The first week of
VALORANT Champions came to an end this Sunday with the Group A matches. All sixteen teams have now entered the competition, and one of the favorites,
100 Thieves, made a strong start by defeating
T1. In the day's second match,
FUT Esports dominated
JD Gaming, leaving the VCT China region without a win at the end of the opening week.
Expected to be one of the biggest contenders for the title after their victory at the Esports World Cup and VCT Americas Stage 2, 100 Thieves were pushed by T1. On the first map, Summit, T1 managed to stay within striking distance of their opponents, notably thanks to Kim "Meteor" Tae-oh's Chamber. 100 Thieves took control on their attacking side through their own Chamber, Matthew "Cryocells" Panganiban, and secured a 13-8 win.
T1 got off to a better start on the second map, Ascent, and remained level with their opponents until 9-9. 100 Thieves then won four consecutive rounds thanks to their Duelist duo of Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk and Timothée "Timotino" Lavigne Dupont. With this victory, the Americas' No. 1 seed joins the other teams from the region, all of whom have started the competition with a win.
China sinking
Unlike the Americas region, the Chinese teams have made a disastrous start on home soil. Four defeats in as many matches and not a single map won. JD Gaming had an opportunity to save China's honor, but the first map only deepened the region's struggles. After being beaten 13-1 on Ascent, the series looked set to become a demonstration of strength from the Turkish team, with China's No. 2 seed unable to match FUT's individual skill.
The recent Stage 2 finalists nevertheless bounced back on Summit, producing one of the closest maps of the competition so far and the best performance from a Chinese team with 10 rounds scored. It was not enough, however. Powered by a strong performance from their Duelist Doğan "xeus" Gözgen, EMEA's No. 3 seed secured a 2-0 victory and will face 100 Thieves on Wednesday for a place in the Champions playoffs. Meanwhile, JDG will fight for their survival against T1 in a decisive match on Friday.
