Image: Riot Games
Many expected Gen.G to complete their dominant 2024 season by claiming the world championship, but Sentinels ended their run in front of their home crowd.
North American VALORANT powerhouse 
Sentinels produced arguably the most shocking result of VALORANT Champions 2024 on Saturday (August 10) when they knocked out tournament favourites 
Gen.G Esports in a 2-0 sweep right in front of their home crowd.
Gen.G and Sentinels had their first showdown of this year's VALORANT Champions when they kicked off the tournament in their Group B Opening Match, where the South Koreans emerged victorious in a 2-0 sweep. However, Gen.G fell to EMEA's Team Heretics in three games at the group's Winners Match to get dropped to the Decider Match.
Sentinels then swept China's FunPlus Phoenix to earn a rematch with Gen.G in the Group B Decider Match, where the group's last Playoff spot will be at stake.
Sentinels sweep Gen.G out of VALORANT Champions 2024
Sentinels entered the Decider Match with guns blazing and won five of the first six rounds as the attacker side, though Gen.G were quick to respond with a 4-1 run and narrow their opponents' lead to 7-5 by halftime. Sentinels then had another fiery start in the second half with a 5-1 run to get within map point at 12-6 after round 18. While Gen.G managed to string together three straight rounds, they could not stop Sentinels from claiming round 22 and the 13-9 victory in Lotus.
Sentinels carried their momentum into game two at Icebox, winning five straight rounds via spike defuses as the defender side. A long-overdue Ace for Kim “t3xture” Na-ra in round 6 then sparked a five-round comeback for Gen.G, though Sentinels managed to halt their opponents' charge by closing out the first half with a 7-5 lead.
The second half of Icebox saw Sentinels rack up four straight pistol round wins, which they turned into four straight rounds and a commanding 11-5 lead. While Gen.G showed signs of life by winning round 16, a determined Sentinels surgically closed out the next two rounds to knock the tournament favourites out and advance to the Playoffs.
Zachary “zekken” Patrone spearheaded Sentinels' march to the Playoffs, racking up 40 kills and 11 assists against 28 deaths. Tyson “TenZ" Ngo also pitched in with 34 kills and a match-best 25 assists on 25 deaths while Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro added 33 kills and six assists on 24 deaths.
T3xture notably put up a valiant effort with 41 kills and six assists – which included his round 6 Ace in Icebox – against 30 deaths in the loss.
With this result, Sentinels joins Team Heretics in qualifying for the Playoffs from Group B. Meanwhile, tournament favourites Gen.G end what has been an absolutely dominant 2024 season with a disappointing 9th-12th place exit in this year's VALORANT Champions and will take home $30,000 in consolation.
