All teams qualified for VCT Masters: Copenhagen

June 27, 2022

by Brian Bencomo

Updated June 30

The second international event of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 schedule is Masters: Copenhagen. It takes place July 10-24, and 12 teams from around the world will compete to determine the next Masters champion. The teams hail from the following regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), North America (NA), Korea, Japan, Asia Pacific (APAC), Brazil, Latin America (LATAM) and one team from either Brazil or LATAM. These are the 12 teams that have qualified:

Guild Esports
Fnatic
FunPlus Phoenix
OpTic Gaming
XSET
DRX
NORTHEPTION
Paper Rex
XERXIA
LOUD
Leviatán
KRÜ

The defending Masters champion OpTic Gaming is among the teams that will be in Denmark, and two Masters runners-up also will be competing: Fnatic and LOUD. To get you ready for Masters: Copenhagen here’s a primer on each team.

Guild Esports

EMEA

Guild have finally broken through to qualify for their first-ever international event. They have come tantalizingly close in the past, finishing two wins away from qualifying for Masters: Reykjavík earlier this year and finishing second at the EMEA Last Chance Qualifier last year. The team underwent a roster rebuild heading into the VCT 2022 season, with Nikita "trexx" Cherednichenko, Russel "Russ" Mendes and Jose Luis "koldamenta" Aranguren Herrero all joining Guild in January. Koldamenta will be making his second appearance at an international event after going to Masters: Berlin with G2 last year. He also was on the Acend team that won Europe’s Stage 1 Masters in 2021.

Fnatic

EMEA

Photo credit: Riot Games

At this point, it would be highly unusual if Fnatic didn’t qualify for an international tournament. Jake “Boaster” Howlett & Co. are mainstays on the international stage, having qualified for Masters: Reykjavík in 2021 and 2022, Champions 2021 and now Masters: Copenhagen. They only missed out on Masters: Berlin last year. And they usually perform pretty well too, except in Reykjavík earlier this year when they had to play with two substitutes. The team doesn’t seem to have lost a step since adding Enzo "Enzo" Mestari and Emir Ali "Alfajer" Beder in May, and barring any COVID or visa issues, Fnatic should be one of the strongest teams in Copenhagen. Plus, for the first time, they’ll enter an international tournament as EMEA’s No. 1 seed.

FunPlus Phoenix

EMEA

FPX will get another shot to do some damage at an international event. The team qualified for Masters: Reykjavík earlier this year, but travel issues for the Russian and Ukrainian players on the team prevented the team from traveling to the tournament. It’s fitting they beat fellow CIS team M3 Champions to reach Copenhagen, since M3C were previously playing for Gambit Esports and were the best team from the region and one of the best in the world last year. FPX are one of the rare teams using the much maligned agent Yoru, so they should be a fun team to watch that will throw some different looks at the competition at Masters.

OpTic Gaming

Photo credit: Riot Games

Of course, OpTic Gaming have qualified for Masters. It would have been surprising and disappointing if the defending Masters champions didn’t get a shot to defend their title in Copenhagen. Not even a bout with COVID ahead of the NA playoffs upper bracket final against XSET could stop the team from qualifying. However, the team lost the NA playoffs grand final, so they have yet to actually be NA champions. Regardless, the team will clearly be a favorite in Copenhagen, and they have their spot at Champions secured too.

XSET

The fourth-place curse is dead. In fact, XSET are now the North American champions after beating OpTic Gaming in the NA playoffs grand final. After consistently being one of the best North American teams but without any international appearances, XSET beat FaZe Clan in the NA playoffs lower bracket final to qualify for Copenhagen. XSET’s heavy hitter Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban came through with 103 kills (24 more than any other player) in their match against FaZe, and with only 60 deaths he had a +/- of +43.

DRX

Korea

Photo credit: Riot Games

The kings of Korean VALORANT continued to dominate the competition during VCT Stage 2. DRX didn’t drop any series or maps during the group stage or playoffs in Korea. During the grand final against Maru Gaming, all five DRX players finished with more kills than deaths. The only international competition this roster has failed to qualify for as either Vision Strikers or DRX was Masters: Reykjavík 2021. They’re coming off a strong showing at this year’s edition of Masters: Reykjavík where they finished 5th-6th.

NORTHEPTION

Japan

NORTHEPTION will be making their first international appearance as Japan’s representative after beating the darlings of Masters: Reykjavík, ZETA DIVISION. NORTHEPTION initially lost to ZETA in the upper bracket final of the Japan Stage 2 playoffs, but after beating Crazy Raccoon in the lower final, NORTHEPTION got their revenge in front of a large crowd at Saitama Super Arena. Xnfri shined in the final with a +/- of +13 on four different agents across four maps: Chamber, Raze, Skye and KAY/O.

Paper Rex

APAC

Photo credit: Riot Games

Paper Rex have followed up their Masters: Reykjavík qualification with a spot at Masters: Copenhagen. They went undefeated in the upper bracket of the APAC playoffs to reach the grand final and qualify for Masters. The grand final against XERXIA wasn’t very close, as Paper Rex won 13-8, 13-4, 13-5. Jason “f0rsakeN” Susanto led all players in ACS and K/D during the APAC playoffs using deadly agents like Jett, Chamber and Neon as well as a bit of Yoru. Paper Rex also have secured their spot at Champions.

XERXIA

APAC

It took an epic lower bracket run, but XERXIA have qualified for another international event. Previously known as X10 Crit, this Thai team has represented Southeast Asia at all but one international VALORANT event. XERXIA were knocked down to the lower bracket by Team Secret in the quarterfinals of the APAC playoffs. They won their next four matches, including a rematch in the lower bracket final against Team Secret to reach the grand final and lock in their spot in Copenhagen and at Champions.

LOUD

Brazil

Photo credit: Riot Games

LOUD dominated fellow Brazilian teams during VCT Stage 2. They didn’t drop any series or maps during the group stage or the playoffs. All five LOUD players were among the top six in K/D across the group stage and playoffs. Only MIBR’s Leandro “frz” Gomes prevented LOUD from having the top five players in K/D. It’s a continuation of LOUD’s dominance this year, as their only loss was in the Masters: Reykajvík grand final to OpTic Gaming. At this point, anything short of winning Masters: Copenhagen would be a disappointment for this squad.

Leviatán

LATAM

For the first time in VALORANT history, a team other than KRÜ Esports (though they can still qualify) will represent Latin America at an international event. Fittingly, Leviatán beat KRÜ in the LATAM playoffs grand final to qualify for Copenhagen. The Leviatán players have been working toward this result for a while, but the team’s new braintrust has certainly been critical to their success. Both head coach Rodrigo "Onur" Dalmagro and assistant coach Martín "Betony" Bourre coached KRÜ last year, and now the two Argentines have brought their expertise to the Chilean squad that has unseated KRÜ as the best team in Latin America.

KRÜ

LATAM

Photo credit: Riot Games

For a few days it looked like maybe KRÜ would miss their first international event. However, that will not be the case after they beat Ninjas in Pyjamas in a best-of-five playoff match between the second-place finishers from LATAM and Brazil. They're the only team that has qualified for all five international Masters/Champions events in the VALORANT Champions Tour. With Leviatán also going to Copenhagen this means that there will be two LATAM teams at an international event for the first time.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games