VCT Masters Reykjavík Day 10: LOUD through to grand finals, ZETA oust Paper Rex

We are now in the last leg of the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 1 Masters tournament in Reykjavík, Iceland, where only three teams remain standing after the conclusion of Day 10.

Brazil’s LOUD became the first team to secure a spot in the grand finals after they outlasted North America’s OpTic Gaming 2-1 in the heated upper bracket finals.

Meanwhile, Japan’s ZETA DIVISION continue their miracle run after they defeated Singapore’s Paper Rex (PRX) 2-1 to round out the Top 3.

In case you missed it, here’s a recap of all the action that went down in VCT Masters Reykjavík Day 10.

Upper Bracket Finals:

LOUD 2 - 1 OpTic Gaming

The day opened with a showdown between the juggernauts of the Americas, with the first spot in the grand finals at stake.

Brazil’s LOUD were on a mission to take their home country to new heights in the international esports scene.

At the same time, OpTic Gaming stand as the last North American squad in the series, eager to continue fighting despite a few stumbles along the way.

OpTic picked Fracture as the first map, where they hit hard from the start and bagged four rounds in a row with Victor “Victor” Wong and an early 4k at the helm.

LOUD retaliated but ended up going down 0-6, only managing to win a couple of rounds later on as OpTic led by 10-2 at halftime.

Things were not looking good for the Brazilians in the second half either, with OpTic's Pujan “FNS” Mehta putting the nail on the coffin as his team notched a dominant 13-2 win to start the series.

The teams took to Ascent for the second game, where LOUD managed to secure a strong pistol win, followed by another great round right after. OpTic responded by tying the map at 3-3, with Austin “crashies” Roberts leading the fray.

Both teams would then trade rounds, with OpTic recovering the lead at 7-5 by halftime.

But with LOUD on defense, the Brazilians managed to take the lead at 9-7.

And just as OpTic were starting to get close, Bryan “paNcada” Luna bagged two important kills for a clutch win that placed the Brazilian squad up 10-8.

OpTic responded by trying to prevent LOUD from reaching match point, but ultimately failed to deliver with their teleport bait strategy. The Brazilians then closed out Ascent at 13-8 to force the series to a game three.

The teams clashed in Icebox for the decider, where LOUD started strong in the first two rounds.

Similar to the previous map, however, OpTic remained unrelenting and kept LOUD's lead small. But just as OpTic were about to tie the scores again, Felipe “Less” Basso jumped in with a clutch to keep LOUD up.

The Brazilians managed to keep this momentum up, building a solid lead at 5-1 before OpTic pushed back with some resistance. By halftime, OpTic were down 7-5 but still nipping at their opponents' heels.

LOUD started the second half with another pistol win to extend their lead. Despite that, OpTic managed to get eight round wins just as LOUD reached nine.

Still, there would be no more ties, as a big clutch from LESS and two more round wins would put LOUD at match point, up 12-8.

OpTic continued to fight back with two round wins, going up to 11. However, it was too late for the North American squad, as LOUD closed the round 13-11 to secure Brazil's first-ever international grand finals appearance.

Match MVP: Felipe "Less" Basso

Lower Bracket Round Three:

ZETA DIVISION 2 - 1 Paper Rex

The second match of the day was as action-packed as the first.

ZETA Division have punched well above people’s expectations by treating every match as a learning experience to reach this far into the tournament despite earlier stumbles.

Meanwhile, Paper Rex's automatic entry into the playoffs was nowhere near smooth, as the Southeast Asian team got dropped into the lower bracket and had to fight their way through to get this far.

The match started at Icebox, where both teams quickly traded the early rounds. A clean 4k on Chamber from Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee secured a round for PRX, only for Tenta “TENNN” Asai to pull off some great shots to win ZETA one of their own.

Still, ZETA took the lead, with TENN and Koji “Laz” Ushida keeping PRX at bay with some clean shots. Unfazed, PRX tied the series at 4-4 off the back of a 2k shock dart from Benedict “Benkai” Tan.

Using that momentum, PRX then secured round after round thanks to Wang Jing “Jinggg” Jie, putting the Singaporean squad up 8-4 by halftime.

The teams continued trading rounds come the second half, with PRX hitting double digits at 10-6 before winning three more consecutive rounds, closing Icebox with a victory at 13-6.

With Haven as the second map, ZETA bounced back with a flawless win at the pistol round, shortly followed by a 4-0 lead thanks to Laz’s excellent gunplay.

After a quick timeout, PRX secured their first round, although ZETA kept their progress slow. Shota “SugarZ3ro” Watanabe further widened the score gap to put ZETA up at 7-1, leading to a 10-2 lead by halftime.

It was smooth sailing for ZETA come the second half, making short work of PRX to secure Haven with a 13-2 win, leading into the second decider match of the day.

For game three, the two teams took to Split, where PRX showcased their chaotic yet controlled playstyle to win the first two rounds.

Still, ZETA managed to sneak a round win right after quickly followed by a clutch from SugarZ3ro to tie the score.

After a couple of rounds spent trading bullets, PRX retook the lead at 4-3, which they used to keep their momentum.

Luckily for the Japanese squad, Tomoaki “crow” Maruoka managed to kill a flanking enemy, winning a round back for ZETA.

But just as ZETA was making a comeback, PRX’s Jason “fORsakeN” Susanto used a 4k to counter SugarZ3ro’s great wall to win the round.

Not wanting to settle, ZETA managed a thrifty to tie the series instead at 6-6 by halftime.

PRX started the second half strong by winning the pistol round. However, ZETA retaliated with a great Viper’s pit, getting themselves a crucial win. Not long after, the Japanese squad tied the series once more at 9-9 via another thrifty.

ZETA then reclaimed the lead into the double digits with a 3k from crow, but PRX managed to strike back with a clutch from fOrsakeN for a 10-10 tie.

As the match went on, ZETA countered two aggressive starts from fOrsakeN to reach match point at 12-10. And just as PRX was trying to recover, TENNN capped off three kills before dying himself, closing the series with a 13-10 win.

With ZETA's victory over PRX continuing Japan's deepest run in an international VALORANT tournament, both the Japanese casters and fans understandably went crazy for their home team.

Here's the winning moment for ZETA from the point of view of a watch party in Japan:

Match MVP: Shota "SugarZ3ro" Watanabe

With today’s results, LOUD take Brazil into the grand finals while ZETA’s win puts them in the lower bracket finals against OpTic Gaming.

Meanwhile, PRX are eliminated from the competition, finishing at 4th place and going home with US$65,000 and 300 circuit points as consolation.

Both the lower bracket finals and the grand finals of VCT Masters Reykjavík will be best-of-five series. The lower bracket finals will take place on 23 April while the grand finals will be on 24 April.

The third-placed team of VCT Masters Reykjavík will take home US$85,000 and 400 circuit points while the runners-up will earn US$120,000 and 500 circuit points. Finally, the champions of VCT Masters Reykjavík will claim the grand prize of US$200,000 and 750 circuit points.

Feb has been trying to speedrun Super Mario 64 ever since he started playing video games at 11 years old. He has never succeeded, but has completed other video games in the time since. When not playing, he's usually playing music or building Gunpla.

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