The Sentinels vs. Fnatic opening round match at VCT LOCK//IN today was hard to watch, and not just because of the lag and stuttering issues plaguing the stream. Sentinels found themselves on the wrong side of an ugly beatdown spearheaded by Fnatic’s dynamic duelist in Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev.
Fnatic made an example out of Sentinels on their pick of Haven. While TenZ showed glimpses of a potential return to top form, Derke definitively proved that he’s still at the top of his game on Jett. Sentinels looked a little disjointed on the attack and Derke punished them time and time again. Derke was able to thrive in favorable circumstances while Leo and Chronicle combined for seven-of-seven successful opening kills, leading to a 13-6 win on Haven.
On Split, Sentinels looked like they were back in business on the attack side, with TenZ taking on a surprising Sage pick. But Fnatic grabbed a trio of rounds to close out their defensive half and were unstoppable on their attack side, only dropping one round in the second half.
Derke dominated the series, with 43 kills over the two maps and only 23 deaths in total, good enough for a 302 series ACS, but Fnatic overall played the series very well. The same could not be said for Sentinels, especially the former XSET duo in Zekken and dephh who finished with a combined 0.5 kill/death ratio. On the desk, Liquid’s RedgaR noted that Sentinels struggled with executes and finding openings in Fnatic’s defense.
With Sentinels’ early exit, only one North American team remains in competition at VCT LOCK//IN, with 100T taking on FUT Esports after an exciting, narrow win over EDward Gaming yesterday. Fnatic move on to take on the winner of FURIA vs. T1.
