Heretics notably pulled off a massive upset over tournament favourites Gen.G to secure their Playoff spot.
Group Stage action in VALORANT Champions 2024 has kicked into high gear as Spain's Team Heretics and South Korea's DRX became the first teams to qualify for the Playoffs after winning their group's respective Winners Matches on Tuesday (August 6).
Heretics notably became the first team heading to the Playoffs after they pulled off the biggest upset of Champions 2024 so far as they took down tournament favourites Gen.G Esports in three action-packed games. But while the day had a disappointing start for South Korean fans watching live in the venue, DRX in Group A gave them something to cheer for as they swept Fnatic to end the day.
Team Heretics 2-1 Gen.G Esports
The day started with a banger of a Winners Match in Group B with Heretics upsetting Gen.G, the team many expected to cruise to this year's world championship title, in front of their home crowd. This rematch of the Masters Shanghai grand finals for the first Playoff spot in the group was set up after Gen.G swept Sentinels and Heretics defeated FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) in their respective Opening Matches.
Game one in Abyss saw Gen.G get off to a flying start by winning four of the first six rounds as the attacker side. While both teams managed to score three rounds apiece to close out the first half, Gen.G still held the lead at 7-5 by halftime. The second half then saw the South Koreans grow their lead to 10-6 after round 16, only for Heretics to win four of the next five rounds to get within 11-10 after round 21. Despite Heretics' best efforts to force overtime, Gen.G claimed the first map with a 13-11 score.
Gen.G looked like they would sweep Heretics in game two at Lotus, where they finished the first half with a commanding 8-4 lead as the attacker side. The South Koreans were in prime position to do just that as they extended their lead to 10-5 by round 15, only for Heretics to win four-straight to get within 10-9. And while Gen.G took round 20, they could not stop Heretics from going on another four-round run to force the series to a deciding game three with the 13-11 game two win.
The start of the decider in Bind mirrored the first half of game two, as Heretics entered halftime with a dominant 8-4 lead as the attacker side. The similarities to game two continued in the second half, where Gen.G looked to mount a furious comeback by trimming Heretics' lead down to 11-10 after round 21. However, Heretics then proceeded to dismantle their opponents in the next two rounds to secure the 2-1 series victory and a spot in the Playoffs.
Heretics' massive upset over Gen.G required an all-around team effort, as all players racked up at least 45 kills throughout the entire series with three even reaching over 50 takedowns. Leading the way was Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish with 56 kills and 17 assists on 50 deaths, Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius pitched in with 55 kills and 36 assists on 46 deaths, while Mert “Wo0t” Alkan added 50 kills and 20 assists on 47 deaths.
DRX 2-0 Fnatic
The second match of the day saw DRX and Fnatic battle for the top spot in Group A after they defeated KRÜ Esports and Bilibili Gaming in their respective Opening Matches. And while the South Korean fans watching live in the venue were disappointed to see Gen.G fall to Heretics, DRX were quick to lift up their spirits as they soundly swept Fnatic to become the second team to qualify for the Playoffs.
Fnatic had a good start to the series, winning three of the first four rounds as the attacker side of game one in Abyss. DRX then woke up and racked up six-straight rounds to lead 7-3 after round 10, though they only had a two-round lead by halftime after a late Fnatic rally. Both teams then traded two-round and three-round runs, which resulted in DRX being up 12-10 after round 22. While Fnatic managed to win round 23 in an attempt to force overtime, DRX eventually closed out the first map with a 13-11 win.
The first half of game two in Lotus looked very similar to that of game one. Fnatic started strong as the defender side by winning the first two rounds only for DRX to respond with a six-round streak, which was followed by a late Fnatic rally that resulted in the South Koreans leading 7-5 by halftime. DRX then utterly dominated the second half by going on a 6-1 run to claim Lotus with a 13-6 score and advance to the Playoffs.
Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul spearheaded DRX's march to the Playoffs by racking up a total of 47 kills and two assists – which included an Ace in round 17 of game two – against 26 deaths.
With Heretics and DRX headed to the next stage of the tournament, only one Playoff spot remains available in Groups A and B.
In Group A, Fnatic will face the winner of the group's Elimination Match between KRÜ and BLG. Meanwhile, Group B's Decider Match will feature Gen.G attempt to salvage their world championship campaign by taking on the winner of the showdown between Sentinels and FPX.
