Sentinels Take Victory At The PaxArena Valorant Invitational

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Sentinels Take Victory At The PaxArena Valorant Invitational

PaxArena’s Valorant tournament was tense, ending with the Sentinels putting down Cloud9 3-1 in the Grand Finals.


Last weekend, Pax and PaxArena hosted a Valorant tournament that brought together teams like T1, Cloud9, and Sentinels. The BO3 single-elimination matches varied in intensity, requiring teams to succeed or be eliminated. The Sentinels, led by Overwatch champion Jay “Sinatraa” Won, struggled in their early matches but came out on top in the end. This tournament was more than another competition for Valorant fans to enjoy. It was an opportunity to watch teams test playstyles, and adapt based on their success and failures. Teams that picked Sage had a higher success rate than those that opted to run Omen instead. The extra smoke and sight control is a bonus, but when going up against teams like Cloud9 and Sentinels, Sage is a must.

PaxArena Valorant Playoffs

The Playoffs kicked off with three clean sweeps and one close match between Gen.G and the Sentinels. Team SoloMid knocked Team Envy out of the bracket early on, Immortals took out Cloud9 in the quarter-finals, and the newcomers, Homeless, shocked the world by defeating T1. Homeless’ win over T1 sets the standard that anything is possible in Valorant.

The Sentinels is a team that everyone should be watching in the Valorant scene. They are a team much like Cloud9, that can rely on a single player to pop off, or make changes as a whole unit. Momentum and map choice became the deciding factors in the Sentinels’ success over Cloud9 in the finals. Cloud9 has a poor track record with Split, therefore as the final map, this set them back mentally. Tyson “TenZ” Ngo chose to pick Viper on the final map and failed to make an impact against Sinatraa’s aggressive Raze.

A large takeaway from the PaxArena Valorant Invitational is that teams that can adapt are more likely to succeed. Cloud9 faced little opposition throughout the bracket until facing off against Sentinels. The Sentinels forced Cloud9 to adapt, and shut down plays that would normally work for the star-studded roster. Against Gen.G, the Sentinels lost Bind in part to their over aggression. However, against Cloud9 on Bind, the Sentinels played patiently waiting for a mistake to capitalize on.

Professional and competitive Valorant is heating up, with more tournaments popping up each month. As the new tournaments arise, playstyles, map weaknesses, and favored agents will become easier to identify amongst the top teams. These aspects open up mind games where teams can put themselves at an advantage by choosing the right map. Above all, the teams that can adjust on the fly and correct their mistakes throughout a tournament will always come out on top.

Malik Shelp
Malik specializes in esports photography, videography, video editing, and graphic design. He has also written Overwatch and Dota articles for over 2 years for DBLTAP and other esports outlets. You can learn more about Malik on our About page.