The VCT Stage 3 NA Challengers 2 has been a blast to follow. After several days of non-stop NA Valorant action, we finally have the new champions, and that’s TSM.
It’s been a long while since we’ve seen TSM winning a Valorant esports tournament, far too long. They finally woke up from a long slumber and are looking stronger than ever. TSM secured a spot at the upcoming VCT NA Challengers Playoffs, so in less than 2 weeks we’ll see if this squad can pull off yet another pleasant surprise.
TSM is back!
The TSM fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time, to see their team take a spot among the best of the best once again. This was a squad that dominated the 2020 Valorant season, back when there was no Valorant Champions Tour yet, but after VCT began, they just couldn’t find that spark anymore.
TSM is finally back, but even stronger this time. One of the reasons for this is the addition of Sean “bang” Bezerra and Aleko “LeviathanAG” Gabuniya to the current roster. Wardell, Subroza and hazed were always performing well, but once Leviathan’s Sova and bang’s Astra joined the show, the team’s synergy suddenly spiked.
The squad won the NA Challengers 2 almost effortlessly. The only match where things looked a bit dicey was in the opening match against Gen.G Esports. Gen.G took the first match and could have easily taken the second had TSM made one wrong move during the long overtime. However, luck was on TSM’s side and they made it out of that match in one piece. The rest of the matches were fairly easy, including the Grand Finals vs. FaZe where they won with a 3:1 score.
Bang is incredible
What a performance by the new TSM players. Bang and Leviathan completely stole the show, much to the surprise of TSM fans and everyone else in the entire tournament.
Bang is a very unique player. His Agents of choice are Astra and Sage for the most part, but the way he plays them is completely unlike anything we’ve seen so far. While he fully utilizes the support aspect of these Agents, he plays them like a Duelist. That is why it’s not surprising to see him top the K/D/A charts with either of these two Agents.
For example, during the Grand Finals against FaZe, Bang finished the first map on Ascent with 21 kills as Astra. He swapped to Sage on Breeze, and this time he landed 26 kills with a 354 ACS. It’s completely unexpected to see this kind of performance and aggression from an Agent who’s usually there to support the team, and it’s also one of the reasons why TSM’s opponents get caught off guard.
Can TSM survive the Challengers Playoffs?
TSM are perfectly capable of qualifying for the Masters in Berlin, but all they need is a bit of luck on their side.
Yes, Sentinels will be a problem, and so could XSET and 100 Thieves. Luckily for TSM, their opening match is against Team Envy. While Envy is an extremely competent team, TSM has a reasonable shot at beating them.
If they pull it off, that’s when the real test will come. Sentinels will be playing against Rise, and Valorant odds are that Sentinels will win this first match. In that case, TSM would be fighting Sentinels.
It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure, but TSM can do it. The top 3 teams from Challengers Playoffs will qualify for Berlin, so all TSM has to do is to stay in the game for as long as possible and they should be able to make it.
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