Sentinels go the distance, eliminate FNATIC

In a matchup between two teams with a rivalry spanning over three years, Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #3 TenZ Tyson Ngo Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid Sacy Gustavo Rossi defeated FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #2 Boaster Jake Howlett Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder 2-1, eliminating them from Champions 2024.

The three-map series was played out on Sunset, Bind, and Lotus. Sunset was Sentinels's pick, Bind was Fnatic's, and Lotus was the decider.

Sentinels won Sunset 13-11, Fnatic won Bind 13-9, and Sentinels won Lotus 13-6.

Sunday's elimination match was the fourth-ever meeting between the two international powerhouses. Sentinels defeated Fnatic twice, 2-0 and 3-0, en route to capturing their first international trophy at Masters Reykjavik. They'd meet again two seasons later in the first round of LOCK//IN São Paulo, where Fnatic would claim a 2-0 revenge victory.

On Sunset, EMEA's number-one seed got off to a flying start. They won the first three rounds of their attacking half, giving up just three kills to Sentinels in the process.

They played solid team Valorant, with every peek having an accompanied teammate and every post-plant having layered utility to give them the space needed for the spike to detonate.

Facing an 8-4 deficit at halftime, Sentinels regrouped and came back swinging. They won four of their first five attack rounds, seeming to have a read on Fnatic's defensive protocols.

In-game leader [johnqt] had a great read on what Fnatic wanted to do, and when it seemed as though the European team could claw their way back in, Sentinels put a stamp on the map, sealing a 13-11 finish that may have been too close for comfort.

It wasn't just the in-game commanding that johnqt was great at – he was also a great shot on Sunset. He finished with the most kills in the server with a 23-12 scoreline.

Fnatic had 15 first kills on the map, but couldn't make the most of their man-advantage scenarios.

Sentinels began Bind on the attack and quickly identified the gaps in Fnatic's defense. Unfortunately for them, Fnatic was also adept in their attack half.

They'd only give up two rounds en route to a clean 13-9 victory, with their eleventh-round clinching execution leaving Sentinels' economy limped for the rest of the map.

In Round 20, holding onto a 10-9 lead with Sentinels threatening to tie the game at 10 apiece, Fnatic executed a near-perfect take onto the B site. Across both Sunset and Bind, both teams made great use of ultimate abilities to seal rounds.

Fnatic closed the map 13-9, bringing both teams to Lotus. Sentinels' most recent outing on the map was from their 2-1 loss to EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 S1Mon Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋) ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) the day before.

Sentinels played a relatively clean attacking half to open Lotus, a map widely regarded as attack-sided. Poking and prodding at the Fnatic defense gave Sentinels easy access to either of the three bomb sites, leading to an 8-4 lead. Two of the four round wins came as a result of them running out of time, unable to get the spike planted.

Fnatic's Boaster described the defensive half of Lotus as frustrating.

“It could've gone either way, but that's just Valorant. It's a frustrating game to be a part of and it can happen,” he said. Similar to Sunset, Fnatic had nine first kills, but could not convert on those man-advantages. “The scoreline says one thing, but our defense should have been reversed in terms of how many rounds they got and how many rounds we got.”

In the second half though, Sentinels showed their success in this series wouldn't be exclusive to the attacking half. They'd win the pistol, anti-eco and bonus rounds to reach 11 rounds, just two away from advancing and eliminating Fnatic.

Facing an 11-4 deficit, Fnatic had a must-win round on their hands. They managed to plant the spike but with one man falling earlier in the round, a Sentinels retake was made too easy.

Fnatic mounted a comeback attempt the following round, clinching two rounds thanks to some time-savvy decision-making from Boaster.

Fnatic closed out the following round, bubbling up some momentum, but it was never going to be enough against the economy-backed confidence of Sentinels, leaving them in the dust with a 13-6 scoreline.

Derke finished 61-47, having the most kills in the server, while johnqt led his team in kills with a 55-37 scoreline.

“It is what it is. I'm not gonna beat myself up about it. I've already had a pretty dog event,” Boaster said with a chuckle following the match. He appeared to be in good spirits, even answering a question from Sentinels' Zellsis , who has been plying his trade as a reporter as of late.

With the victory, Sentinels punch their ticket to INSPIRE Arena and will move on to the lower bracket semifinals, awaiting the winner of DRX DRX Korea Rank #2 Flashback Cho Min-hyuk (조민혁) BuZz Yu Byung-chul (유병철) MaKo Kim Myeong-gwan (김명관) Foxy9 Jung Jae-sung (정재성) BeYN Kang Ha-bin (강하빈) vs Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #1 MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius . Meanwhile, Fnatic's Champions 2024 campaign and 2024 VCT season comes to an end. They claim a 5th-6th place finish and end the season with the EMEA Stage 2 trophy on their shelf.