As the VCT EMEA region enters its first day of the Challengers 2 group stage, we’ve decided to take a quick look at the teams and give our initial predictions. In this piece, we’ll focus solely on the group stage, which will last from May 13 until June 10th.
The twelve teams will play a series of best-of-three matches across five weeks. Once the matches are over and the dust settles, the top three teams will advance to the playoffs, while the first of the top three teams will also secure a one round bye into the playoffs.
Group A
If you’ve already seen the groups, you’ve probably noticed just how incredibly stacked group A really is. We’ve got the VALORANT Champions 2021, Acend, who recently refreshed their Valorant roster and signed some incredible new players.
Then, there’s also Fnatic and G2 Esports, two EMEA squads that always pose a serious threat in any Valorant Champions Tour event they end up competing in. Add FunPlus Phoenix into the mix and you get the recipe for the perfect VCT EMEA rumble.
But that’s not all! We still have FOKUS and the OG LDN UTD – the two underdogs that will have to contend with the four monsters we already mentioned.
This chaotic group will be highly unpredictable and almost impossible to guess correctly, but at the same time, this is where the highest Valorant betting odds will be, so just keep that in mind.
Group B
Transitioning over to group B, we find that the situation here is much calmer and the power difference between the six teams is much more noticeable. This group has been dubbed “the farmer group” by some Valorant community members, mainly due to the fact that Team Liquid, M3 Champions, and Guild Esports will have an almost guaranteed pass into the playoffs.
Will Stage 2 see EMEA return to the top? pic.twitter.com/4gjrlfRAIm
— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) May 12, 2022
The other three teams competing in group B are Natus Vincere, BBL Esports, and BIG. Theoretically, anything can happen. But if we’re being honest here, these three squads will most likely end up getting crushed by the three dominant favourites.
Who’ll Survive the Group Stage?
FunPlus Phoenix, G2 Esports, and Fnatic were the top three teams in the previous VCT EMEA Challengers 1. However, they all find themselves in the same group this time, so it’ll be interesting to see which team will end up dominating. Our top pick for group A will have to be FunPlus Phoenix, but we expect a tough battle.
When it comes to group B, we believe M3 Champions will dominate. They went 4 – 1 in the previous VCT EMEA Challengers 1, and the only team that caused them issues were FunPlus Phoenix. With them now out of the picture, M3 Champions might end this group with a perfect 5 – 0 streak. Team Liquid and Guild Esports will be the biggest obstacles, but we believe they’ll fall before the Russians.
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