'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
VCT Masters Tokyo has finally concluded. The event started off with a total of 12 teams from all over the world. The Masters began with the Group Stage, wherein eight teams were split into two separate groups, and only four would make it to the Playoffs. The tournament winner was decided in the Playoffs through a double-elimination format. Ultimately, Fnatic beat Evil Geniuses by 3-0 in the BO5 (best-of-five) Grand Finals to win VCT Masters Tokyo 2023.
VCT Masters Tokyo was one of the most competitive events in Valorant esports. Several teams excited the viewers with their runs. Teams like Paper Rex, Evil Geniuses, and EDward Gaming surpassed everyone's expectations and made their names known across the globe. The teams and their players created some of the most memorable moments in this journey. Below is a list of the five moments that got everyone on their feet at VCT Masters Tokyo.
Trending
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
ZmjjKK destroys T1, and four more moments that made the crowd go wild during VCT Masters Tokyo
1) ZmjjKK destroys T1
Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang is a Chinese esports player who plays for EDward Gaming. He is typically his team's primary Duelist but has even played as the Initiator Gekko and Sentinel Chamber when needed.
During his appearance at previous international events, ZmjjKK was a talking point in the Valorant community. However, he reached a whole new level during VCT Masters Tokyo. ZmjjKK is now considered one of the best Operator players in the world after securing 103 kills with it in Tokyo, the second being ardiis with only 30.
ZmjjKK's best moment of the tournament was during his revenge arc against T1. Korean contenders T1 had defeated EDward Gaming in their first matchup. However, through the lower brackets, EDG returned to face T1 again. This time, however, they absolutely destroyed T1 to win the BO3 (best-of-three) by 2-0. During the 17th round on Haven, ZmjjKK got a couple of kills with his Operator and celebrated with an impression of shooting the Operator at the T1 players. It was easily one of the most hyped moments of the tournament.
2) s0m vs CGRS
In the Playoffs stage of VCT Masters Tokyo, two teams went up against each other for a spot in the top three, Paper Rex and NRG Esports. Paper Rex had been on a commendable run despite their star player, "something," being absent from the event. NRG Esports, on the other hand, had put on a top-level performance in the recent matches.
The series was set out to be close, and the first map, Pearl, certainly delivered. In the 27th round during Overtime, one moment decided the fate of this first map. In the middle of the round, both s0m and CGRS managed to lurk behind the enemies to get proper timing. They both got multi-kills, massively helping their teams. However, the round ultimately came down to a 1v1 situation.
CGRS had to plant the spike, but he had no time, so his only choice was to secure the kill against s0m. With only a few seconds on the clock, CGRS rushed towards s0m and eliminated him with less than a second left. This devastating blow and a huge misplay by s0m led to NRG losing the first map. Despite not being a regular on the PRX roster, CGRS stepped up big-time in this VCT match.
3) tuyz and jawgemo
In another playoff match, two familiar teams had an exciting faceoff, the Americas region's LOUD and Evil Geniuses. LOUD had defeated Evil Geniuses twice by a 2-1 score earlier in the season. However, that wasn't the case this time, as EG secured their first win against the Brazilian champions with a 2-0 victory.
The highlight of this series was during the 17th round on the map, Ascent. LOUD's tuyz pushed up A Main and hid behind the double green boxes. Later, EG's jawgemo made his way and had his back turned against tuyz's without any knowledge of his presence.
tuyz didn't instantly kill jawgemo as he expected jawgemo's teammates to regroup there, letting him potentially get a multi-kill, but that wasn't the case. tuyz maintained trigger discipline for too long, leading to jawgemo accidentally spotting him and killing him there. This was reminiscent of a moment between vanity and soulcas in the first VCT Masters Reykjavik 2021.
4) nobody gets a 3k after being concussed
EDward Gaming had one of the best runs in VCT Masters Tokyo. In their penultimate match in Tokyo, they were matched against LOUD, the 2022 Valorant Champions and winners of VCT Americas 2023. Many people counted EDward Gaming out due to the sheer dominance that LOUD had in the Americas League and previous international tournaments. However, EDward Gaming shattered all those expectations by defeating LOUD by a 2-0 scoreline.
In round 22 of the second map, Fracture, nobody gave one of the most insane moments to the crowd. Players from LOUD decided to push EDG to throw them off. They used the Rolling Thunder to concuss EDG's players in their spawn. LOUD pushed aggressively to kill these concussed players. While coming out of the smoke, however, nobody got one of the most insane multi-kills by landing three headshots onto three LOUD players. This 3k solidified LOUD's loss in the series and helped EDward Gaming deliver another major upset.
5) C0M's 4k with a Ghost
Evil Geniuses faced Team Liquid in the Upper Semifinals of VCT Masters Tokyo. This was also expected to be an exciting matchup as both teams had made great progress after their performance at VCT LOCK//IN.
Evil Geniuses swept off Team Liquid in the first map, Fracture. This made it essential for Liquid to win the second map, Haven. However, things did not go as planned. Things got off to a weird start in the first round as Evil Geniuses lost three of its players outside the A-site, bringing the team fight to a 2v4 scenario.
All four players from Team Liquid decided to go from A Short. C0M realized this and posted himself outside A Short. He got one of the crispiest quad kills by eliminating the Team Liquid squad and won the round himself. After that play, the crowd was on their feet, and Liquid's demise on Haven began. Eventually, Evil Geniuses won the BO3 series by 2-0.
