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The Guard was crowned champion of the VCT NA Stage 1 Challengers after defeating OpTic Gaming in the Grand Finals. The former made history by winning the match 3-2 in the best-of-five series.
However, the journey continues for both sides as they will travel to Iceland next month to represent the NA region in the Valorant Champions Tour Stage 1 Masters Reykjavik. It will be the first international LAN event of the year, where the top teams from around the globe will be competing to be the best team in the world.
The Guard got revenge by ending dream run of OpTic Gaming in VCT NA Stage 1 Challengers Grand Finals
OpTic Gaming was one of the strongest teams and a title contender at the NA Stage 1 Challengers. The team performed exceptionally well throughout the tournament and made it to the Grand Finals without losing a single game in the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, The Guard came into the event as an underdog and surprised everyone with its dominating performances. They took down teams like 100 Thieves, Sentinels, and Cloud9 along this journey before defeating OpTic Gaming last night to take home the crown.
The Guard and OpTic Gaming faced each other in a best-of-five series last night, with neither giving an inch. Fans witnessed a thrilling series as it was a roller-coaster ride for both sides.
OpTic Gaming started in style, winning the first map on Ascent with a 13-9 scoreline. However, The Guard immediately equalized by winning the second map on Icebox 13-9.
The team also took the lead in the series by thrashing OpTic Gaming in the third map on Breeze with a 13-2 scoreline. After that, the latter made a comeback on Split 13-7.
It all came down to the final map in Haven, and OpTic was in the driving seat for most of the decider. However, they failed to close out the map, and The Guard made an excellent comeback to secure the map 13-11.
With this win, The Guard won the series and became the new champion of North America.
However, both The Guard and OpTic Gaming will now travel to Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, to represent the NA region in the VCT Stage 1 Masters. Fans are highly excited to see these two teams in the mega event.
