Fnatic continued their journey in the lower bracket of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Toronto after defeating Sentinels.
The series saw an intense back-and-forth from each side as both sides faced elimination from the tournament.
Fnatic barely took the series 2-1 to proceed in the lower bracket to face G2 Esports on Friday.
Sentinels sunsets Fnatic’s early hopes
The first map took Fnatic to Sunset, where they have little experience on, with the exception of their loss to Gen.G Esports.
Their inexperience showed as Sentinels took the first few rounds and the lead on the map.
To stem the bleeding, Fnatic called an early pause to help break Sentinels’ momentum.
Having saved their credits and regrouped, Fnatic were able to get on the board.
However, the in-game leader Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett seemed uncharacteristically quiet, showing the attitude of the team at that moment.
He was right to be concerned, as Fnatic fumbled round 7 with Austin ‘crashies’ Roberts accidentally taking out a spike planting Kajetan ‘kaajak’ Haremski.
They were eventually able to regain their footing to take a few more rounds, but Sentinels ended the half with a lead of 8-4.
Sentinels were quick to pick up where they left off to take the early rounds in the half.
At some point in the second half, Fnatic burst into life with Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov pulling off a cheeky defuse and kaajak winning the clutch.
For a moment, it looked as if Fnatic were back in the match, bringing the score to 11-9 in favour of Sentinels.
Boaster was soon back to his usual self as he and Emir ‘Alfajer’ Beder were out of their seats to stare down Sentinels.
Unfortunately for Fnatic, it was one 4k from Marshall ‘N4RRATE’ Massey, and an aggressive push from defence was enough to end the game for Sentinels
Sentinels eventually took the first map in a close but deserved victory at 13-9.
Fnatic ascend to new heights
Fnatic brought Sentinels to Ascent for the second map, with a return to the map and team composition, which saved them against Rex Regum Qeon.
Despite a slightly shaky start, Fnatic were able to take the early lead.
However, Fnatic were unable to convert the bonus round as Sentinels got their first round on the board.
Fnatic were undeterred and bounced back to control the game.
Alfajer went as far as to secure yet another 4k for himself.
It was Fnatic’s half to take, however, Sentinels would take crucial rounds to close the gap and preserve the team’s economy.
In the end, Fnatic were able to keep Sentinels under control to end the half 8-4 in their favour
Retaining their momentum from the first half, Fnatic took the first few rounds to edge closer to taking the second map.
With only three rounds left for Fnatic, the team almost got too comfortable as Sentinels came back at them.
Eventually, the team called a timeout as Sentials closed the gap down to 7-10.
This proved to be super effective for the London-based organisation, as they were able to close out the game 13-7.
Fnatic’s ice-cold response
Everything was on the line for the final map on Icebox.
Both sides were familiar with the map, making it a fair series decider.
Sentinels committed hard towards the B-site, which allowed them to take the first few rounds.
Fnatic decided to match the aggression with a pushout with pistols and securing the thrifty.
Despite their efforts, Sentinels were able to stall long enough for the spike to detonate, thanks in part to Amine ‘johnq’ Ouarid.
Another thrifty round gave Fantic the opportunity to gain some much-needed momentum.
Bringing the score back to 3-4, Sentinels called a timeout to try and halt any progress that Fnatic had made.
Initially, it wasn’t enough as Fnatic were brought back to life, with boaster giving fans a show both in-game and on stage.
Despite this, it was neck and neck to the very end of the half, which eventually went the way of Sentinels, 7-5.
With a newly found sense of confidence, Fnatic took the first few rounds in the second half to even up the score once again.
This could easily describe the following rounds as both teams traded kill for kill as the score remained even.
The silence in the arena said so much as both players and fans were completely focused on the game.
It seemed that Alfajer had enough as he jumped out into Sentinels with an Operator in hand.
This proved enough to give Fnatic the advantage at 11-8 heading into the final stages of the game.
Eventually, Fnatic were able to close out the map and series to continue their journey at VCT Masters Toronto.
Adding one more thing to their victory, Boaster and Chronicle threw the Sentinels’ mascot, Cubert, in a rubbish bag to send Sentinels home.
Meanwhile, Boaster closed out their celebrations with his rendition of ‘Gnarly’ by K-pop girl group Katseye.
Fnatic now take on G2 Esports in the lower bracket set to take place on Friday, June 20th at 8pm BST.
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