X10 CRIT's Cinderella story at Valorant Champions 2021 ends as Gambit advances to semis

X10 CRIT played their hearts out in the quarterfinal at the Valorant Champions 2021 against Gambit. With every round of wins, clutches, and outplays, there were huge shouts, roars, and thumping exuberance. Sadly it was not enough, though the loss takes nothing away from what the side has achieved.

The first-ever Valorant Champions has been a tournament where expectations have been exceeded, and predictions disregarded. Now, as the teams step into the semifinals, it can be said with assurance that teams at the event have shown the fire and fervor that makes countless players love the game.

The Valorant Champions 2021 has seen numerous huge upsets, where one team that is the underdog on paper has managed to put the performance of their lives in defeating their opponents. The tournament has been replete with David versus Goliath faceoffs and intricate Cinderella stories.

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Berlin Masters winner Gambit ends X10 CRIT's inspiring run at Valorant Champions 2021

X10 Crit qualified for the Valorant Champions 2021 after being at the top of the points board for the SEA region during the Valorant Champions Tour. Although they consistently performed exceptionally well in the VCT events in their region, their only international outing was at the Reykjavik Masters.

At the Masters, they managed to beat Crazy Raccoon but were sent packing home by Fnatic.

Coming into the Valorant Champions 2021, there was little hope for X10 CRIT qualifying for the playoffs. They were routed 2-0 by NA heavyweights Envy in their first match. But it seems the loss ignited something deep within, for the SEA team managed to rally back and beat Vivo Keyd 2-0 to set up a rematch against Envy in the decider.

In that series, the chances of winning were minimal for X10 CRIT, given Envy had already defeated the team 2-0. And in map 1, the results pointed towards a hard-fought victory for the NA representatives. After some back and forth, Envy clinched Icebox 13-10 to take the lead.

Even in map 2, Envy continued their dominant performance with an Ace coming from yay. A sudden win in an eco round brought X10 back to life, and they ended the half 6-6. Soon enough, Envy started to falter with one impeccable round after another by X10, who won the map 13-8.

In Haven, Envy notched the cursed 9-3 on their defensive side. X10 rallied beautifully with coordinated aggression that put them 12-11 up. However, yay drew the final round and took the match to overtime, but it was not enough as X10 managed the victory.

After the match, FNS from Team Envy accepted that:

"There's innovation in SEA that NA lacks."

Even with an exciting performance like that, X10 predictably went into the game against Gambit as the underdogs. The latter showed their class and dominance in the first map, Fracture, winning 13-7.

In Ascent, X10 showed signs of the team that killed Envy, going into half-time with a 7-5 lead. Their aggressive playstyle started to bear fruit as they saw off the title contenders 13-7 to take the series to the final map.

Despite putting up a defiant fight, individual brilliance from Gambit players like d3ffo and Chronicle ensured that the Russian team won the series 2-1. With this, the Cinderella story of the SEA team at the Valorant Champions 2021 came to an end.

X10's performance is a testament to the massive potential that the region has in Valorant. They not only qualified as one of the sixteen best teams in the world but also punched way above their weight to make it to the Playoffs.

The players should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved and look to build upon this in next year's VCT.

There's one more ongoing underdog story at the Valorant Champions 2021, and the team does not look like an easy opponent to stop at the moment. LATAM's KRU Esports has been a giant killer during their run at the championship, eliminating both Sentinels and Fnatic.

They have booked their spot in the semis against Gambit, which promises to be an excellent match to watch.