FURIA and Gentle Mates suffer VALORANT Masters Santiago elimination

VCT Americas first seed FURIA and EMEA side Gentle Mates have become the first Playoffs contestants to be eliminated from VALORANT Masters Santiago.

The two teams were sent home by BBL Esports (EMEA) and All Gamers (China), respectively, with both organisations remaining in the running for the first global VCT trophy of the year.

The first elimination match during the Masters Santiago’s Playoffs stage saw Turkish rookie roster BBL Esports emerge victorious from a close 2-1 series against VCT Americas first seed FURIA.

Haven started with a pistol-round win for BBL Esports, allowing EMEA’s first seed to buy an early defence Operator. The team also used its Omen and Yoru teleports to maximise jump peaks and safely gather information on FURIA’s attack plans, securing a 9-3 advantage as a result. Although FURIA showcased some proactivity during its own defence half, the Brazilian organisation ultimately lost its map pick 7-13.

On Breeze, FURIA took back control of the series by turning a 0-5 start into a 7-5 defence score. The Americas representative was first overwhelmed by BBL Esports’ relentless aggression until it reliably shut down site hits with one or even two Operators. In the second half, FURIA secured its first pistol-round win in the tournament. Despite an incredible 31/16/1 performance from BBL Esports’ Yusuf ‘Lar0k’ Kanber, FURIA persevered through back-to-back thrifties and several chaotic rounds to win 13-10 and even the score.

The series concluded with another close affair on Abyss. On the back of a bonus round conversion, BBL Esports set itself up for a dominant 9-3 defence half. However, FURIA made a valiant comeback attempt in the second half, converting numerous well-coordinated site retakes. But with the halftime score so heavily in BBLL Esports’ favour, the Turkish team had all the time in the world to find a winning attack strategy and take the map 13-10.

The day continued with a massive 2-1 upset, delivered by VCT China’s first seed, All Gamers, in its elimination series against Gentle Mates.

Gentle Mates had a great start to the series, with Martin ‘marteen’ Pátek tearing through the opposition on Pearl. The French team abused All Gamers’ passive defence setups to secure an 8-4 halftime score. Meanwhile, All Gamers struggled to read the EMEA second seed on the attack side, only winning a single round before conceding Pearl 5-13.

However, this momentum quickly reversed on Split. All Gamers looked like a different team on its map pick. Combining proactive plays with smart mid-round reactions and successful retakes, the Chinese team created a nearly unbreakable defence formula to lead 8-4. The second half saw All Gamers completely out-gun Gentle Mates. With a massive 22/11/2 performance on Raze, in-game leader (IGL) Huang ‘K1ra’ Zhihao led All Gamers to a 13-4 victory.

On the final map, Bind, Gentle Mates’ confidence seemed to be rekindled again. Fuelled by deadly individual performances from marteen and Patrik ‘Minny’ Hušek, the EMEA representative went on an eight-round win streak during its attack half (8-4). In the second half, however, All Gamers returned the favour. A bonus round conversion and oppressive map control allowed the underdog to win nine rounds in a row to take down Gentle Mates 13-8.

Following the first round of Playoffs elimination matches at Masters Santiago, FURIA and Gentle Mates have been eliminated from the tournament.

Meanwhile, BBL Esports and All Gamers have survived in the lower bracket and are now waiting for its next opponents. Today’s upper bracket matches (March 9th) between Nongshim RedForce and G2 Esports, as well as Paper Rex and NRG, will decide which teams will be demoted to the lower bracket next.

Starting at 6 PM BST, VCT fans can tune into these crucial Playoffs brawls via Masters Santiago’s official Twitch and YouTube broadcasts.