In a flawless run, Sentinels swept through Fnatic to win Masters: Reykjavík. The top seed of North America took down the Europeans 3-0, remaining undefeated in the first International VALORANT LAN.
Given the Best-of-Five series, all maps were on the table. Sentinels picked Split as map one, Fnatic replied with Bind. Sentinels chose Haven, Fnatic got Icebox. Ascent was the unknown variable for both teams, and as such, was left for last.
All chips were on the table, and the agent compositions certainly showed that these two teams still had some tricks up their sleeve.
Sentinels placed Tyson “TenZ” Ngo in the Raze for Split. Fnatic answered with a brand new agent composition featuring Jake “Boaster” Howlett on Astra and Domagoj “Doma” Fancev on Skye.
The North American team would start the series on the best foot but a technical pause would halt the series for a while.
As the match resumed, some adjustments from Fnatic placed them back in the game, albeit at a two round deficit by the end of the half.
Planting the spike with half a second left, Fnatic stole round 18 and broke the economy of Sentinels. On the back of that momentum, they tied the map up at 10-10.
The black and orange were the first to reach match-point, but the North American squad would scavenge their way to overtime. In extra time, two impeccable rounds would allow Sentinels to lock in Split.
Having taken Sentinels to overtime on their perma-banned map, Fnatic were looking to prove themselves on Bind.
In the attacking side of the map, they showcased their knowledge and mastery of the map with some strong executes and well-oiled post-plant scenarios.
Things would get scary for the Europeans, with a Hunter “SicK” Mims powered comeback from the Sentinels. Tied up at 9-9, Fnatic called in a tactical timeout.
However, it would just take one round before Sentinels was back on the lead and on to match-point. Chaos ensued, but Fnatic would take us to overtime.
The first wave of extra time came and went easily, but Sentinels threatened to close out the game on Overtime 2. On 14-13, Martin “Magnum” Peňkov saved Fnatic with a huge flank and took us to a third.
But we wouldn’t see a fourth. Sentinels seized Bind 16-14 and were now just a map away from closing the series.
The series was looking done and dusted as Sentinels completed an 8-4 half.
But Fnatic would assemble a comeback in the second time and show enough perseverance to reach round 30. However, despite having a double-kill on the entry, Fnatic would crumble and drop it. The 13-11 would bring the Masters: Reykjavík trophy to North America.
Sentinels win Masters: Reykjavík two months after TenZ took over the spot left vacant by Jay “Sinatra” Won. While it is unknown if the player will remain linked with Sentinels for the foreseeable future, his market value is sure to increase even more following his performance on Iceland.
