Friday's battle for the two North American slots at Masters: Reykjavik was full of surprises as four teams clashed for two upper semifinals positions in NA Challengers Stage 1. Luminosity Luminosity Inactive moose Kaleb Jayne mada Adam Pampuch dazzLe Will Loafman bdog Brandon Sanders TiGG Tanner Spanu upset Version1 Version1 Inactive in a thrilling series, and The Guard The Guard Inactive JonahP Jonah Pulice trent Trent Cairns neT Michael Bernet valyn Jacob Batio tex Ian Botsch took a dominant victory over Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #3 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid .

Luminosity vs. Version1 (2-1 LG)

The day kicked off with Version1, the first seed of Group B, taking on the fourth seed of Group A, Luminosity. Version1 looked dominant for the entirety of the group stage, winning every single series in convincing fashion thanks to the firepower brought by their new in-game leader, Alexander "zander" Dituri. Luminosity, on the other hand, struggled to avoid elimination in the group stage, only managing to win two out of their five matches, both against the only two teams eliminated from their group, 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #4 zander Alexander Dituri Cryocells Matthew Panganiban eeiu Daniel Vucenovic Boostio Kelden Pupello Asuna Peter Mazuryk and Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #18 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le .

Luminosity started off the series by choosing Bind: a map they had been looking strong on during the group stage, only losing on it once in a very close overtime against Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #10 Xeppaa Erick Bach Rossy Daniel Abedrabbo v1c Victor Truong moose Kaleb Jayne OXY Francis Hoang . Version1 had not played Bind once during the group stage, but they still managed to put up a good fight. Luminosity took the opening pistol and eco rounds; however, they were only able to scrounge up one gun round before Version1 won five consecutive rounds. Despite this, Luminosity kept their cool and managed to win two more rounds, leaving the scoreline at 7-5 in the way of Version1 by the end of the first half.

A determined Luminosity took charge for the remainder of the second half, taking the pistol and even converting the bonus round to take a much-needed lead over Version1. After winning only one round in the second half, Version1 attempted to turn the tides by calling a timeout at a 10-8 scoreline favoring Luminosity. However, Version1 were only able to win two more rounds before Luminosity closed out the map at 13-10.

Version1 refused to lose on their map pick of Ascent, using coordinated teamwork and mid-round calling to keep Luminosity on their toes. After losing three rounds straight to Luminosity's polished anti-strategies, Version1 was finally able to win a crucial round before Luminosity shut them down, destroying Version1's economy. They then managed to win a thrifty round, threatening to tie the half. Luminosity didn't plan on letting that happen, coordinating a great retake through a flank from Tanner "TiGG" Spanu that was only disrupted by Erik "penny" Penny to tie the half at 6-6.

From there, things spiraled downward for Luminosity, allowing Version1 to win four rounds in a row after only winning the pistol. This change in momentum prompted Luminosity to call a timeout in hopes of disrupting Version1's flow, but they were only able to win one more round on their attack side before Version1 ran away with the map, closing it out at 13-8.

The third map of the series took the teams to Fracture, where an intense series was brought to its conclusion in overtime. Version1 started off strong, winning the first pistol round and even converting the bonus to gain a three-round lead. Luminosity fought back and managed to gain a round, but were forced to call a timeout after Version1 brought the score to 4-1. Despite the timeout, Luminosity only managed to find three more rounds in the half. With the team seeming to be at a disadvantage, a miracle ace from Brandon "bdog" Sanders in the second pistol allowed Luminosity to reduce the round difference and gain some important momentum.

Version1 struggled for the remainder of the half, winning one gun round before Luminosity took the next, encouraging a timeout from the opposing side. Luminosity then went on to win three straight rounds, gaining the lead economically. Version1 managed to win another round, tying it up at 11-11. Luminosity managed to take a round through a counterstrat, but a post-plant fumble allowed Version1 to take the map into overtime.

In a post-match interview, zander described the atmosphere of the series as difficult, stating “in certain situations, we probably win if we're not under pressure, especially the OT games we had on Bind and Fracture.” Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro stated that the match was nerve racking towards the end, acknowledging the unexpected and chaotic rounds that drew out the match.

An opening pick by bdog's Operator won Luminosity a round, and strategic play on the A site allowed Version1 to tie the scoreline. They then called a timeout in order to prepare for the upcoming rounds. However, their opponents were able to repeat their previous defensive antics and utilize an opening pick to take the lead. Luminosity managed to win one more round on the attack, closing out the series with a 15-13 scoreline.

bdog sat at a hefty 61 kills by the end of the series, shutting down rounds and stopping momentum with his 13 first kills and an overall ACS of 229. zander managed to put up similar numbers despite only playing the Controller role, ending the match with nine first kills and an ACS of 242.

When asked about which match the team thought would be the most difficult, the in-game leader agreed it was their most recent series. "I think when we play better teams like Sentinels, The Guard, and OpTic we usually have more energy and don't underestimate them as much since they are so good," said zander. "We kind of play to their level, whereas sometimes we can underestimate teams and get a little nervous because we are supposed to win." As Luminosity advances to the upper semifinals to meet The Guard, Version1 is set to face Sentinels in the first lower round.

The Guard vs. Sentinels (2-0 GUARD)

The second match of the day pitted the rising talent of The Guard against the fan-favorite team of Sentinels. The Guard had shown resilience and synergy throughout their group stage, winning all but one of their matches and entering playoffs as Group A's second seed. Sentinels had shown more of a shaky performance, joining the playoffs as Group B's third seed after suffering losses to Version1 and OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming Inactive .

Sentinels first took the series to Bind: a map they typically dominated in both North America and the international stage. However, their anticipated advantage was quickly stolen away from them by their opponents on the attacking side due to the well-executed site hits and excellent map control demonstrated by The Guard.

After losing the first pistol round, Sentinels were able to tie up the scoreline at 2-2 thanks to a perfectly-timed flank by Hunter "SicK" Mims and Michael "dapr" Gulino. However, The Guard fired back with a thrifty round after Trent "trent" Cairns managed to find four players. The Guard quickly started to build up their economy and threatened to snowball their way through the remainder of the first half, but a four-piece from a flanking Tyson "TenZ" Ngo and an excellent read by SicK allowed Sentinels to take two more rounds. Despite that, patient rounds coordinated by Jacob "valyn" Batio resulted in a 8-4 scoreline favoring The Guard by the second half.

Hoping to turn the map around on the attacking side, Sentinels attempted an A site hit, only to be denied both the plant and round by Michael "neT" Bernet. Seemingly on the back foot after winning the bonus but losing the next gun round, Sentinels attempted a change of pace by gaining an opening pick and prodding rotations out of The Guard, allowing them to punish over-extended players. In a successful attempt to deny any sort of momentum, The Guard called a timeout and took the next round on a thrifty win thanks to opening picks created by trent and Jonah "JonahP" Pulice. Out of options, Sentinels were unable to dig up any more wins as The Guard closed out Bind with a 13-6 scoreline. dapr noted the many rounds lost to the unexpected, stating "I think it has to do with momentum early, if we lose really weird rounds."

Icebox was the next destination for the two teams, and The Guard showed how confident they were feeling on their map pick despite the mirror composition from both sides. After winning the pistol and eco rounds, The Guard only allowed Sentinels to win a single round before closing out the map at 13-1. Witty site hits and utility usage allowed the scales of balance to tip towards The Guard during their gunfights. Ha "Sayaplayer" Jeong-woo (하정우) especially put on an amazing performance, finding important picks with his Operator and finishing Icebox with an ACS of 391.

When asked about his team's victory against Sentinels in a post-match interview, trent expressed how high their morale was, stating it was "almost indescribable; it's such a good feeling inside, beating this top team and showing everyone what we're made of." The Guard have cemented themselves as one of the top North American teams likely to advance to Masters: Reykjavik. They are set to face Luminosity in the upper semifinals as they advance throughout the playoffs. Sentinels will drop the lower bracket and clash against Version1 in an attempt to keep their tournament run alive.

Looking Ahead

Both matches of the upper semifinals will take place on Saturday, featuring the victors of the upper quarterfinals.

• Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #10 Xeppaa Erick Bach Rossy Daniel Abedrabbo v1c Victor Truong moose Kaleb Jayne OXY Francis Hoang vs. OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming Inactive
• Luminosity Luminosity Inactive moose Kaleb Jayne mada Adam Pampuch dazzLe Will Loafman bdog Brandon Sanders TiGG Tanner Spanu vs. The Guard The Guard Inactive JonahP Jonah Pulice trent Trent Cairns neT Michael Bernet valyn Jacob Batio tex Ian Botsch

Cloud9 will battle against the green wall of OpTic to defend their title as North America's finest, and Luminosity will attempt to continue upsetting favored teams in their match against The Guard.

korexicano contributed to this article with quotes, co-writing, and editing.