Sentinels take first Valorant regional title after three years in VCT Americas Kickoff
Sentinels, North America’s fan-favorite Valorant team, paved their road to redemption on the spectacular VCT Americas Kickoff run and qualified for their first international event in three years.
In the league of Valorant’s top-tier competitive scene, the tides of “meta” swing ever so frequently that even the most dominant teams could not predict their future. While we see teams on a winning streak like EMEA’s Fnatic or an “underdog tale” like Evil Geniuses’ 2023 win, it’s hard for teams to stay on the top.
However, it seems Valorant’s first international tournament winner is now on their road to redemption as Sentinels nabbed their first regional title in almost three years in VCT Americas Kickoff.
Aside from earning their first win in years, Sentinels also qualified for their first international tournament in the same period. The top two teams of the VCT Kickoff tournament are slated to compete in the first international tourney of VCT 2024 at Masters Madrid.
Sentinels shows the “new era” of VCT
It was far from an easy path for Sentinels to reclaim their Valorant glory. The team first lost to finals opponent, LOUD, in the tournament’s group stage and had to go through the loser’s bracket and the play-ins stage of the VCT Kickoff.
Out of all final four teams in the VCT Americas Kickoff semifinals, Sentinels had to play the most rounds and maps – even beating the games all three other groups played.
Sentinels showed early dominance in the final match against LOUD, bagging the first two maps with a stellar 13-3 performance on Split. However, LOUD was able to push the fight longer to five maps, to the delight of fans worldwide.
TenZ, now manning the controller post, and duelist Zekken top the ranks of most frags with 84 and 83 kills, respectively.
VCT Americas’ unexpected turnout is not alone to shock Valorant fans worldwide. Some of the most powerful teams in VCT history also missed VCT Madrid, with none of Evil Geniuses’ VCT 2023 Champions qualifying for this year’s first international competition.
Sentinels were also awarded three circuit points for their VCT kickoff win. These circuit points will determine which teams qualify for VCT Champions later this year.
Fans wouldn’t have to wait long to see more of SenCity’s renewed strength, as the VCT Masters Madrid is set to take action on March 14, 2024. Joining Sentinels and LOUD are Pacific’s Paper Rex and Gen.G, EMEA’s Team Heretics and Karmine Corp., and China’s EDward Gaming and Funplus Phoenix.