OpTic win VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Iceland

Luís Mira

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.


  • 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

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.

OpTic have assured themselves of a top-three finish in Iceland

Contents


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

  Match PT ET BST
Upper Round 1 G2 Esports 2-0 ZETA DIVISION 10AM 1PM 6PM
Upper Round 1 LOUD 2-1 Liquid 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 2: April 15

  Match PT ET BST
Upper Round 1 Paper Rex 1-2 DRX 10AM 1PM 6PM
Upper Round 1 The Guard 1-2 OpTic Gaming 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 3: April 16

  Match PT ET BST
Lower Round 1 ZETA DIVISION 2-1 Liquid 10AM 1PM 6PM
Lower Round 1 Paper Rex 2-0 The Guard 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 4: April 17

  Match PT ET BST
Upper Semi-finals DRX 1-2 OpTic Gaming 10AM 1PM 6PM
Upper Semi-finals G2 Esports 0-2 LOUD 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 5: April 18

  Match PT ET BST
Lower Round 2 ZETA DIVISION 2-1 DRX 10AM 1PM 6PM
Lower Round 2 Paper Rex 2-0 G2 Esports 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 6: April 22

  Match PT ET BST
Upper Final LOUD 2-1 OpTic Gaming 10AM 1PM 6PM
Lower Round 3 ZETA DIVISION 2-1 Paper Rex 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 7: April 23

  Match PT ET BST
Lower Final OpTic Gaming 3-0 ZETA DIVISION 10AM 1PM 6PM

Day 8: April 24

  Match PT ET BST
Grand Final LOUD 0-3 OpTic Gaming 10AM 1PM 6PM

Group Stage

Group A:

Placement Team Record RD
1 DRX 2-0 +35
2 ZETA DIVISION 2-1 -5
3 NIP 1-2 -1
4 Fnatic 0-2 -19

Group B:

Placement Team Record RD
1 Team Liquid 2-0 +16
2 OpTic 2-1 +16
3 XERXIA 1-2 -11
4 KRU Esports 0-2 -21

Day 1: April 10

  Match PT ET BST
Group A ZETA DIVISION 0-2 DRX 8AM 11AM 4PM
Group B KRU Esports 0-2 Team Liquid 11AM 2PM 7PM
Group B OpTic Gaming 0-2 XERXIA 2PM 5PM 10PM

Day 2: April 11

  Match PT ET BST
Group A Fnatic 0-2 NIP 10AM 1PM 6PM
Group B Team Liquid 2-1 XERXIA 1PM 4PM 9PM

Day 3: April 12

  Match PT ET BST
Group A DRX 2-0 NIP 8AM 11AM 4PM
Group B OpTic 2-0 KRU Esports 11AM 2PM 7PM
Group A ZETA DIVISION 2-1 Fnatic 2PM 5PM 10PM

Day 4: April 13

  Match PT ET BST
Group B XERXIA 0-2 OpTic Gaming 9AM 12PM 5PM
Group A NiP 1-2 ZETA DIVISION 11AM 2PM 7PM

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

Place Team Winnings Points
1st OpTic Gaming $200,000 750
2nd LOUD $120,000 500
3rd ZETA DIVISION $85,000 400
4th Paper Rex $65,000 300
5th-6th DRX $40,000 250
G2 Esports
7th-8th The Guard $25,000 200
Liquid
9th-10th XERXIA $15,000 150
NiP $15,000 150
11th-12th Fnatic $10,000 125
KRU Esports $10,000 125

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.

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.

As one of the top-seeded teams, G2 skipped the group stage

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.

Team Region Players
Fnatic EMEA Derke, Boaster, Magnum, Mistic, Fearoth
G2 Esports EMEA nukkye, AvovA, Mixwell, hoody, Meddo
Team Liquid EMEA soulcas, L1NK, ScreaM, Jamppi, Nivera
OpTic Gaming NA FNS, Victor, crashies, yay, Marved
The Guard NA neT, valyn, JonahP, Sayaplayer, trent
Paper Rex APAC Benkai, d4v41, f0rsakeN, Jinggg, mindfreak
XERXIA APAC foxz, sushiboys, sScary, Crws, Surf
LOUD Brazil pANcada, Sacy, Saadhak, aspas, Less
KRU Esports LATAM Klaus, Mazino, NagZ, delz1k, keznit
ZETA DIVISION Japan Laz, crow, Dep, SugarZ3ro, TENNN
DRX Korea stax, Rb, Zest, BuZz, MaKo
NIP LATAM / BR xand, bezn1, bnj, cauazin, Jonn