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Gambit Esports sweep Team Envy to claim VCT Masters Berlin championship

(Photo: VALORANT Esports/Riot Games)
(Photo: VALORANT Esports/Riot Games)

Russian powerhouse Gambit Esports have been crowned as the Stage 3 champions of the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) after they soundly swept North America's Team Envy in the grand finals of the circuit's Stage 3 Masters tournament in Berlin, Germany on Monday (20 September).

Both Gambit and Envy had dominant runs en route to the Masters Berlin grand finals. Envy didn't drop a single game on their way to the championship round while Gambit made history by sealing their victory over G2 Esports in the semi-finals with the first-ever 13-0 shutout in international VALORANT competition.

Envy entered the finals as the favourites due to their perfect record then further solidified that claim as they started game one in Bind by taking a 6-2 lead.

However, Gambit stormed their way back by trimming their opponents' lead to 7-5 by halftime then winning four-straight rounds after the side switch.

Despite giving up their early lead, Envy managed to bounce back and force the game to overtime. While both teams ended up splitting the first two overtime rounds, a resilient Gambit squad managed to score the back-to-back round wins they needed to take their first hard-fought win of the series 15-13.

Envy looked like they were able to shake off their narrow loss in game one by taking a commanding 8-4 halftime lead in game two at Haven. However, Gambit were once again able to win four-straight rounds after the side switch to equalize the score.

Both squads then traded evenly in the next six rounds to get tied up 11-11 by round 22. Gambit thrived in the next couple of pressure-filled rounds that had Envy starting to crumble, with the Russians cruising to a convincing 13-11 game two win and claiming a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Game three in Split started out as a tightly-contested bloodbath, with both squads in a 6-6 deadlock by halftime. The stalemate continued until round 16, with the score tied at 8-8, but everything started to unravel for Envy in the next six rounds.

Gambit surged as the Masters Berlin trophy came within sight, winning three-straight rounds to take a commanding 11-8 lead. While Envy managed to steal away round 20, Gambit could not be denied as they utterly dismantled their opponents in the next two rounds to secure the series sweep and the championship.

Gambit ace Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov made the winning plays for his team in the closing moments of the series, as he scored four kills off a masterful flank to win round 21 then clutched a three-versus-one to close out the final round of game three.

With their victory, Gambit claimed the mantle of 2021 VCT Stage 3 champions and the grand prize of US$225,000. Meanwhile, Envy bow out in second place with US$125,000 in consolation.

Both Gambit and Envy are also among the 16 teams that have qualified for VALORANT Champions, the 2021 VCT's marquee tournament. Berlin will once again host the highest-level of VALORANT competition in December, with VALORANT Champions crowning the first-ever VALORANT world champions.

Gambit Esports VALORANT roster:

  1. Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov

  2. Nikita "d3ffo" Sudakov

  3. Bogdan "Sheydos" Naumov

  4. Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin

  5. Igor "Redgar" Vlasov

Team Envy VALORANT roster:

  1. Pujan "FNS" Mehta

  2. Victor "Victor" Wong

  3. Austin "crashies" Roberts

  4. Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker

  5. Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen

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