As the first international VALORANT event to feature a live audience, the stakes are high in the VCT Stage 2 Masters, which is the second iteration of one of the most prestigious events on the Esports calendar.
Twelve of the best VALORANT teams from various regions across the globe are competing in the VCT Stage 2 Masters in Copenhagen, Denmark with a handful of games having already taken place in the group stage.
Four of the twelve teams - Fnatic, XSET, Paper Rex and Leviatan - qualified for the Stage 2 Masters and received an immediate bye to the tournament's playoff stage as a result of being the top seeded teams from the four major regions (EMEA, NA, APAC and LATAM).
The other eight were divided into Groups A and B and are in the midst of a battle for the knockout stage.
FunPlus may not have things all their own way
| What | FunPlus Phoenix v XERXIA Esports, VCT Stage 2 Masters |
| Where | Copenhagen (offline) |
| When | 16.00pm, Monday 11th July |
| How to watch | VALORANT Twitch channel |
| Odds | FunPlus Phoenix 2/5, XERXIA Esports 7/4 |
FunPlus Phoenix missed out on the VCT Stage 1 Masters in Reykjavik earlier this year but were impressive in the EMEA Challengers to book their place at this Stage 2 Masters in Denmark.
One of three representatives from EMEA, FunPlus finished the group stage of the Stage 2 Challengers with a decent 3-2 record before sneaking through the lower bracket to make the event's final.
In the final they squared up against Fnatic and were comfortably beaten 3-0, whilst they lost maps in all but one of their six playoff encounters.
On top of that, they come into this event with Dmitry "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin unavailable due to visa issues and he has been replaced by Alliance player and FunPlus stand-in Mathias "SEIDER" Seider, at least for the group phase.
A roster change like that is never helpful and although FunPlus are fancied to win this contest, it could be tight and the better bet could be FunPlus Phoenix to win 2-1 at 9/4.
Thai side XERXIA are by no means juggernauts of VALORANT but they at least gathered some more experience in the Stage 1 Masters in Reykjavik earlier this year and on that occasion they won their opening contest against OpTic Gaming.
KRU could make experience count against Guild
| What | KRU Esports v Guild Esports, VCT Stage 2 Masters |
| Where | Copenhagen (offline) |
| When | 19.00pm, Monday 11th July |
| How to watch | VALORANT Twitch channel |
| Odds | KRU Esports 5/2, Guild Esports 2/7 |
KRU Esports remain the only team to have qualified for all VALORANT international LAN events since the Esport started and they showed their experience in an opening victory against LOUD in Group A on Sunday.
The team from Argentina fought back from a map down to beat LOUD and set up a winner's match with Guild Esports, who were comfortable 2-0 winners against OpTic Gaming in their Group A opener.
Guild Esports fell a game short of the Grand Final in the EMEA Stage 2 Challengers but finished the group stage in that tournament with a 4-1 record and are favourites to win this one.
But they have lost three of their last five matches and this is their first international VALORANT event. That gulf in experience between them and KRU is sure to be clear to see and it is worth taking a chance on outsiders KRU to win this.
LOUD worth chancing against inconsistent OpTic
| What | LOUD v OpTic Gaming, VCT Stage 2 Masters |
| Where | Copenhagen (offline) |
| When | 20.00pm, Tuesday 12th July |
| How to watch | VALORANT Twitch channel |
| Odds | LOUD 11/10, OpTic Gaming 4/6 |
Brazilian outfit LOUD lost their opening match at the VALORANT VCT Stage 2 Masters to KRU Esports but before that they were on a seven-game winning streak, having not lost a map in the process.
Should they pick themselves up and rediscover that form ahead of their match with OpTic Gaming, they are in with a chance of winning the elimination match and setting up a decider match in Group A.
And at the prices they are worth chancing given that OpTic Gaming barely laid a glove on Guild Esports in their first game and they have now lost three of their last six fixtures.
