FNATIC
FNATIC
Europe
Rank #1
crashies
Austin Roberts
Boaster
Jake Howlett
kaajak
Kajetan Haremski
Chronicle
Timofey Khromov
Alfajer
Emir Ali Beder
has eliminated
Sentinels
Sentinels
North America
Rank #4
N4RRATE
Marshall Massey
bang
Sean Bezerra
Zellsis
Jordan Montemurro
zekken
Zachary Patrone
johnqt
Mohamed Amine Ouarid
from Masters Toronto in a close 2-1 win. Bringing EMEA into the top four, they have ensured that all four regions are represented in the final stage of the tournament.
The last time these teams faced was in Champions 2024, also fighting to break into the top four. Back then, it was Sentinels that managed to win out a close 2-1 series, but FNATIC took their revenge this time around.
“I'm super happy to get revenge because they didn't deserve in champions to win against us, and we showed them why,” said Alfajer after the match.
Chronicle : “We smashed them so badly, we decided to show it again how bad it was.”After suffering a rare loss on Sunset to
Paper Rex
Paper Rex
Asia-Pacific
Rank #1
PatMen
Patrick Mendoza
Jinggg
Wang Jing Jie
f0rsakeN
Jason Susanto
d4v41
Khalish Rusyaidee
something
Ilya Petrov
a day prior, Sentinels decided to run it back on their home turf. Going into the match, FNATIC had yet to win the map on the international stage, sitting on a 0-3 record. Given Sentinels' comfort on the map, it should've been a slam dunk of a map win for them, which it started out looking like just that. Winning both pistol rounds and both bonus rounds, Sentinels easily got up to an 11-4 lead.
But as
Gen.G
Gen.G
Korea
Rank #1
Foxy9
Jung Jae-sung (정재성)
Ash
Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철)
t3xture
Kim Na-ra (김나라)
Munchkin
Byeon Sang-beom (변상범)
Suggest
Seo Jae-young (서재영)
Karon
Kim Won-tae (김원태)
showed just hours earlier, an 11-4 lead is no safe lead, and FNATIC started to forge a comeback. It took a ballsy spike stick from Alfajer to get the ball rolling, but once it did, Sentinels started to sweat. Five rounds in a row cut the lead down to two, and forced a timeout from Sentinels.
On the next round, however, N4RRATE pulled off what was essentially a 1v5, finally getting Sentinels up to match point. After that, FNATIC's momentum was gone, and Sentinels won the map 13-9.
N4RRATE saves the map for Sentinels.Moving to map two of Ascent, both teams showed up with some unique agent picks. Sentinels pulled out
G2 Esports
G2 Esports
North America
Rank #1
jawgemo
Alexander Mor
trent
Trent Cairns
valyn
Jacob Batio
JonahP
Jonah Pulice
leaf
Nathan Orf
' Waylay composition for the first time, while FNATIC once again showcased Alfajer on Chamber. The latter ended up prevailing as FNATIC had all the right answers to the Waylay.
zekken
, who had been popping off all tournament, was shut down in first engagements, giving FNATIC the advantage in many rounds. They quickly converted a 13-7 win on the map.
Bringing it to the final map of Icebox, FNATIC showed up with an agent composition straight out of 2021. For the first time this year, kaajak was on Jett, while Chronicle took up the role of Sage. While both performed well, the star of the show was Alfajer, undoubtedly the MVP of the series. Utilizing the attack side Operator on Killjoy, he ripped through Sentinels' defense, holding them to only two rounds in the second half, letting FNATIC take the win on Icebox 13-9.
A full dose of all of FNATIC in one round.Eliminated in the top six, Sentinels will leave Toronto with two championship points, bringing them to a total of 11. With their consistent performance throughout the year, they sit at second place in Americas, giving them a solid chance to qualify to Champions.
Reaching the top four, FNATIC have made their furthest tournament run since winning Masters Tokyo two years ago. If they want to return to their tournament winning glory, they'll have to first get past G2 in another Champions 2024 rematch.