VALORANT Champions 2022 – Istanbul is well underway, and with the conclusion of Group Stage comes Playoffs. See if your favorite team qualified here.

The old Vision Strikers squad now fight under the banner of DRX. This seasoned Korean team is not new to the international stage and took the bodies of FURIA and 100 Thieves on their way to qualifying for playoffs. Going into Champions 2022 – Istanbul, DRX has been a fan favorite.

Waiting in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals for DRX is FunPlus Phoenix for a classic East vs West bout.

FunPlus Phoenix, representing EMEA, have had a shaky and arduous journey to qualifying for playoffs. They had to win a Decider Match after losing to XSET but looked dominant enough against KRU to punch their ticket to playoffs.

This shouldn’t discredit this team however, as they did crown themselves champions of the VCT 2022: Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen after going the distance with APAC team Paper Rex.

LATAM representatives Leviatán were the first team to qualify to the playoffs, after two 2-0 victories. They first defeated Team Liquid before steamrolling through Paper Rex, booking their early ticket to playoffs.

Leviatán has been a brick wall so far in this competition. No team has been able to breach them or stop their fierce pushes. LOUD is set to go against this Chilean squad – will they finally be able to crack this seemingly immovable object?

Brazil’s LOUD are also veterans to the international scene – they even managed to make it to the finals of VCT 2022: Masters 1, but unfortunately lost 0-3 to the eventual champions OpTic Gaming. For Champions 2022 – Istanbul, they experienced a similar turnout. They were in a group against their old foes in OpTic, who sent them to the Decider Match. LOUD eliminated ZETA Division to join OpTic in qualifying for playoffs.

LOUD’s match against Leviatán is the first matchup of the playoffs, scheduled for September 9th, 2022.

OpTic is a team that needs no introduction. They consistently get results, whether regionally or internationally. Champions 2022 is not an exception, they quickly qualified for playoffs after two successive wins, first against BOOM Esports and another against LOUD.

On the crosshairs of yay’s Tour De Force is Team Liquid, for the playoffs’ first (of two) NA vs EU matchup.

EMEA representatives Team Liquid are no strangers to international tournaments but seem to provide inconsistent results on it. They had to go through two Elimination Matches just to qualify for playoffs.

The new addition to the team, dimasick, might just be the secret sauce to Team Liquid’s success.  Their Kazakh talent combined with the brother buff of ScreaM and Nivera might just be able to get them a win over OpTic Gaming.

XSET doesn’t often represent NA in international tournaments, but after they beat OpTic Gaming in the NA Stage 2 Challengers, fans felt like they deserved it. Unfortunately, they had to bow out early as 8th placers in Stage 2 Masters – Copenhagen after their defeat to Leviatán. Now, XSET is back to face the best of the world.

XSET will face Fnatic the same day OpTic will go against Liquid, in a day where the West will be divided into NA fans and EU fans.

Fnatic is another team that doesn’t need introduction. They have been a mainstay in S-Tier tournaments and are popular on and off the stage. They were the champions of EMEA Stage 2 Challengers after 3-0-ing FPX, who eventually got their revenge in Stage 2 Masters and forced FNC to make a 4th place exit.

Fnatic’s win against NA reps 100 Thieves in the decider match earlier today capped out the Group Stage. Looking to avenge their eliminated NA brothers is XSET, in an NA vs EU match you wouldn’t want to miss.

For more VALORANT news, click here. The full schedule of games can be found on valorantesports.com.