Image: Riot Games
Gen.G kicked off VALORANT Champions by avenging their loss in the Masters Madrid finals to Sentinels.
South Korean VALORANT juggernauts 
Gen.G Esports delighted their home crowd to start the VALORANT Champions 2024 Group Stage in Seoul as they soundly swept North American powerhouse 
Sentinels, 2-0, in the first Opening Match of Group B on Thursday (August 1).
Gen.G entered this year's VALORANT world championship tournament as the biggest favourites to claim the title, having dominated the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) by finishing in the Top 2 of every regional and international event they competed in. But Sentinels were considered one of Gen.G's biggest challengers for the world championship after the North American squad handed the South Koreans one of their two grand final losses this year in Masters Madrid back in March.
Gen.G and Sentinels were seeded into Group B alongside EMEA's Team Heretics and China's FunPlus Phoenix (FPX). However, the two Masters Madrid finalists were set to face each other earlier than many expected as Gen.G entered VALORANT Champions as the top-ranked team of the Pacific league while Sentinels were just the fourth seed for the Americas.
Gen.G dominate Sentinels to kick off VALORANT Champions
The series kicked off in Haven, where Gen.G started strong by winning the first two rounds as the defender side. Sentinels then started picking up momentum by winning five of the next six rounds to lead 5-3 after round 8. However, Gen.G regained control by closing out the first half with four-straight round wins to head into the side switch up 7-5.
Gen.G kept on rolling by winning five of the first six rounds of the second half, with Kim “t3xture” Na-ra even recording yet another 4K (that very well could have been an Ace) in round 17. While Sentinels showed signs of life by winning rounds 19 and 20, they could do little to stop Gen.G from claiming round 21 and the 13-8 victory in Haven.
T3xture led the way for Gen.G in game one with 24 kills and four assists against four deaths.
While Haven was at least closely-contested in the first half, Gen.G were almost unchallenged in game two at Ascent. The South Koreans entered the map with guns blazing, winning the first four rounds as the attacker side before Sentinels could answer in rounds 5 and 6. Another 4-2 run to close out the first half then gave Gen.G a commanding 8-4 lead heading into the second half.
Sentinels looked to mount a comeback by winning the first two rounds after the side switch, though Gen.G were quick to shut them down with three-straight rounds to build an 11-6 lead after round 17. The North American squad only managed one more round win in round 17 before Gen.G eventually secured the 2-0 series sweep with a 13-7 shutout of Ascent.
Star rookie Kim “Karon” Won-tae paced Gen.G's victory in Ascent, notching 20 kills and 11 assists on 11 deaths.
With their victory over Sentinels, Gen.G are one step closer to advancing to the Playoffs as they move to the Winners Match of Group B. There, they will face the winner of the group's other Opening Match between Heretics and FPX.
Meanwhile, Sentinels drop to Group B's Elimination Match to await the loser of the Heretics-FPX match. They will have an uphill battle ahead of them if they hope to be one of the two teams qualifying for the Playoffs from Group B.
