Team Liquid would be watching the first Masters event of 2022 from their gaming facility. Instead, the EMEA fourth seed has been granted a second chance at redemption as they return to Reykjavik looking to show why they were once viewed as the best team in the world.

Team Liquid has remained unchanged since their streak of dominance from the EMEA last chance qualifier up to their 3rd-4th place finish at VCT Champions 2021. While they struggled through the loser’s bracket in their rematch against G2 Esports, Team Liquid still head into Masters: Reykjavik as a favorite to win the entire tournament.

Paper Rex

After missing out on VCT Champions 2021, the loveable underdogs are back on the international stage. To reach Masters: Reykjavik, they dominated the Asia-Pacific region, dropping just two maps during the entire event, both to XERXIA. Now, Paper Rex aims to improve upon their 13th-15th place finish at VCT Masters: Berlin and showcase the APAC region’s strength.

Paper Rex will be automatically seeded into the double-elimination bracket where they will await the end of the group stage.

XERXIA

Coming in as the second seed from the APAC Region, the X10 CRIT core that made it to the quarterfinals of VCT Champions 2021 is back for their third international event.

Since their Champions run, the former XERXIA has remained relatively unchanged aside from the loss of star player Patiphan. Still, even with this one change, they’ve demonstrated their ability to adapt with Surf and now look to make a deep run through Reykjavik. Their first opponent will be against OpTic Gaming in the group stages.

LOUD

Photo credit: LOUD via Twitter

The former Vikings duo of Sacy and Saadhak have made it back to the international stage after dominating the Brazilian region in 2022. They qualified for VCT Masters: Reykjavik without dropping a single map throughout the entire region’s qualifier.

Now, they look to improve upon their previous performances on the international stage. As the first seed, they move directly to the double-elimination bracket in their effort to bring the trophy back home to Brazil.

KRÜ Esports

The only team to qualify for every single international event in VALORANT, KRÜ Esports have showcased consistent growth since 2021. From their first international event at the 2021 VCT Masters: Reykjavik, where they finished 7th-8th, all the way to their miracle run to the semifinals against Gambit Gaming at Champions last year, KRÜ is the team constantly adjusting to whatever is thrown in front of them.

However, the path to 2022 Masters: Reykjavik was their toughest yet as they dropped down to the losers bracket of the qualifier before narrowly rebounding to take down Leviatan in the grand final. Now, they look to prove that they are still a top team in VALORANT.

DRX

Photo credit: DRX via Twitter.

Under the DRX brand, the former Vision Strikers core has made it back to their third consecutive international event. Known as the powerhouse of Korea, they have yet to attain similar dominance at an international event. Longtime teammates BuZz and MaKo look to lead the Korean first seed through the group stages in hopes they can make a deep run at Reykjavik and show why their region is one to be feared.

ZETA Division

ZETA Division enter VCT Masters: Reykjavik as Japan’s only representative, and looking to rectify their own underwhelming performance at Masters: Berlin last year. They’ve undergone significant growth since late 2021, comfortably developing into the region’s premier team after taking that title away from Crazy Raccoon.

Now, under the guidance of star Controller, Laz, ZETA Division looks to upset their early opponents during the group stages of VCT Masters: Reykjavik.

More: Check out our power rankings of the 12 teams at Reykjavik

Lead image courtesy of Riot Games.