With the first day of VCT Masters 3 in the books, we saw some teams stand out and some teams take a backseat.

This is a double-elimination Group Stage, so losing teams still have a chance to make it to the end of the event.

Ahead, we’ll discuss our biggest takeaways from the first day of matches. 

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Acend mean business

Acend might be coming off of two losses to SMB and Gambit, but you wouldn’t know it by their play.

The EU veterans destroyed SuperMassive Blaze in their rematch, winning 13-5 on Bind and 13-9 on Ascent.

cNed, specifically, was feeling it today. He characteristically fragged on Jett and Sage, leading his team on both maps.

G2 scrape by

G2 was thought to be one of the leaders in the EMEA region, but had been underperforming until their VCT Stage 3 run.

Fans had high hopes for the squad heading into masters, where they had a favorable draw of facing Korea’s F4Q in the first round.

Surprisingly, the matchup wasn’t as lopsided as fans thought it might be. The underdog F4Q squad stood strong after a 13-5 loss on Ascent, winning Bind and playing a close one on Haven.

We still have a lot of Valorant to play, but it’s hard to see them getting past Sentinels and any of the other NA or EMEA teams.

100T make it look easy

100 Thieves did what you’d expect when facing Havan Liberty out of Brazil.

The former dominated on Ascent, then brought it to Icebox where they’re always a favorite. Although Havan slowed 100T down a bit on the second map, the NA stars made things look easy.

100 Thieves had confidence, clutches, W-keys, and a lot of IRL BM. Steel shouted at the opposing team multiple times throughout the match, even telling Havan that they were going B on game point of Ascent. Of course, they cleaned it up and won.

Jimmy Russo is a writer and editor for jaxon.gg covering a variety of games and topics. He specializes in first-person shooters including Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Valorant, while also covering livestreaming news on Twitch and other aspects of the gaming industry.