FunPlus Phoenix will get to play Fnatic again in the lower bracket after they lost to the EMEA team in the first upper bracket match of the VCT Masters Copenhagen playoffs following their win over DRX today.
DRX, the team that was formerly Vision Strikers, have been sent home yet again after failing to make it past the lower bracket semifinals. FPX move one step closer to the lower bracket final, where the winner of that match will go on to the grand final.
Besides their own regional Masters tournament, DRX’s roster has never been able to make it past the fifth-sixth place standing in a Masters event. They’ve attended 2021 Masters Berlin, 2022 Masters Reykjavík, and now Masters Copenhagen. Although they had hopes of making it past the fifth-sixth spot, they didn’t put up much of a fight against FPX, who won the series 2-0.
Starting out on Ascent, the game got off to a decent start for both teams. Neither side was able to run away with a long string of rounds, and the competition looked tough at the half with a score of 6-6. The second half began with DRX taking the pistol and second round, but their competitive edge was lost when FPX took six straight rounds from them. They were able to close out the map with a 13-9 score going into Fracture, DRX’s map pick.
DRX could have fooled fans into thinking it was FPX’s map pick, though, because the match went horribly for DRX. The half ended 9-3, and although many teams have made the comeback to win those cursed scores before, that wasn’t the case for DRX.
There was a moment of hope after DRX were able to keep their momentum going into the half since they won the first two rounds, but FPX quickly asserted their dominance. FPX closed out the last four rounds and secured at least a fourth-place finish at Masters Copenhagen.
Not only do they get to compete for a spot in the lower bracket final, but FPX will also have the opportunity to play in front of a large crowd since Masters Copenhagen is the first international VCT tournament that will feature a live audience.
