FURIA & Gentle Mates Eliminated from VALORANT Masters Santiago

The initial contenders to depart from the VALORANT Masters Santiago Playoffs phase are VCT Americas’ top seed FURIA and the EMEA team Gentle Mates.

These two squads were ousted by BBL Esports from EMEA and All Gamers from China, who both continue their pursuit of this year’s inaugural global VCT championship.

The initial elimination contest in the Masters Santiago Playoffs witnessed the Turkish newcomer team, BBL Esports, triumph in a narrow 2-1 series against FURIA, the top seed from VCT Americas.

Haven commenced with BBL Esports securing the pistol round, enabling the EMEA top seed to acquire an early defensive Operator. The squad additionally utilized its Omen and Yoru teleport abilities to enhance jump peeks and safely collect intelligence on FURIA’s offensive strategies, leading to a 9-3 lead. Despite FURIA demonstrating some initiative during their defensive half, the Brazilian organization eventually dropped their chosen map 7-13.

Switching to Breeze, FURIA regained control of the matchup, transforming an initial 0-5 deficit into a 7-5 defensive standing. The Americas squad was initially overrun by BBL Esports’ ceaseless offensive until they consistently halted site attacks using one or even two Operators. In the latter half, FURIA clinched their first pistol round victory of the competition. Even with an outstanding 31/16/1 showing from BBL Esports’ Yusuf ‘Lar0k’ Kanber, FURIA endured consecutive thrifty rounds and numerous disorganized plays to secure a 13-10 win, evening the series.

The encounter concluded with yet another tightly contested match on Abyss. Capitalizing on a bonus round conversion, BBL Esports established a commanding 9-3 lead during their defensive phase. Nonetheless, FURIA mounted a determined comeback effort in the second half, successfully executing multiple well-orchestrated site retakes. Yet, given the significant halftime advantage favoring BBLL Esports, the Turkish roster possessed ample opportunity to devise a successful offensive approach and secure the map 13-10.

The day proceeded with a significant 2-1 upset victory, achieved by VCT China’s top seed, All Gamers, in their elimination series facing Gentle Mates.

Gentle Mates commenced the series strongly, as Martin ‘marteen’ Pátek dominated the opposition on Pearl. The French squad exploited All Gamers’ reactive defensive arrangements to achieve an 8-4 score at halftime. In contrast, All Gamers found it challenging to anticipate the EMEA second seed’s offensive tactics, managing only one round win before surrendering Pearl 5-13.

Nevertheless, this shift in momentum rapidly occurred on Split. All Gamers appeared to be a transformed team on their chosen map. By blending aggressive maneuvers with astute mid-round responses and effective retakes, the Chinese team forged an almost impenetrable defensive strategy, building an 8-4 advantage. The latter half witnessed All Gamers decisively out-frag Gentle Mates. Featuring a stellar 22/11/2 showing on Raze, in-game leader (IGL) Huang ‘K1ra’ Zhihao guided All Gamers to a 13-4 triumph.

On the decisive map, Bind, Gentle Mates’ morale seemed to reignite. Propelled by lethal individual displays from marteen and Patrik ‘Minny’ Hušek, the EMEA participant achieved an eight-round winning streak during their offensive half (8-4). In the subsequent half, however, All Gamers reciprocated. A bonus round conversion coupled with overwhelming map control enabled the underdog team to secure nine consecutive rounds, defeating Gentle Mates 13-8.

Subsequent to the initial phase of Playoffs elimination contests at Masters Santiago, both FURIA and Gentle Mates have been knocked out of the competition.

Concurrently, BBL Esports and All Gamers have advanced through the lower bracket and are currently awaiting their subsequent adversaries. Today’s upper bracket matchups (March 9th) featuring Nongshim RedForce versus G2 Esports, along with Paper Rex against NRG, will determine which teams will next descend into the lower bracket.

Beginning at 6 PM BST, enthusiasts of VCT can watch these pivotal Playoffs confrontations through the official Twitch and YouTube streams for Masters Santiago.