After Champions qualification, ANGE1 says everything else FPX does at Masters is a ‘bonus’

Jovial faces brimming with excitement and relief crowd into the VALORANT Champions Tour Masters: Copenhagen press conference as FunPlus Phoenix prepares themselves to talk about their recent victory over Guild Esports.

For FunPlus Phoenix, Saturday’s lower bracket matchup had a lot more at stake than just a simple progression into the next phase of the lower bracket.

“This match was probably the most important match for us on this roster,” Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov stated during the postmatch press conference. “In general, I’m happy about how we played it and how everybody came into this match.”

Read more: Coming from countries at war, ‘every match is a gift’ for FPX ANGE1 and his teammates

Saturday’s match was an opportunity for FPX to secure their spot at VCT Champions 2022 as one of the two Europe, Middle East and Africa teams at the season-ending championship event. Their only roadblock was fellow EMEA team, Guild Esports, who exceeded pre-tournament expectations when they took down OpTic Gaming in Group A.

Saturday’s match also was FPX’s first opportunity to play at Masters: Copenhagen with Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin, who had been sidelined for their first few games due to delays in acquiring his visa.

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As a result, both teams went all out, trading a map each to bring the series to a final Game 3 decider, where emotions began to run higher than anticipated for FunPlus Phoenix before the final map on Bind.

“This match actually even got a bit more emotional than I expected because Guild started to scream a lot and talk to us in between,” ANGE1 said about Saturday’s match against Guild. “We became a bit angry on the last map.”

Photo credit: Riot Games

That residual anger after experiencing a one-sided 13-3 loss on Breeze to Guild was evident going into the third game. FunPlus Phoenix’s Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks said that those screams only “motivated” him more to beat them in the final map.

That motivation and fuel transpired immediately when FunPlus Phoenix sat in their chairs for the final game, where it was nothing but business as they dominated on Bind, with an emphatic 13-4 finish on Map 3.

Dreams of VCT Champions 2022 finally reached

After eliminating Guild Esports from Masters: Copenhagen, FunPlus Phoenix have secured their spot at VCT Champions in September, which ANGE1 shared was at the top of their bucket list in 2022.

“Our whole goal for the year was to qualify for Champions, like that was the main goal,” ANGE1 shared. “Now, we’re setting another goal and going forward. We did everything we wanted in this tournament, and now everything from here on is [a] bonus.”

Read more: VCT Masters: Copenhagen schedule, format and teams

In 2021, FPX were one of the most consistent teams in EMEA, but were unable to find that breakout win to get them to an international VALORANT event. Now, FunPlus Phoenix can rest easy knowing that they will be one of three teams representing EMEA on the international stage once again. With SUYGETSU back in the lineup, the team is focused on continuing to grow.

Photo credit: Riot Games

“We're trying to come back to our shape because I didn't play in this team like four weeks or three weeks,” Suygetsu shared when asked what it meant to be back in the lineup for Saturday’s series. “We will play and practice more to come back in shape and everything is gonna be fine. We played well today, but I know that we can do better.”

Although FPX still have some catching up to do after nearly a month playing without their full lineup, the team’s level-headed mindset still remains. This is something that ardiis feels sets them apart from other teams.

“We’re all just level-headed and we don’t get too high or too low,” ardiis said during the press conference. “Obviously, we get pissed off or we might be super happy, but our emotions don’t change as much as other teams I feel.”

FunPlus Phoenix’s victory over Guild Esports now moves them one step forward in the Masters: Copenhagen playoff bracket where their opponent is yet to be decided.

For now, they will have an extra day to prepare and rejuvenate for their next match on Monday. Two upper bracket semifinal matchups -- Paper Rex vs. Fnatic and OpTic Gaming vs. DRX -- will take place Sunday. The winners of these two matches will move forward into the upper bracket final while the losers wil drop down into the lower bracket to face off against FunPlus Phoenix or Leviatán.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games