"It's not gonna be easy at all" Sentinels secure VALORANT Masters Madrid Grand Finals

"It's not gonna be easy at all" Sentinels secure VALORANT Masters Madrid Grand Finals

Ganesh Jadhav

24 Feb, 2024, 08:47

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Last updated: 10 Apr, 2025, 08:33

The Lower Finals of VALORANT Masters Madrid concluded last night. The fixture featured Sentinels taking on the Paper Rex.

The intense battle between the two sides lasted four maps, with the American Kickoff Champions reigning supreme over their opponents.

The Game:

Starting on Lotus, both teams exchanged blows, tying the first half. In the second half, Sentinels’ attack led by Zekken helped them secure map point, but PRX-esque thrifty round win, helped f0rsaken and co. secure overtime. Unfortunately, Paper Rex could not capitalize on the opportunity and lost the first map.

Ascent first half followed the Lotus pattern. In the second half, SEN displayed an attacking masterclass to secure a 2-0 map lead.  Paper Rex turned the tables on Sentinels on Split, winning their opponents map pick 13-5 after a solid 8-4 half.

Sunset unfortunately was a blowout, with SEN shutting down the PRX offense and closing it out in the second half.  With the map win, Sentinels secured a solid 3-1 victory over Paper Rex to claim their revenge game against Gen.G.

Talking about the veto advantage secured by Gen.G after winning the Upper Finals, SEN Head Coach Kaplan said:

“Hopefully not much. (on how big of a factor would the advantage play in the game.)

It’s definitely gonna be harder than if we had the advantage right.  They are a great team and we are probably gonna miss out on playing some of our good maps and we gonna have to play their best maps.

It's not gonna be easy at all because of that. But we had a hard time yesterday for a lot of reasons including not focusing on ourselves enough. We focused on ourselves today, that’s the big thing for tomorrow, we focus on ourselves and hopefully we can take down Gen.G even if it's a harder road than we would’ve preferred. “

Paper Rex had an amazing run despite the struggles and finished third at the tournament. They were the only successful 2023 team to replicate their success in 2024, the only old guard.

Talking about the best experiences, Paper Rex said:

[d4v4I] “I think, for me, probably being able to come to Europe again. I think the European crowd is amazing, they support the game, not just their team, you know.”

[Monyet] “It is my first time in front of a crowd this size. I think the last two days have been amazing for me. My mental really grew in this tournament.”


Today, in the battle of Champions, Americas Kickoff Champions Sentinels will face EMEA Kickoff Champions Gen.G to crown the Champion of Masters Madrid. The game will start 17:00 CET.

You can watch the game on YouTube or Twitch. Follow Valorant Champions Tour X (formerly Twitter) for all updates on the tournament. You can also follow Strafe for upcoming fixtures, press conference coverage, and more.

Follow Strafe Esports on YouTube for all the upcoming VALORANT Masters Madrid Press conferences.

Featured Image Credits:  Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

Read More: 

“If you’re not ready to fight them head on, then you’ve just lost half the battle” Paper Rex take down LOUD to secure tournament life at Madrid

“I think we have what it takes to win everything this time” Gen.G exude confidence after victory against Sentinels

 

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