Version1 became the first team to reach the main event group stage of VCT NA Challengers One today, doing so without dropping a single map during their Open Qualifier run. V1 ended their run with a dominant win over the red-hot Rise team, with a 13-5 win on Ascent and a 13-4 win on Haven.
The V1 players won all six of their open qualifier matchups by a 2-0 series scoreline and took five of their 12 map wins by double-digit rounds. They’re one of two teams to make it through the Open Qualifiers without dropping a series, and the only squad to do so without losing a map.
V1 burst onto the VALORANT scene during Stage Two last year, with a stacked roster of former NA CS:GO talent led by in-game leader Anthony “vanity” Malaspina. The team went on a stellar lower bracket run in the NA Challengers Finals that resulted in a spot at Masters Reykjavík. In Iceland, they took down Crazy Raccoon and Team Liquid before finishing fifth/sixth.
However, the team’s 2021 VCT campaign fizzled out after falling short in stage three, before vanity left to reunite with his former CS:GO teammates from Chaos E.C. on the Cloud9 Blue roster before the NA Last Chance qualifier. During the offseason, the team grabbed Alexander “Zander” Dituri from SoaR to take on the IGL role.
Both Zellsis and Zander absolutely put on a show during the Open Qualifier, with player ratings of 1.55 and 1.47 respectively (third and seventh highest overall), according to THESPIKE.GG. Effys had a solid tournament overall as well, including a 30-kill performance against Akrew on Haven. The winner of XSET vs. The Guard will join them in the main event today, with two more teams joining them after Sunday.
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