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The Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2022 North America Last Chance Qualifiers will kick off in the coming hours. Eight of the region's most elite teams will compete for a last-minute ticket to Valorant Champions: Istanbul.
The North America LCQ will begin with The Guard's best-of-three matchup against Sentinels in an Upper Quarterfinals fixture. The winner will progress higher up the tournament's upper bracket, while the loser will be pushed to the lower rounds.
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OpTic Gaming and XSET have already qualified for the Valorant Champions 2022 on the basis of their circuit points.
The VCT NA LCQ will be the last chance for the eight remaining North American Tier 1 organizations to earn qualification to the biggest Valorant esports event of the year.
The Guard vs Sentinels: Who will win the opening match of VCT NA Last Chance Qualifiers?
The Guard and Sentinels are two of North America's most successful Valorant organizations.
The Guard is renowned for their success at the Stage 1 NA Challengers. Sentinels, on the other hand, has been part of the Tier 1 Valorant scene since the game's early days, winning titles such as the VCT 2021 Stage 1 NA Masters and Masters: Reykjavik.
Fans of North American Valorant can expect an enthralling matchup as the two organizations compete for the final spot in the upcoming Valorant Champions 2022.
Predictions
Both The Guard and Sentinels have been away from top-tier action since the conclusion of the Stage 2 NA Challengers in June 2022. While The Guard will enter the NA LCQ with their previous roster, Sentinels has a renovated squad.
The Guard proved to be one of North America's leading Valorant rosters in Stage 1 of VCT 2022. However, a series of disappointing results at the Masters: Reykjavik and the Stage 2 NA Challengers impeded the team's reign. After taking the time to reorganize and gather more experience as a team, The Guard is ready to dominate NA and join OpTic and XSET at the Valorant Champions 2022.
Meanwhile, Sentinels acquired Zellsis from Version1 and saw the return of Shroud to competitive esports. With two new additions and Rawkus' return to the coaching role, Sentinels is aiming for a favorable result at the Last Chance Qualifiers.
Given that Sentinels is yet to play their first official match with the new roster, fans are unsure of what to expect from the team.
Considering the firepower boasted by both Sentinels and The Guard, this matchup could go either way.
Head-to-head
The Guard has played against Sentinels only once in their VCT career. The encounter took place in the Upper Quarterfinals of the VCT 2022 Stage 1 NA Challengers. The match ended with The Guard claiming a 2-0 victory over Sentinels.
Recent results
In terms of recent results, The Guard has a clear advantage over Sentinels.
The Guard recently participated in the NSG Summer Championship 2022, where it managed to claim a fourth-place finish. The team has three victories from their last five matches.
Sentinels, on the other hand, is yet to play their first official matchup with the new squad. The team had a run of five defeats in the Group Stage of the Stage 2 NA Challengers.
Sentinels, unlike The Guard, did not compete in any third-party tournaments after their Stage 2 campaign ended.
Potential lineups
The Guard
- Michael "neT" Bernet
- Jacob "valyn" Batio (IGL)
- Jonah "JonahP" Pulice
- Ha "Sayaplayer" Jung-woo
- Trent "trent" Cairns
- Matthew "mCe" Elmore (Coach)
Sentinels
- Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan (IGL)
- Michael "dapr" Gulino
- Tyson "TenZ" Ngo
- Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek
- Jordan "Zellsis" Montemurro
- `Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty (Coach)
Where to watch
Viewers can watch the VCT NA LCQ live on Valorant's official YouTube and Twitch handles. They can also tune in to the official watch parties held by various streamers across the world.
The Guard will face Sentinels in the tournament's opening matchup on Thursday, August 4 at 1:00 pm PDT/10:00 pm CEST/1:30 am IST (next day).
