The Grand Final series is Gen.G vs Sentinels, a rematch from earlier in VCT Masters Madrid that the Pacific team won.
This is it, everyone. The last match of VCT Masters Madrid is here. Gen.G vs Sentinels is a rematch in the Grand Final, where only one team can hoist the trophy. Will it be the return-to-form Americas roster or an out-of-nowhere Pacific team for the region's first international championship?
Follow along with us here for a recap of the best-of-five series.
Gen.G vs Sentinels 2:3 Breeze 13:8 Bind 12:14 Ascent 13:8 Split 10:13 Icebox 6:13 |
Gen.G vs Sentinels - One may return to glory, the other may find it
There is plenty of story to dig into with this one. Two teams, itching to win a rematch, because everything is on the line now. It is either win VCT Masters Madrid, or go home in second place with the first Stage of your international league on the horizon.
For Sentinels, there are a couple of players familiar with this position. The likes of TenZ and sacy have lifted trophies in the past, and the team looks primed to do it again. They just have to get past a Pacific league juggernaut first.
Gen.G seemingly came out of nowhere. After years of struggling as an organization in VALORANT, this is their time to shine. They showed up, dominated the Pacific Kickoff tournament, and have done the same in Madrid.
Gen.G VALORANT roster
- Kim "Meteor" Tae-o
- Kim "t3xture" Na-ra
- Kim "Lakia" Jong-min
- Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom
- Kim "Karon" Won-tae
Sentinels VALORANT roster
- Mohamed “johnqt” Ouarid
- Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi
- Tyson “TenZ” Ngo
- Zachary “zekken” Patrone
- Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro
How to watch the Grand Final of Gen.G vs Sentinels at Masters Madrid
Every international VALORANT tournament is live on official VALORANT channels. You can watch it on both Twitch and YouTube. Or you can view the stream embedded right here and stay with us as we recap the action.
Gen.G vs Sentinels - Masters Madrid Grand Final recap
Enjoy a recap and clips to highlight the Grand Final series as you read on.
Map 1: Breeze
It was a slow start, but traded Shock Dart kills saw the pistol round pick up the pace. It was close, but went in favor of Gen.G. Three kills went to Munchkin, giving Gen.G their second. The next round went to SEN, as zekken netted a 4K.
Sentinels got another with a Thrifty round, preventing Gen.G from pulling away early. TenZ took down three, but Karon returned the favor to clutch up and stay ahead. SEN kept it close, though a 3K from Meteor made sure Gen.G retained a lead. And they'd keep up that slight lead into halftime.
The second half pistol round on Breeze went to SEN. One round later and it was tied as they hoped for success as the attacking team. While Gen.G took one back, TenZ clutched up as he typically does to bring both team's round counts to eight.
Gen.G would be the first to reach double digits in the series, however. Breeze is a question mark for SEN, as we saw in the first match between these two. And the Pacific team made sure to exploit it. The 11th round for Gen.G was a great defensive hold. An Ace for Munchkin followed and that was the nail in the coffin.
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Map 2: Bind
Sentinels took the pistol round on Bind. That got them two quickly. Gen.G retaliated with one, but SEN got their first full buy round. Both teams came out swinging in this one, as the teams traded back and forth. Three quick kills by Munchkin got Gen.G as many rounds.
Some big plays by Zellsis and zekken finally pushed Sentinels ahead by more than one round. It did not last long, as a chaotic hit on B Site put another on the board for Gen.G. There was no early winner for this tug-of-war, with a tied map at halftime.
Gen.G went up by two with a beautiful pistol round and subsequent victory. The next round saw them read Sentinels perfectly and hit nine rounds. Sentinels had some good plays in their pocket, but it did not stop Gen.G from reaching their 10th.
Once that happened, though, Sentinels turned it around. They played cautiously in order to tie things at double digits. Relentless plays from zekken kept surprising Gen.G, and Sentinels took a late lead. Round 12 came immediately after, but Gen.G refused to go down, forcing overtime.
The first round of OT saw the teams flip sides of the map. Sentinels ended up on the attacking side as defense, and vice versa. A few opening kills went to SEN, though, starting overtime in their favor.
Gen.G looked to extend OT with a big start by Munchkin. SEN regained their footing, however. The two remaining players rotated over to A and held it down in the post-plant, tying the series up.
Map 3: Ascent
Sentinels got the party started on Ascent. They won round two, then Gen.G stole away their bonus. It was rather expensive for Gen.G, but that didn't stop them from quickly tying it at two. SEN managed to bounce right back and regain the lead.
A scrappy retake from SEN extended their lead even further. Then a scrappy round win of their own, in the post-plant, kept Gen.G from falling behind. They got closer with another good post-plant setup. An incredibly chaotic final round of the half went to Gen.G, to tie it up.
The second half pistol was Gen.G's. As is the usual, the next was theirs, too. And instead of Sentinels taking away their bonus round, Gen.G stayed ahead and reached 9. It was an easy 10th round for the Pacific league team, pushing towards a second map victory.
Sentinels was not out of it just yet. They took two decisive rounds to delay a Gen.G win. And delay is all they could do. Gen.G got to 11 and that all but closed the book on Ascent. Two more rounds in the map were all we'd see, going to Gen.G and giving them a series lead again.
Map 4: Split
Split hasn't been as great as Sentinels would have liked this tournament. They hoped to turn that around here, and it started well. Two rounds went their way, before giving up a couple to Gen.G. Then SEN took charge.
A handful of incredible plays from zekken kept SEN in the driver's seat. A 4K near A Site put Sentinels to six before halftime. After that, two more rounds wen their way without a single one to Gen.G. That gave them a solid halftime lead.
Gen.G began their push back into it with a second half pistol win. The next went their way, but SEN got to nine by preventing a conversion of the Gen.G bonus. An overpowering 10th round went in SEN's favor, as they prepared to take us to Map 5.
Gen.G did not have much firepower, and SEN should have gotten an 11th, but Meteor shut them down. Another big round by Meteor kept SEN from finishing this one. They held on for a bit longer, reaching 10 rounds of their own. A Thrifty by SEN followed for map point. And to the final map we went.
Map 5: Icebox
Sentinels made the retake work on the pistol round, keeping up their momentum from Split. They got the next, but the bonus was stomped out by Lakia with a spraying 4K. Zellsis delivered a spray down of his own, just missing an Ace as Gen.G got a second round.
A Flawless round followed as Gen.G jumped ahead. Sentinels immediately responded to tie it back up. A mistake from Gen.G allowed SEN to initiate a retake and get the lead again. The teams traded rounds for a moment, but Sentinels got hyped up and ensured a halftime lead.
It all came down to this. The final half of regulation in the Grand Final of VCT Masters Madrid. And it started with a Sentinels pistol round victory. The next was theirs to give a four round lead, and double digits was soon after.
From there, Sentinels continued to roll towards the championship. The dream of a Pacific league victory would not come true. First, it was 11 rounds. Then it was series point for SEN. And Sentinels claims the prize in a five-map classic.
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