PAX Arena Invitational Recap

Sentinels claimed their first competitive Valorant championship on Sunday defeating Cloud 9 three to one in the finals of the PAX Arena Invitational.  After Sentinels won a close battle on Ascent 13-11, Cloud 9 bounced back on Haven 13-6, before Sentinels took down a hard-fought map on Bind 13-11.  On the final map, Split, we got to see Tenz break out the Viper, but it was not enough, as Sentinels were clinical on defense opening to an 8-0 lead, eventually winning 13-7.  Sentinels also had a particularly impressive performance in the semifinals taking down TSM 13-4 on Bind and 13-3 on Ascent.  Fast, clean executions onto sites allowed them to nullify Wardell’s impact with the operator by forcing TSM to attempt retakes.  Sinatraa has found a comfortable role entry fragging as Phoenix to the tune of a 262 Average Combat Score (ACS) for the event.  Meanwhile Sick had clutch after clutch continuing to be the top fragging Sage in North America averaging a team high 1.34 K/D in the tournament and Shahzam (1.31 K/D 230 ACS) showed that having an In-Game-Leader who can also frag is as valuable as ever.  Sentinels seem to have the best strategic understanding of Valorant in North America right now and will have to be considered one of the favorites if not the favorite in any upcoming tournaments. 

The surprise of the event had to be Homeless, the only unsigned roster to make it out of the group stage.  They beat both 100 Thieves and Built By Gamers in Group A before taking down favorites T1 in the quarterfinals.  Homeless were headlined by Supamen, the former Crossfire player, who averaged a 1.3 K/D and 239 ACS, announcing his presence as a star with his stellar performance on Brimstone, while Psalm (1.16 K/D 213 ACS) had his best tournament in Valorant so far playing Sova very effectively.  This roster will not stay homeless for long.

To highlight some other statistical standouts: Tenz had the top Average Combat Score in the tournament at 311 as well as an absurd 0.24 First Blood Rate.  Food had a massive group stage for T1 where he averaged a 2.06 K/D and 331 ACS.  As far as unsigned players, both Aproto (1.2 K/D 249 ACS) and Stellar (1.18 K/D 223) impressed for Mixup, while diceyzx (1.29 K/D 252 ACS) had strong performances on duelists for Prospects. 

Overall the PAX Arena Invitational was a good tournament to watch, hitting 80k peak viewers, even if there were some unusual decisions like not casting the group stage, requiring a player from each team to stream, and then going back and changing their minds.  Also, as much fun as it is to see influencer-based teams participate in competitive tournaments, hopefully future tournaments all reserve at least one spot to open qualifiers.  Tournament organizers continue to do well getting experienced casting crews for these events, but Riot will have to keep improving the spectator system before we get a premier viewing experience.

Looking ahead, the Ignition Series continues with the Mandatory.gg Cup taking place for Europe on July 31st where G2 and Fish123 will be favorites.  Then on August 1st, the Rage Japan Tournament, sporting a $50,000 prize pool, will give us a clearer understanding of the state of Japanese Valorant.  As far as North America, the 30Bomb Summer Cup, also starting on August 1st, will host almost every top North American team.  There is plenty of competitive Valorant to look forward to next weekend.