XSET is getting revenge on all their opponents from the first two stages of the VALORANT Champions Tour. Just a day after their stunning win over Sentinels, the team surprised 100 Thieves in the upper bracket final of the NA VCT Stage Three Challengers One main event.
100 Thieves played the same aggressive defense on Haven that Sentinels used yesterday. XSET responded to the aggression and used Astra’s utility wisely to smoke off chokepoints and hold off retakes with gravity wells. 100T were able to win back some defensive rounds off some heroic playmaking by Asuna. A smart Omen teleport from nitr0 forced a 6-6 tie at half-time. Both sides traded runs in the second half: two for XSET, two for 100T, four for XSET, then four straight for 100T to force overtime. Zekken was huge on the attack and defense rounds in overtime, leading XSET to a massive OT win after just one period. The 16-year old topped the server in kills too, with 27.
Needing a win, 100T hit Icebox running with a strong defense, playing more passively than on Haven and successfully relying on retakes rather than getting early kills. Asuna feasted on XSET with 19 first-half kills on Reyna, including an incredible ace on the zipline, as 100T went into their attack side with a 10-2 lead. 100T took the first two rounds of the second half and reached map point with a ten-round cushion, up 12-2. Hiko halted the comeback attempt with a gorgeous 3k in the final round to decisively take Icebox 13-4.
The conclusion to the XSET-100T series took place in Ascent, like the decision of the EU VCT lower bracket final earlier in the day. Starting on defense, XSET took the pistol round and punished a 100T forcebuy, but steel prevented XSET from building a large lead with some fantastic plays with his rifle. The two sides traded rounds, including some crazy Operator clutches from PureR, and XSET took a half-time lead 7-5. The second half came down to the wire, but XSET’s attack side was boosted by more stellar Astra play by dephh and late heroics from AYRIN, which led the team to a massive series win in Ascent, 13-9.
With the win, XSET has secured their spot in the Challengers One grand final, a best-of-five taking place on Sunday. 100T go down to the lower bracket final and await the winner of the Team Envy/Sentinels match. All four teams have already punched their ticket to the NA Challengers Playoffs, where eight teams will fight for three spots at VCT Masters Three Berlin.
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