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The Lower Bracket Round 1 of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 1 Masters commences on April 16, where two teams will face elimination from the tournament. The four teams that will make their debut at this stage are the teams that lost in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals.
These teams are:
- ZETA DIVISION
- Team Liquid
- Paper Rex
- The Guard
In the second match of the Lower Bracket Round 1, Paper Rex and The Guard will be competing against each other in an elimination format, where the loser will have to leave the tournament.
Among the two, whoever wins in this face-off will move forward to Lower Bracket Round 2, where they will face losers from the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
Note: This entire article was written based on the author’s views and opinions.
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The Guard vs OpTic Gaming: Who will win the Lower Bracket Round 1 Match 2 of the VCT Stage-1 Masters Reykjavik?
This elimination stage will follow a best-out-of-three map ruling, where winners of two maps will be made eligible to move forward with the tournament.
Predictions
In the VCT Stage 1 Masters, both the teams have shown immense fight against their competitors in the UB Quarterfinals, where they have maintained an incredible scoreline. Because of their similar performances, it is hard to determine who might be winning in this face-off.
Both teams’ roster seems to be in top form, and neither of them has a plan of going back. Paper Rex’s excellent coordination and fragging potential has helped in the past. However, The Guard is not so different from that of the Singaporean team.
However, if a winner has to be determined between these two, Paper Rex seems to be a better performer among these two. If the team keeps their usual form up, they can surely come out victorious with a scoreline of 2-1 or 2-0 overall.
Head-to-head
Since both the teams are from two different regions, they have not met each other previously and will be meeting for the first time at the VCT Stage 1 Masters. With their equal fighting potential, fans will be up for a stellar showdown.
Recent results
Observing both teams' recent results, Paper Rex has been pretty consistent in their last five matches and has lost only one game against DRX in the VCT Stage 1 Masters.
The Guard, on the other hand, has maintained the same consistency. However, they did encounter some difficulties against OpTic Gaming, for which they have a slightly lower win-loss ratio.
Potential lineup for The Guard and OpTic Gaming
The Guard:
- Michael "neT" Bernet
- Jacob "valyn" Batio
- Jonah "JonahP" Pulice
- Ha “Sayaplayer” Jung-woo
- Trent "trent" Cairns
Paper Rex:
- Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie
- Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee
- Benedict “Benkai” Tan
- Aaron “mindfreak” Leonhart
- Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto
When and where to watch The Guard vs OpTic Gaming
To watch the Lower Bracket Round 1 Match 2 of the VCT Stage 1 Masters, you can head to the Valorant Champions Tour’s official YouTube and Twitter channel to watch it live from 8 PM GMT on April 16 (1.30 AM IST, April 17).
