Disclaimer: Once again, a very in-depth guide. There is a lot of information, so be prepared for walls of text. Check out my previous guide if you need a refresher on some of the teams. I'll separate the groups to make it easier to digest for new readers.
After another 5 days of qualifiers, 4 new teams join the fray while 4 other teams get a second chance for playoffs. But one thing is certain: these 8 teams have their last chance to qualify for playoffs for Masters 1 contention.
The format will be as follows:
4 teams in groups of 2, playing in a single elimination bracket, and the top 2 in each group qualify for Challengers playoffs: so essentially the winners of match 1 and match 2 in each group but this time, the top 4 teams will get a playoffs berth.
The following 4 teams have qualified for Week 2:
Group A:
FAV Gaming (FAV) : This team was fairly decent last year. They weren't the best but they were always hot on the heels onto the top teams. Sadly, contracts expired and players moved on to new teams. FAV Gaming did have a new roster thereafter (consisting of Bazz, L0B, Phantom, Anthem, Toraneco, xnfri ), but weren't very successful. However, two of FAV Gaming's old guards returned, revitalizing the young roster with "veteran" talent: Fisker and Minty from Crazy Raccoon. After Anthem, Toraneco, and xnfri left, FAV Gaming is now: Fisker, Minty, Bazz, Phantom, and L0B. Aside from "veterans'’ Fisker and Minty, my player to look out for is Bazz, their smokes player. I believe he can rise up as Japan's next big controller, and make some noise in the scene. This roster has a fair amount of firepower, and a lot of potential to be back as a solid mid-tier team in Japan with Fisker and Minty at the helm. Their upcoming match against Blue Bees will show if FAV Gaming can put up a fight without relying too much on Fisker and Minty for victory.
Duelist: Minty (🇯🇵)
Flex: Fisker (🇯🇵)
Controller: bazz (🇯🇵)
Initiator Flex: L0B (🇰🇷)
Sentinel: Phantom (🇯🇵)
Inactive players: Anthem (on loan to SCARZ) (🇯🇵)
Coach: pocky (🇯🇵)
Blue Bees (BB) : After their showing last week, Blue Bees proved that they can hang with the best and rise the ranks as a top Japanese team. Something is still a beast, and now that his Jett seems as good as his Reyna, he is going to be the centerpiece of the team. Kr1stal has been really good lately; their firepower has been crucial in BB's success, their flexibility of agents has given Blue Bees breathing room for their comps, and Kr1stal as a player has been impactful. Zerost and Zenakukin have been impactful lately, always picking up the pace when Something or Kr1stal were struggling, especially Zenakukin as their initiator. Zerost has been struggling recently, but has managed to keep up with the meta and his duelists. From what I heard, their recent pickup Xdll is 16, so it does make sense as to his shaky performances, given that he is young and inexperienced as it is his first ever professional circuit, therefore he has time to grow. Blue Bees recently played against REJECT, and have looked really decent, but packet loss and internet issues has plagued the Russian duelists. If these issues subside, then Blue Bees is a force to be reckoned with. Their upcoming match against FAV Gaming will prove that Blue Bees is a darkhorse contender for playoffs come the end of March.
Duelist: Something (🇷🇺)
Flex: Kr1stal (🇷🇺)
Controller: Xdll (🇯🇵)
Sentinel: Zerost (🇯🇵)
Initiator Flex: Zenakukin (🇯🇵)
Inactive players: Million (benched due to boosting allegations) (🇯🇵)
Coach: Simons (🇷🇺)
DeToNator (DTN) : One of the newer teams in the scene, not a lot is known about this team. If anyone has followed the Overwatch scene, FifTy and Skyfull may sound familiar, but in VALORANT, they have made an impact, as they are very flexible in roles. K1llgrave may sound familiar to some VALORANT fans as he was part of the old Insomnia core with Something. In my opinion, K1llgrave wasn’t very impressive back in Insomnia, but in DTN, he had a lot to show. Mr TenzouEz (yes it’s literally pronounced Mis-ter Tenz-oh-E-zee) has been around the scene as a pugstar, so being on DTN is his first professional team. As a player, he has been decent in DTN; his firepower has looked good, and his flexibility into multiple roles has helped DTN a lot. While most Japanese teams imported Korean or Russian players, DTN imported a Chinese player: Xiaonuo. Xiaonuo has been fairly solid as a controller, helping the team with his utility in spite of not putting up numbers on the scoreboard. DTN’s upcoming match against NORTHEPTION will show if DTN has what it takes to be a competitor in the VCT circuit.
Duelist: FifTy (🇯🇵)
Flex: Skyfull (🇯🇵)
Controller: Xiaonuo (🇨🇳)
Initiator Flex: K1llgrave (🇯🇵)
Sentinel: Mr TenzouEz (🇯🇵)
Coach: Tsurugiz (🇯🇵)
NORTHEPTION (NTH) : After putting up a fight against ZETA Division last week, NTH is back for their last chance for playoffs. Star duelist Mete0r has looked really good, although struggled at times, probably due to communication issues. Korean counterpart JoXJo has also looked fairly good, but struggled at times due to being caught with his knife out or losing aim duels. This is probably due to communication issues. The Japanese trio of BlackWiz, Xandrite, and xnfri has been fairly solid so far. BlackWiz has been a major surprise, as he was relatively unknown before being picked up by NTH, so much so that his last game was July 17th, 2021. Much like BlackWiz, Xandrite has been performing very well, exceeding a lot of expectations given that the last time he played was March 14th, 2021. Xandrite’s Killjoy has looked pretty impressive, in terms of fragging output, and assists. While xnfri is the most experienced out of the three, he hasn’t showed a lot yet. As a team, NTH has a lot of potential but is still rough around the edges. Former TNL coach Bail has a tough task ahead of him to polish this team. Sure they may not go back to their former selves, but experience in the circuit will help this team in the long-term. NORTHEPTION plays against DeToNator, and will be NTH’s last chance for a playoffs berth and be considered a contender, despite having a fully revamped roster.
Duelist: Mete0r (🇰🇷)
Flex: JoXJo (🇰🇷)
Controller: BlackWiz (🇯🇵)
Initiator Flex: xnfri (🇯🇵)
Sentinel: Xandrite (🇯🇵)
Coach: Bail (🇰🇷)
Group A matches: Both games are on Saturday, March 12th.
Match 1: FAV Gaming vs Blue Bees (12:00 AM EST)
Match 2: DeToNator vs NORTHEPTION (2:30 AM EST)
Match 3: Winners of both matches (5:00 AM EST)
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