Sentinels win Valorant PAX Arena Invitational: results, placements, more

The Valorant PAX Arena Invitational featured many of the top North American teams battling it out for $25,000 in the latest Ignition Series event. Sentinels were crowned the new kings of NA, taking down Cloud9 in the final.

Valorant’s Ignition Series tournaments have provided viewers with plenty of entertaining and competitive action since they was first announced by Riot on June 16.

These events often include the top teams from their region and now, after even more rosters have been finalized, the action returned to North America with the Valorant PAX Arena Invitational.

With 16 of the region’s top teams, alongside four streamer squads, the competition was going to be fierce. Not only was there $25,000 on the line, but also regional pride, and the chance to be crowned NA’s top team in Valorant.

Valorant PAX Arena Invitational finals recap

While many expected T1 and TSM to face off against each other in the grand final, both teams met their demise early in the tournament. T1 were upset by the orgless Homeless in a 2-0 quarterfinals thrashing, while Sentinels asserted their dominance in the semis over TSM to book a spot in the Grand Final.

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Cloud9 made it through over Homeless in the other semifinal to book their first Grand Finals appearance in an Ignition Series event. It was Mitch ‘mitch’ Semago’s first official outing on the roster, having played as a stand-in for all events before this.

Sentinels took the final by the horns early though, taking down Cloud9 on Ascent 13-11 thanks to a strong attack half. However, on their signature Haven, C9 managed to tie up the series heading into Bind thanks to an ace by star player TenZ.

With the series tied up at one-a-piece, and Haven on the cards for map five, the Sentinels had some work to do on Bind to ensure that Cloud9 couldn’t pinch another one away and hope for a map five.

All members of Sentinels were showing up with clutches, with Shahzam, Sick, and Sinatraa the standout performers. They managed to win the map 13-11, and it came down to Split.

While TenZ tried to surprise Sentinels with his Viper, Cloud9 looked lost on attack, losing their first eight rounds in a row. While they blasted back with their own string of wins on defense, the Sentinels managed to claw in and stunt Cloud9’s winning streak early.

The game ended rather anti-climatically, with a Sick 1v3 clutch to snatch away not only the round, but the map, the series, and the tournament from the hands of Cloud9. Sentinels have now asserted themselves as a potential new heir to the throne of NA Valorant, and will be a tough challenge for teams like T1 and TSM in future events.

Who played in the tournament?

Twenty teams in total competed in the Valorant PAX Arena Invitational, which consists of 16 pro teams as well as four influencer squads, featuring stars like Ninja.

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Many of the top pro teams like T1, Gen.G, TSM, and more showed up for the event, and it was also the first competitive outing for some rosters, such as the newly announced Complexity line-up.

Valorant PAX Arena Invitational: Group Stage results

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Valorant PAX Arena Invitational: Playoff results

Quarter-Finals

Semi-Finals

Grand Finals

Valorant PAX Arena Invitational final placements