100 Thieves were struggling heading into their first VCT Americas Super Week matchup today versus KRÜ, and the entire season appeared to be about to end. However, the NA roster pulled off its biggest victory since Cryocells came, which was essential in advance of more difficult challenges.
KRÜ, buffed by the appearance of founder and football legend Sergio Agüero, stomped 100T on Ascent via a 13-4 win to start the series, as 100T looked uncoordinated with their attacks and retakes, and the players looked like they lacked confidence with poor individual playmaking. After a tough start to their own map choice of Split, 100T rallied with one of their best defensive halves of the season, forcing overtime and a map three.
The third map of the series was one of 100T’s best overall maps of the season so far; Cryocells answered doubters with a prolific showing on Jett, bang was reliable as ever on the controller role, and Asuna produced some critical rounds on playmaking alone. Despite opening the series with a devastating loss, 100T were able to bounce back with a dominant one-sided victory of their own on Fracture, 13-5, to seal the series victory.
As general manager Daniel “DDK” Kapadia noted on the analyst desk after the match, this was “a confidence boosting first game” of the super week for 100T, and a “super important win” to set the team up for the rest of the season. The GM noted that much tougher opponents lay ahead for the team, including Leviatán in just two days, followed by NRG, LOUD, and FURIA.
DDK also mentioned some “experimentation” with potential composition changes in 100T that have not been revealed yet.
As for KRÜ, it’s a heart-wrenching series loss after such an excellent opening map, and the LATAM team remains as the only roster in VCT Americas still seeking a series win this season.