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KRÜ Esports will have to go the long way to reach the VCT Masters Copenhagen playoffs after their tight match against Guild Esports on Monday ended in defeat.
The outcome sent the Argentine franchise to the decisive match to compete for the final position in Group A’s playoff bracket. In order to advance, KRÜ Esports will take on the winner of the elimination match between LOUD and OpTic in a decider match.
The matchup between KRU and Guild was fiercely contested, especially given that two of the three maps finished in overtime for the teams. Guild has officially advanced to the event’s playoff bracket, being the first team to do so in the tournament.
This is Guild’s first international Valorant Masters tournament appearance, whereas KRÜ has four international appearances, including three Masters events and a Champions attendance last year. After winning Group A, Guild will be the top-seeded team entering the knockout stage.
With the exception of the Fracture map, which concluded with a score of 13-6 in favor of Guild, this victory was not an easy one for the EMEA squad to achieve. The opening map on Bind finished in overtime, with KRÜ coming out on top despite trailing for the majority of the map.
Map three on Icebox was by far the most intense map in the tournament thus far. KRÜ led 7-5 at halftime, putting them just a couple of rounds away from the playoff bracket. But Guild caught their rhythm in the second half, winning round after round against KRÜ and forcing overtime.
While this was not the longest overtime period ever seen in a VCT match, fans were kept on the edge of their seats for the entirety of the overtime. As the game drew to a close, Guild took the lead after catching up to KRÜ during overtime.
Guild won rounds 28, 29, and 30, thereby seeing the British franchise make their way to the playoff stage, gaining points for their Champions dreams. This victory brings them a bit closer to appearing in the grand final in their maiden Masters appearance.
