VCT Stage 2 Masters Iceland Day 3 preview: First to go home

VCT Stage 2 Masters Iceland Day 3 will send the first two teams packing, although whether it goes as expected remains to be seen. Given how intense and close the action has been so far, you can expect teams to fight tooth and nail for their life.

NA vs Europe delivered on Day 2 ⁠— especially if you’re a NA fanboy ⁠— with some of the best series of Valorant we’ve seen yet.

However, our eyes must turn, even briefly, to the rest of the world as some teams will be having their passports stamped by the day’s end. X10 Esports, Crazy Raccoon, Sharks Esports, and KRU Esports are all in the red zone, and only two will make it out alive.

Here’s what you need to know about VCT Stage 2 Masters Iceland Day 3.

X10 Esports vs Crazy Raccoon

X10 and Crazy Raccoon both had pretty tight losses to teams that are now playing off for a spot in the Upper Bracket Final. This really puts things into perspective about how many underrated the Asian squads heading into this event. Also, it gives us TenZ vs ScreaM, but for Asian Valorant, and that’s Munchkin vs Patiphan.

Patiphan dropped 40 kills against Vikings, but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal. If there was one positive though, the match showed Patiphan has more than Jett in his arsenal ⁠— his Sage on Ascent helped X10 push overtime.

Munchkin was the only Crazy Raccoon player with a positive KD against Version1, helping out with a frankly absurd nine entry kills across both maps (only bettered by Erik ‘penny’ Penny, who had 10).

• Read More: VCT Stage 2 Masters Iceland hub

So, who’s going to show up more on the day? It’s hard to say, but the easy money is on Crazy Raccoon. They can play to X10’s rapid tempo ⁠— something that caught the slower Vikings off-guard. If they match it, they should be able to keep their Iceland dreams alive.

Sharks Esports vs KRU Esports

One of Sharks or KRU will be going home after their elimination match, and it’s a bit hard to say who will actually bite the bullet. They both suffered pretty heavy losses against NUTURN and Fnatic respectively, although Sharks did eke out a map.

Pretty much everyone on these teams had an absolute stinker in their opening matches. KRU’s Roberto ‘Mazino’ Rivas and Nicolas ‘Klaus’ Ferrari, as well as Sharks’ Wallacy ‘prozin’ Sales and Gabriel ‘gaabxx’ Carli, maintained some dignity in their losses with decent enough performances.

Was there anything inspiring about either side? Well, Sharks had a pretty good Haven against NUTURN, and KRU won eight pistol and anti-eco rounds ⁠⁠— although they went one for 27 on gun rounds.

• Read More: Derke confident in ‘unique’ Fnatic for VCT Masters 2

However, we didn’t honestly get to see much of either squad, and what we did see wasn’t pretty. This will be a game that comes down to mentality. Whoever has hit the reset button the hardest will likely take it away. If you want a definitive answer, I’m going with Sharks.

Sentinels vs Team Vikings

I have decided that from now on, I’m never tipping against NA. I’m 0-3 so far. In the power rankings I put Sentinels above Vikings, and I had them sandwiched between the two European teams, but there’s championship potential in this squad.

We saw exactly that against Fnatic. Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo looked like his unshackled best, no longer dealing with 80+ ping, and he flexed it. That Marshal clip on Haven will go down as one of the greatest in Valorant history.

However, Team Vikings deserve a nod too. They managed to survive the onslaught of X10 Esports, who kept them on their toes across their tight two maps. Gustavo ‘Sacy’ Rossi made a case for himself as the world’s best Sova too, dropping an insane 47 kills and practically hauling Vikings over the line on Ascent with some crisp lineups.

• Read More: VCT Stage 2 Masters Iceland  power rankings

Are Vikings good enough to beat Sentinels though? Getting pushed by the lowest-ranked team in the tournament that far doesn’t instil much hope, especially after Sentinels dispatched Fnatic. Sacy will need some help to overcome the sea of red if Brazil wants to have a contender in the Upper Bracket.

VCT Stage 2 Masters Iceland continues on May 26.