Eight teams have been locked in for the first NA Challengers main event of VCT Stage Three.
In a double-elimination bracket on July 8, the teams will compete for the chance to qualify for the NA Challengers Playoffs in August.
The top four teams of the main event will move on to the next phase of the competition, and the bottom four will be directly invited to Challengers Two and will be joined by four more teams from the second open qualifier.
Here are all eight teams that will compete at NA VCT Stage Three: Challengers One.
100 Thieves
After comfortably beating IlluZion Orange in the round of 128, Lazarus in the round of 64, and SoaR in the round of 32, 100 Thieves were forced to use a stand-in for their fourth and final match against Noble. Luckily, former teammate Quan “dicey” Tran, who made way for Ethan Arnold in February 2021, was there to save the day and help the team secure a spot in the main event.
Envy
Once again, Envy has qualified for the main event. The team beat pick-up-group Squirtle Squad in the round of 32, before taking down T1 in the round of 16. The addition of Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen, who joined the team on loan from FaZe Clan in June, was critical to the team’s success, and he had an excellent performance on Omen.
Gen.G
A roster reshuffle in the offseason has re-energized Gen.G. After signing former Immortals player Nicholas “NaturE” Garrison and former FRENCH CANADIANS players Michael “MkaeL” De Luca and Anthony “gMd” Guimond, the team have looked stronger than ever. A 2-1 win against Andbox in the round of 16 saw Gen.G qualify for the main event.
Kansas City Pioneers
Kansas City Pioneers, a previously unknown squad, made it to the main event after upsetting Immortals in the round of 32. The team, though underdogs, consist of three former eUnited players and mustn’t be underestimated.
Rise
For the first time ever, Rise qualified for the main event. The team—a mishmash of players from various different rosters—decisively beat Xplicit in the round 128, zesty’s money crew in the round of 64, Built By Gamers in the round of 32, and Cloud9 Blue in the round of 16. They’ll face XSET in the opening round of the main event.
Sentinels
Stage Two champions Sentinels continued to impress in the open qualifiers. After receiving a bye into the round of 32, all they had to do was beat Evil Geniuses and Australian squad Soniqs. Sentinels looked excellent on Patch 3.0, despite Soniq’s best efforts on icebox.
Version1
Version1, similar to Sentinels, received a bye into the round of 32 after qualifying for VCT Masters Reykjavík in May. With Russian-born Maxim “wippie” Shepelev back on the roster, the team sailed past YFP Gaming and Luminosity without dropping a map. They’ll fend off 100 Thieves in the main event in August.
XSET
XSET, another consistent team from the previous stage, looked promising again in the open qualifier. They beat University at Buffalo in the round of 128, TradeLikePros in the round of 64, Insight in the round of 32, and DarkZero Esports in the round of 16.
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