Image credit: VALORANT Esports (Photo by David Lee/Riot Games)
It was a clean sweep for Team Heretics after they took down G2 Esports in the VCT Masters Shanghai lower bracket final.
Team Heretics made the lower bracket final of VCT Masters Shanghai look like a breeze as they swept G2 Esports 3-0 to move on to the grand finals. This was Heretics' first win over G2 having lost the first two best-of-three series earlier in the tournament. We will now see a grand final best-of-five between Heretics and Gen.G Esports.
As for G2, their remarkable run has come to a bittersweet end. The VCT Americas second seed had looked to be one of the tournament's favourites the longer it went on but it would not work out in the end. Given this is G2's first international tournament with a roster that just last season was in Ascension, it can still be considered a great achievement to get third place.
The first map of the lower bracket final was G2's pick of Bind seeing as they won with it the last time they faced Heretics. But it was the VCT EMEA second seed that won the first 10 of the 12 rounds in the first half, including a six-round streak. While G2 only took two rounds in the first game, one included a nasty 4K from Jonah “JonahP” Pulice.
However, Mert "Wo0t" Alkan managed to one-up that with an ace to further solidify Heretics' dominance. He would end up top-fragging in the first game as he managed to put the team on his back and see off G2 in the first three rounds of the second half to take the first map. Game two was Heretics' choice of Icebox, a map they were 3-0 in the tournament while G2 had a 0-2 record and it showed.
Despite winning the opening and subsequent rounds, G2 would crumble as they got outplayed by Heretics for eight straight rounds and saw them get the defuse seven times. G2 managed to take the last two rounds in the first half to give themselves a fighting chance. But it was Heretics that took two straight rounds at the start of the second half to go up 10-4. Even after G2 managed to take yet another two rounds in a row to inch themselves slightly closer, Heretics would go on to take the next three and the game.
Lotus would be G2's second map pick, a map they've had moderate success in with a 3-2 record. But it was Heretics who started strong on the attack side as they took the first four rounds in a row. G2 would get two back but Heretics would respond in kind with two of their own, which also included a one-HP clutch ace for the team's stand-in, Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski in the eighth round.
G2 would go on to win the ninth round and it was Heretics that took the final three to give themselves a 9-3 lead. While many back in North America were hoping for the ‘9-3 curse’ to take effect and it did look that way after Heretics took the first two rounds of the second half. Despite a massive 11-3 lead, G2 managed to take the next three rounds in a row to cut the lead down to just five.
Unfortunately, Heretics would eventually get to match-point but with its fair share of nerves as G2 took the next two to make it 8-12. And when it mattered most, it was Heretics who took the following round to seal the deal for themselves. They will now find themselves in the grand final where they will play a best-of-five against Gen.G Esports for the VCT Masters Shanghai title. This will also be the first Pacific team Heretics will face in the tournament.
