OpTic win VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland

The first international Valorant LAN of 2022 is officially in the books. Twelve of the world’s best teams travelled to Iceland to fight for the title of VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters champions, and OpTic Gaming ended up on top. Here’s what you need to know about the first Masters tournament of 2022.

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• OpTic sweeps LOUD in Grand Finals 3-0
• Lower Bracket final sees OpTic sweep ZETA 3-0
• ZETA DIVISION bests Paper Rex 2-1 in fight for Lower Bracket final spot

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Valorant returned to LAN in a familiar setting. The first VCT Masters event of 2022 took place in the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, which hosted the Stage 2 Masters event in May 2021 as well.

Twelve months on, the scene has shaken up a lot. For starters, Iceland champions Sentinels weren’t in attendance after falling short in NA. The same goes for Valorant Champions 2021 winners Acend, who ended up capitulating in Europe.

A lot of fresh blood had the chance at glory at the global LAN as the race to the second world championship heated up.

We’ve got everything you need to know about what happened at VCT 2022 Masters Reykjavík right here.

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Contents

• Recap
• Schedule & results
• All qualified teams

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VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland: Recap

Eventual champions OpTic had a long road to reach the Grand Final. After making it through the Group Stage, they survived challenges by The Guard and DRX to stay in the upper bracket, before falling to Brazilian upstarts LOUD in the upper final.

After sweeping ZETA DIVISION in the Lower Bracket Finals, the stage was set for a rematch for all the marbles with LOUD on April 24. Unlike their first meeting, OpTic absolutely dominated the Grand Finals.

LOUD would finally show signs of life on the third map Breeze, but their efforts were too little, too late to change the outcome. With a 3-0 sweep, OpTic officially took the Stage 1 Masters trophy back to NA.

VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland: schedule & results

Playoffs

Day 1: April 14

Day 2: April 15

Day 3: April 16

Day 4: April 17

Day 5: April 18

Day 6: April 22

Day 7: April 23

Day 8: April 24

Group Stage

Group A:

Group B:

Day 1: April 10

Day 2: April 11

Day 3: April 12

Day 4: April 13

Format

VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland took place in Reykjavík, Iceland between April 10 and 24.

All matches were played in a best-of-three format, with the exception of the playoffs’ lower bracket final and Grand Final, which were best-of-five series.

The top-seeded team from EMEA, NA, and APAC, plus the winner of the Brazilian vs LATAM playoff, entered the tournament in the playoffs. The other eight teams were split into two groups that determined the final four teams who advanced to the double-elimination bracket.

VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland: placements

VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland: teams

With two of the three LAN champions of 2021, EMEA were the most represented region at VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland with three teams, followed by North America and Asia-Pacific with two teams each.

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After some underwhelming results in 2021, Brazil had only one guaranteed spot in Reykjavík, though the runner-up of the Brazil Challengers did have another shot at qualification for the event in a match against the second-placed LATAM team.

FunPlus Phoenix had qualified for VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters but due to the travel restrictions in Ukraine and Russia, they were not able to field a complete roster in Iceland, Riot Games announced on March 28. Taking their place in the tournament will be Team Liquid, who came in fourth place in the VCT EMEA Challengers tournament.

You can find the full list of teams who have qualified for VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland below.