Here’s what happened at VALORANT Masters in Europe, Korea and Japan

We already covered the first weekend of the North American VALORANT Champions Tour Masters, but that’s not the only region where Masters is taking place. There are VCT tournaments taking place all around the world!

Today, we thought we’d give other regions some love, so join us on this trip as we take a look at how Europe, Korea and Japan fared in their first weekend of Masters!

Europe

Europe’s Group A got off to a pretty predictable start Friday, with Heretics and Ninjas in Pyjamas taking both of their matches 2-0. Despite how lopsided these scores might look, all the maps were close, with Haven going into overtime for both Heretics and NIP. Ballista Esports and Acend were both formidable opponents.

Even though Heretics struggled a bit against Ballista, Acend made quick work of them with 13-1and 13-3map wins. This means they will battle the loser of NIP vs. Heretics in the decider match.

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FunPlus Phoenix seemed to struggle against Guild Esports in their first map and ended up losing it 13-10. It might have just been beginner’s luck for Guild though, as FPX easily won the next two maps, with Guild managing to take just a few rounds. Even with a rocky start, Dfuse took both maps from Alliance.

Guild Esports vs. Alliance was beyond exciting and unpredictable. Both Haven and Split went to overtime, with Haven ending 17-15in favor of Guild Esports and Alliance taking Split by a 14-12score. With the match tied 1-1, it was down to Ascent to determine who would be eliminated. Guild ended up winning Ascent 13-10, boosting themselves into the decider match.

Korea

Korea’s Group A was a bit more exciting than Europe’s right off the bat, with Vision Strikers dropping a map to the lesser-known Nuturn Gaming. Sure, they bounced back and took the next two maps without much trouble, but it goes to show that even the top teams are not invincible. First Strike Korea’s second-place winner, TNL Esports, were in the same boat as Vision Strikers and lost a map to the largely unknown APEX PEOPLE, a team that didn’t even make it to First Strike.

The Group A winners’ match pitted Vision Strikers against TNL Esports, and as expected, Vision Strikers sent TNL to the decider match with a 2-0victory.

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In Group B, we saw DAMWON Gaming take their place in the winners’ match by beating F4Q, while the orgless Team MUYAHO sliced through the newly established APE Prince like butter, knocking them into the elimination match with F4Q.

Speaking of upsets, Group B’s winners’ match was Team MUYAHO vs. DAMWON Gaming. Considering DAMWON’s recent performances, one would have expected them to win, but surprisingly, Team MUYAHO put up a big fight and defeated them 2-1with an overtime map to boot. DAMWON will face APE Prince next in the decider match.

Japan

In Japan, we saw Absolute JUPITER continue their reign against both BLUE BEES and REJECT with 2-0 scores against each. FIRST gaming proved, once more, that they have what it takes to be at the top after defeating FENNEL 2-1,but they were knocked down into the lower bracket by Crazy Raccoon. REJECT took their 2-1revenge on FAV gaming after their loss in Challengers 2 but met their match when they faced the powerhouse that is Absolute JUPITER. Crazy Raccoon, on the other hand, made short work of Lag Gaming and FIRST Gaming, pulling off a 2-0againstboth teams. Their next match against Absolute JUPITER will really put the Raccoons to the test, as Absolute JUPITER will look to remain undefeated at Masters.

In the lower bracket, Lag Gaming had a hard time wrestling with FENNEL but managed to take two maps, eliminating FENNEL from the tournament with a 2-1 score. Lastly, FAV Gaming stayed in the tournament by sending BLUE BEES home empty-handed after two 0-2 losses.

Lead image credit: Riot Games