First Blood: VCT Masters Tokyo Tournament Recap Day 1

Valorant

11 Jun

Foo Zen-Wen

Incredible scenes in the opening bouts.

VCT Masters Tokyo has officially begun with the opening day matches. 6 teams have faced off in an incredible show of skill and now, with the dust clearing, the results are in for the three matches.

Here is everything you may have missed from Day 1 of the VCT Masters Tokyo tournament:

State of the Tournament

As can be seen in the graphic below, 3 of the four Round 1 matches have now concluded. The remaining match, NA’VI vs NRG will take place tomorrow.

Credit: Valorant Esports // Riot Games

Match Results

FUT Esports vs Evil Geniuses [0-2]

Evil Geniuses (EG) take the first series in surprisingly dominant fashion over FUT. FUT entered the series as the probable favorites due to their recent great form in VCT EMEA, however, it was not in full show at the start of the series.

Heading into the series, EG had first pick, taking the game to Split to start. They swiftly showed their comfort on the map with a dominant end score. The first half began with a good start for EG, taking four rounds to start before FUT answered back. By the end of the half, FUT had managed to pull back the half to a more manageable 5-7 finish. It was after the swap that FUT seemed to crumble on Attack as EG shut them down time and time again to end the map 13-5.

Heading into Lotus, FUT looked far more comfortable. The first half was another bloody back-and-forth which ended 6-6 after a series of nail-biting clutches. The second half was crucial in terms of swing for both teams. FUT took the initial momentum with a number of successful post-plants but were unable to keep up the streak after adaptations from EG shut them down defense. EG’s adaptation allowed them to snatch the last few rounds and push into overtime where they closed out the map and series.

Attacking Soul Esports vs DRX [0-2]

The second seed of China went up against the jilted Pacific royalty of DRX in an incredible series. A key fixture of the game was ASE’s raw unrealized potential that DRX managed to contain this time to close out the series.

ASE began with a pistol round win but were unable to convert much of a lead from it. DRX swiftly took the reins from there and strung together nearly 6 straight rounds. Despite ASE earning rounds here and there, the half still ended 7-5 in favor of DRX. The series kept itself close for most of it, with both teams exchanging crucial rounds win that saw the score tied at 10 apiece. However, ASE faltered in the late stages of the map, allowing DRX to claim the last three and the map at 13-10.

Pearl was also a close affair, with DRX claiming first blood with the pistol before ASE answered back. This back and forth, however, was more beneficial for DRX as they claimed 2 for every 1 ASE did and the half ended with an 8-4 scoreline. Winning the second pistol did little to help ASE as well, as DRX then stormed further ahead with even more points. The map ended 13-7 with immaculate plays from DRX that gave little room for ASE to work with.

T1 vs EDward Gaming [2-1]

East meets Further East in this highly anticipated matchup between T1 and EDG. T1 come in as the swiftly evolving Pacific roster seeking to test their strength on the big stage. EDG came in as a team looking to notch China’s first win on the international stage.

Map 1 was a powerful back-and-forth between the incredible retakes of T1 and the raw firepower of EDG. Both teams were off to hot starts as the half ended 6-6. Heading into the second half, T1 looked to break away with 4 rounds of their own but it was quickly stopped by EDG who put up 3 of their own. However, T1’s lead failed to vanish, and they closed out Fracture 13-10.

Haven was the complete opposite, coming is a strong comfort for EDG. What initially looked competitive in the first half at 6-6, quickly devolved as T1 only managed to put one more round on Attack. “ZmjjKK’s” OP was especially crucial in shutting down T1’s pushes. EDG closed out Haven 13-7, forcing a third map.

Pearl came in as the decider map, and it was close. Once more, neither team budged, however, this time it was the heroics of T1 that kept them alive in the first half. In the second half, they went on a streak of 5 that silenced the cheers for EDG. It all appeared bleak, but then EDG dug deep, going on to drag 6 rounds straight and nearly closed out the map. It was only thanks to some heroics that T1 managed to force overtime. There, they played incredibly well and managed to close out the series with a win of 14-12.

NRG faces off against Natus Vincere tomorrow at 0400 BST. Following that, we have DRX versus Evil Geniuses to reveal our first qualified roster for Playoffs.

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