The VCT Americas region finally got a team through as Sentinels defeated Team Heretics.
It was a back-and-forth series between Sentinels and Team Heretics but ultimately, it was the VCT Americas Kickoff champions that came out on top with a cagey 2-1 win over the hometown heroes. That win now puts Sentinels into the upper round where they are just one more series win away from qualifying to the VCT Masters Madrid playoffs.
Heretics, on the other hand, will have to win two more series in order to qualify to the playoffs. It wasn't the best of starts from the Spanish-based org who managed to fight back in the second map and almost turned it around in the later stages of the third game but ultimately, its efforts were in vain.
Sentinels stand strong
The first match of the series on Lotus saw two very distinctive halves between both teams. In the first, it was Heretics who had the upper hand with eight-round wins against Sentinels' four. And leave it to Sentinels to open the floodgates with a clean ace from Tyson “TenZ” Ngo in the pistol round. Unfortunately for them, that and his 4K in the 11th round would be the only highlights of the half as Heretics would go on to decimate in style. On the other end, Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius was on top form in the first-half with a 4K in the third round.
But the second half was the exact opposite of what happened in the first as Sentinels went on to assert dominance from the start of the pistol round. They would end up winning six in a row before Heretics pulled one back, only for Sentinels to then take the next three to end the first map in their favour. Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro was ice-cold in the closing rounds as he secured a 4K along in a two-versus-one situation in the 21st round to all but seal the victory for the team.
Game two was on Heretics' pick of Sunset and this time, they announced its arrival in style with a completely dominant performance. It was a near-flawless execution from Heretics from the get-go as they took the first six rounds in a row. Sentinels would once more take just four rounds in the first half, all of which occurred during the later stages before the break. Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius was on fine form in the second game with three 3Ks in the first half. The second half would end after just six rounds as Heretics would go on to win five while Sentinels could only manage one to break the streak.
Bind was the map of choice for the third and final match and for the first time in the series, both teams would end the first half with a 6-6 draw. But it was Heretics who took the advantage in the early stages, winning the first six of seven rounds before Sentinels took over with five in a row. Both teams had spells of dominance in the first-half, but the second was complete chaos. Sentinels would claim the pistol and subsequent round to start the second half, but Heretics would fight back with two rounds of their own.
Sentinels then went on to take three on the trot with Zachary “Zekken” Patrone chipping in with a 4K on the 17th round. But once again, Heretics would respond in kind with three rounds of their own as MiniBoo claimed a 3K of his own in the 21st round. And in the final two rounds of the half with the score tied at 11-11, it was Sentinels who had the mettle to put the game to bed in the end with some solid team play.
Sentinels will play its next series tomorrow against Karmine Corp as one more win will see either team move on to the playoffs. The loser will drop to the deciding series in the coming days.
