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VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters: Reykjavik kicked off with its Group Stage fixtures on April 10. Two groups of four teams are set to compete in a double-elimination stage to earn the four remaining playoff spots.
In the opening match of Group B, EMEA powerhouse Team Liquid took on LATAM's fiercest, KRÜ Esports, in a best-of-three tie. As the winner advances to the Group B winner's matchup, the losing team gets one step closer to elimination.
Prior to the matchup, Team Liquid had a remarkable history against KRÜ Esports in VCT events, winning by a 2-0 margin in both of their previous encounters against them. Liquid succeeded in repeating their triumph with a flawless victory over KRÜ, climbing higher up the Group Stage bracket of Masters: Reykjavik.
ScreaM shares his thoughts after Team Liquid's victory against KRÜ Esports at VCT 2022 Masters: Reykjavik
The Bo3 series began with a one-sided matchup on Fracture, as Team Liquid managed to claim a 13-5 victory on KRÜ Esports' map-pick. The bout that followed pitted both teams on Ascent, a map where KRÜ had a poor win rate in recent times. Ultimately, a 16-14 overtime victory for Liquid helped them close out the match.
After the match, Team Liquid's Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom took the time to share his thoughts with the media. In response to a question from Sportskeeda Esports' Adarsh J Kumar, ScreaM commented on Team Liquid's upcoming VCT matchup.
Q: Team Liquid is scheduled to face the winner of OpTic Gaming vs. XERXIA for the winner's match of Group B. Out of the two, which team has the best chance of winning, in your opinion?
ScreaM: I think it's going to be OpTic because they are the better team. But you never know what can happen. In my head, it's OpTic, and we are going to prepare for OpTic at least. They will be really tough opponents.
I think they are one of the best teams in this tournament. Last time, they lost against X10 Crit, which is XERXIA now. So they will definitely take this game very seriously, and they're going to win.
ScreaM predicted OpTic Gaming to overthrow XERXIA in their opening match. However, the Thai side pulled off a remarkable victory against one of North America's top teams, qualifying for the Group B winner's match.
XERXIA (formerly X10 Crit) entered the tournament as one of APAC's representatives. Owing to their success against Team Envy (currently OpTic Gaming) in Valorant Champions 2021, XERXIA had a strong mentality heading into the matchup.
Team Liquid is in preparation for their upcoming match against XERXIA, which is scheduled for April 12, 1:30 AM IST / 1 PM PDT. Valorant enthusiasts can tune into this fixture on VCT's official handles across Twitch and YouTube.
