Envy joins Sentinels at airport as NA's finest exit Valorant Champions

Valorant Champions has been a wild ride for fans of Riot's tactical shooter and we've barely just got past the group stage. We've had drama on and off the game, trash talk, and of course, upset-filled matchdays that have seen North America fans' hopes completely diminish. 

Cloud9 Blue, Sentinels, and Team Envy all looked shaky throughout the first few days of competition, dropping maps and losing in the direct head-to-head matchup against EMEA representatives (Fnatic, Acend, and Team Liquid respectively).

What many believed would be mere formality for NA squads turned into a nightmare, with C9B being the only team that remains in the competition (oddly enough the team with the toughest match on paper, eliminating Vision Strikers) following KRÜ's historic win over Sentinels, and now, X10's disposing of Envy.

The Southeast Asia squad didn't come into Champions as a favourite to enter the final bracket, let alone win a match. Their first outing against Envy themselves ended in a relatively competitive 2-0 (13-7 on Split, and 14-12 on Breeze) victory for the North Americans.

A valiant effort for a team whose only international win at a LAN back in Iceland was against Crazy Raccoon, possibly the weakest roster in the entirety of Champions. With Vivo Keyd up next, fans and analysts predicted that the Brazilians, who were knocked out to the lower bracket by Acend in controversial fashion, were due for a much needed positive result -- one that did not come.

Once again matching against Envy, albeit in different maps, X10 CRIT cemented their growth as a team, both individually and collectively, giving Envy a run for their money on Icebox, 13-10, before dealing the final blow on Split and Haven.

Similarly to what happened with Sentinels, Envy was poised to close out map three with a comfortable 9-3 lead at the half, needing four round wins as attackers to secure their spot on the final bracket. 

I swear, SEA jetts, specifically @itsPatiphan have an UNBELIEVABLE ability to just WIN once their team gets them to the finish line.

Every game I've watched of X10 that's a close game has been Patiphan hitting a ridiculous last round.#VALORANTChampionspic.twitter.com/mVAewngImz

— Ballatw (@Ballatw) December 7, 2021

With this win, X10 CRIT is set to face Gambit Esports on 9th December.

• Read more: Champions Berlin KRÜ Keznit: "Most teams underestimate us, and end up like Sentinels"
  

Enjoy Valorant Champions, and remember to check back with us for all the latest Valorant news and guides!

Featured image courtesy of Riot Games and Getty Images.