Fnatic put a stop to M3 Champions’ win streak by holding off an M3C comeback in a 2-1 victory in the 2022 EMEA VCT Challengers One upper bracket semifinals today. They’re now the first VALORANT team from the region (and globally) to secure one of three spots at Masters Reykjavík.

Fnatic set the tone on their pick of Fracture, jumping out to a 7-5 lead at halftime thanks to some quality retakes and some impressive clutch plays from both Mistic and Boaster. The post-plant line-ups that Fnatic were using after switching to attack showed that the team has been extensively studying VALORANT’s newest map, and some more clutches from Boaster and Magnum helped Fnatic clinch a narrow 13-11 win over the red hot M3C.

M3C fired back on their own pick of Bind, with sheydos cutting through Fnatic on the battle Sage, kicking off M3C’s defensive half with a pistol round ace and ending the half with two straight triples. He and Chronicle crushed Fnatic after switching to attack, with 22 and 19 kills each in a 13-8 win on Bind to move the series to Split.

On Split, Fnatic started out on the preferred defensive side and put on a stellar showing in the first half, improving their lead to 9-3 on the back of an explosive Raze performance by Derke. After switching to attack, Fnatic built up a 12-7 lead against an M3C roster that’s well known for its resilience late in maps. And once again, the M3C players forced overtime.

After splitting the first five sets of OT rounds off consecutive winning attack rounds, Fnatic opened the sixth OT with a defensive win only for M3C to answer back with a mid/B hold to force a seventh OT period. After splitting nine total overtimes, Fnatic finally secured two straight rounds to come out on top 23-21.

This was Fnatic’s first official match in a week, after securing the top seed out of their group with a 5-0 record in round-robin play. It was M3C’s fifth match over a single week after they resumed VCT EMEA Challengers One play late. Fnatic’s next match, to determine their seed at Masters Reykjavik, will be against the winner of FPX vs. Liquid on Friday, March 25.