100 Thieves claim final spot at VCT Champions 2022

Only one spot remained in the quest for a spot at VCT Champions 2022. That final ticket to Istanbul, Turkey, would be decided by one final best-of-five series between North American teams The Guard and 100 Thieves as pressure was at an all-time high for both sides.

Heading into the VALORANT Champions Tour NA Last Chance Qualifier grand final between The Guard and 100 Thieves, expectations were varied for both young squads. For the side of The Guard, they came into 2022 as a relatively unknown entity. A team composed of inexperienced players, The Guard exceeded expectations with a strong Stage 1 performance to represent North America at VCT Masters: Reykjavík, but they came into the VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier following a weaker showing in Stage 2.

For 100 Thieves, 2022 has been a complete 180 from where they began the season. After going through 2021 as the team of mostly Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veterans, the organization took a huge risk rebuilding their team for the long-term and found themselves one series away from reaching Champions, way ahead of their preconceived timeline.

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Regardless, Sunday’s series was one final opportunity for both teams to either extend their 2022 VALORANT season or have it come shy of the biggest VALORANT event of the year.

The battle for that final spot at VCT Champions began on Icebox, where the advantage immediately ticked toward the side of 100 Thieves. The duo of Derrek “Derrek” Ha and Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk put up exceptionally strong performances as each player had 20 kills. When asked about the uptick in Sunday’s performance, the main reason was “confidence.”

“I think we were just playing super confident,” Derrek said. “We were against FaZe, and I mean, shoutout to the coaching. They do a ton of prep work for us behind the scenes. They are the best.”

Read more: All the teams qualified for VCT Champions 2022

After a strong first game on Icebox, what came next was a sight to see for 100 Thieves fans as the performance and macroplay continued to look sharper as the series went on. Immediately after the game, it was a mixture of relief and excitement for Derrek.

“It is a sigh of relief because we’ve been away for months now and have been bootcamping all the time just getting better and better,” Derrek said after 100 Thieves’ victory over The Guard. “To actually make it is just a dream come true.”

The past few months have been an accelerated period of growth for 100 Thieves’ core of players. Each day of the bootcamp was filled with drilling down teamplay and strategy while also continuing to work on their own mechanical play. That regimen hit its peak throughout the VCT NA LCQ.

“It's been insane,” 100 Thieves coach Sean Gares said when asked about the work put in during Last Chance Qualifier. “We've gotten a little bit sleep, but yeah, as you can imagine, it was just four straight days of matches. It's been insane, so yeah, hats off.”

Peaking at the right moments

Four months ago, 100 Thieves were a developmental roster built around franchise cornerstone Asuna. Now, the young talented core of players have executed the perfect heist as they head to Istanbul, Turkey, where they will have an opportunity to play on the international stage. Immediately, the thought after an intense bout of daily matches was to jump straight into practice.

“We're gonna go straight into practice,” Derrek said. “Few days break and we're going straight back into the server, so I think definitely do some damage as long as we keep up our form.”

Read more: LA Thieves win Call of Duty Champs, prevent FaZe from going back-to-back

Still, in his final remarks, it was nothing but gratitude for the 100 Thieves supporters as Derrek took time to thank everyone for the support during this short but intense four-month stretch.

“Shoutout to everyone that supported us like the fans, family and friends. Thank you so much,” Derrek said. “It means the world to us. We’ve been grinding away from home for months, and I hope that you are proud of us. Thank you so much everybody, we appreciate it.”

VCT Champions 2022 will run from Sept. 2 to 18, as 16 teams from around the world compete for the championship trophy.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games