by After surviving a stacked Group B and eliminating home crowd favourites Gen.G, Sentinels continued their march towards capturing the VALORANT Champions trophy by defeating DRX in a 2-0 victory.
The two-map series was contested on Sunset and Haven, with Sentinels picking Sunset, DRX picking Haven, and Icebox as the decider, which wasn’t needed.
SENTINELS WIN THEIR FIRST PLAYOFF MATCH OF #VALORANTChampions SEOUL! pic.twitter.com/1brgBzRMIc
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) August 14, 2024
Sunset, the first map, was a nail-biter, ending 15–13 in Sentinels’ favour.
DRX found a five-round streak to reach map point at 12-11 after being down 11-7, but Sentinels narrowly clinched the map in overtime.
One of the standout moments was Zachary “Zekken” Jude Patrone’s VALORANT Champions Tour debut on Neon, where he delivered a stunning ace in the first half, his first in international competition this year.
Zekken dominated the map with a 27-23 scoreline and eight first-bloods, outdueling DRX’s Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul, who also played Neon.
Despite the victory, DRX head coach Pyeon “termi” Seon-ho noted that his team could have won if they had remained calm in key moments.
The loss of a 5v3 in the final rounds of regulation highlighted the tense nature of the match.
Haven, the second map, saw Zekken again on Neon.
DRX’s defence initially held strong, winning six rounds on a map typically considered attack-sided.
However, Sentinels’ defensive reads proved crucial, particularly in their ability to hold A site.
A flawless Round 19, featuring a triple kill from Zekken, brought Sentinels to match point.
They quickly closed out the map 13-8, with DRX’s Jung “Foxy9” Jae-sung admitting that hopes faded when they were down 7-12 with only one player remaining against Sentinels’ four.
Sentinels’ head coach kaplan commented on the similarities between Gen.G and DRX, noting their structured playstyles and preference for repeating strategies.
Zekken finished with a server-leading 54 kills across the two maps, while DRX’s Cho “Flashback” Min-hyuk led his team with 39.
When asked about his Neon pick, Zekken jokingly attributed it to “feeling really Filipino today,” adding that the team had been preparing Neon for some time and was confident in using her.
EDWARD IS GAMING!
EDG WINS THE BATTLE OF CN AT #VALORANTChampions SEOUL! pic.twitter.com/yJP3p0XHem
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) August 14, 2024
EDward Gaming, after defeating Trace Esports 2-0, joined Sentinels in the next stage of the VALORANT event.
EDG’s victory was powered by standout performances from Wang “nobody” Senxu, Zhang “Smoggy” Zhao, and Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang, with each player securing over 30 kills across the two maps.
EDG’s dominance on Bind and Sunset, including ZmjjKK’s ace on Sunset, led to comfortable halftime leads of 10-2 on both maps.
Despite a spirited comeback attempt from Trace Esports on both maps, EDG closed out Bind 13-7 and Sunset 13-10.
EDG’s standout performances included nobody’s 1.60 rating and 206 ADR on Bind and ZmjjKK’s 28-kill showing on Sunset.
Now, EDward Gaming and Sentinels will face off in the upper semifinals on August 17.
EDG, aiming to break past the top six for the first time in their history, will be looking to overcome Sentinels, who are on a three-match win streak, including victories over both of Korea’s representatives, Gen.G and DRX.
Thursday’s VALORANT Champions fixtures
- G2 Esports (-138.89) vs Leviatan (+100) @ 5pm KST
- Team Heretics (-151.52) vs Fnatic (+110) @ 8pm KST
