100T, EG, Ghost, and Sentinels fill out the Stage 2 Group Stage

The second and final open qualifier for VCT NA: Stage 2 took place over the weekend. 100 Thieves 100 Thieves North America Rank #7 zander Alexander Dituri Cryocells Matthew Panganiban eeiu Daniel Vucenovic Boostio Kelden Pupello Asuna Peter Mazuryk , Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses North America Rank #21 Derrek Derrek Ha NaturE Nicholas Garrison supamen Phat Le icy Jacob Lange yay Jaccob Whiteaker , Ghost Gaming Ghost Gaming Inactive koalanoob Gianfranco Potestio NiSMO Marc-Andre Tayar aproto Alex Protopapas brawk Brock Somerhalder johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid , and Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #3 N4RRATE Marshall Massey bang Sean Bezerra Zellsis Jordan Montemurro zekken Zachary Patrone johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid clinched the final four spots in the group stage.

The first team to qualify was a familiar face with a new look. 100T rebuilt their roster after a disappointing Stage 1, but they failed to make it through the first qualifier due to two close losses to TSM TSM North America Rank #9 Recoil seven Johann Hernandez gMd Anthony Guimond vora sym Tyler Porter . Their performance was enough to get them a bye to the round of 32 in this qualifier, and they only needed three wins over Team Reckaroo Team Reckaroo Inactive Blahst Nathan Brand Tim Timothy Braun kev Kevin Pham Nanners Anderson Lutkehus yiinel Elias Soto , Soniqs Soniqs Inactive and NYFU NYFU Inactive oderus Chad Miller YaBoiDre Diondre Bond ShoT_UP Andrew Orlowski neptune Jason Tran JSUNG Jason Sung to reach the qualification match.

The last obstacle in the way of their redemption was an Akrew Akrew Inactive gucc107 Andrew Gutnichenko Neon Austin Hedge Paincakes Jake Hass jovahnii Jovanni Miramontes ZachaREEE Zachary Lombardo squad looking to continue their underdog story after knocking Sentinels to the lower bracket. 100T took the early lead and never looked back. They waltzed to the group stage with a 13-7 victory on Split followed by a 13-1 rout on Breeze. Asuna led the way with a monstrous 44 kills to only 16 deaths.

Another Stage 1 contestant looking for success with an updated roster was EG. They suffered defeats at the hands of 100T and Version1 Version1 Inactive in the first qualifier, however, V1 were upset just before the rematch in this qualifier. With only fresh opponents ahead of them, EG defeated PUGSTARS PUGSTARS Inactive DENYA Denis Kosogov intox Liam Wilson AntoL Anthony Lariviere , Ghost, and Girl Kissers Girl Kissers Inactive ROY Roy Ahad randyySAVAGE Devon Bréard Okeanos Anthony Nguyen duck Chris Dutoit RetrQ Alex Kadan to reach their final match against Knights Knights Inactive .

Knights put up a good fight, but a paltry 38% first kill success rate continuously kept them on the back foot. EG never let them get more than two rounds ahead before retaking the lead. EG qualified to the group stage with 13-9 and 13-10 victories on Haven and Icebox.

The third team to qualify was a newcomer to the main stage. Ghost have performed well in smaller tournaments, but they have never managed to qualify for a major event. They started this qualifier with three wins, but a loss to EG knocked them to the lower bracket where they would have to win five straight matches to qualify. The gauntlet began with wins over BASILISK BASILISK Inactive royal Matthew Buick Jangler Dwaine Kirkpatrick , Complexity Complexity Inactive RetrQ Alex Kadan trial Governor Peter No truo Robert Pham jcrueL Joel Cruel agM Michael Abood , NYFU, and Built By Gamers Academy Built By Gamers Academy Inactive BlackHeart Hasan Hammad monSi Ludovic Lefebvre khanartist Nabil Khan FireBallOps Cameron Tomaselli before a final showdown with Knights.

For the second straight qualification match, Knights kept it close. Ghost let an 8-4 lead slip away on Icebox, however, a late streak of rounds gave them the 13-11 victory. They were forced to mount a comeback of their own after falling into a six-round deficit on the defensive side of Ascent. Knights won the final three rounds of regulation to force overtime, but Ghost pulled through with a 14-12 victory in the final frame.

The final slot in the group stage was secured by Sentinels. The once dominant Masters Reykjavik winners have struggled through the start of 2022. A disappointing first qualifier saw them fall short of the group stage. An early loss to Akrew in this qualifier forced them into a similar lower bracket gauntlet as Ghost. Wins against PUGSTARS, Cosmic Divide Cosmic Divide Inactive ChurmZ Corey Koch Tkaz Tyler Kazmierczak renz Austin Dickman tokyo Sebastien Lima syfi Samir Karimov , DarkZero Esports DarkZero Esports Inactive , and SoaR SoaR Inactive epathy Ngawang Chonjor fiziq Lucas Blow v1c Victor Truong Trill Ashley Powell set them up for their final showdown.

Their redemption tour would have a fitting conclusion against the same Akrew team that knocked them into the lower bracket. Sentinels came out with a vengeance during a 13-1 blowout on Haven. Icebox was a much more contested affair, however, Sentinels hit the gas in the second half to qualify to the group stage with a final score of 13-9.

The group stage begins on May 13. 100T, EG, Ghost, and Sentinels join FaZe Clan FaZe Clan Inactive POISED Kevin Ngo mummAy Anthony DiPaolo TiGG Tanner Spanu BABYBAY Andrej Francisty supamen Phat Le , NRG Esports NRG Esports North America Rank #4 FiNESSE Pujan Mehta s0m Sam Oh Verno Andrew Maust mada Adam Pampuch Ethan Ethan Arnold , TSM TSM North America Rank #9 Recoil seven Johann Hernandez gMd Anthony Guimond vora sym Tyler Porter , and Luminosity Luminosity Inactive moose Kaleb Jayne mada Adam Pampuch dazzLe Will Loafman bdog Brandon Sanders TiGG Tanner Spanu who qualified from the first open qualifier and Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #8 Xeppaa Erick Bach v1c Victor Truong mitch Mitch Semago neT Michael Bernet OXY Francis Hoang , OpTic Gaming OpTic Gaming Inactive , XSET XSET Inactive , and The Guard The Guard Inactive JonahP Jonah Pulice trent Trent Cairns neT Michael Bernet valyn Jacob Batio tex Ian Botsch who qualified from Stage 1.