North America's Sentinels became the first team to earn a spot in Sunday's Grand Final match at the first-ever VCT International LAN tournament. They defeated Korean team NUTURN Gaming in the upper-bracket final in a decisive 2-0 victory to advance to Grand Final.

Their opponent will be decided during the matches on Saturday. First Fanatic and Team Liquid will face off in a battle for Europe in the Lower Bracket Round 4. The winner of that match will then challenge NUTURN Gaming in the Lower Bracket Final, with the winner of that match advancing to face the Sentinels during the Grand Finals. 

"I think all the teams remaining are really strong," Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan said in the post-match press conference. "Liquid and Fnatic seem to be getting their groove now in comparison to their early games. I would personally prefer to play Liquid, since we have already taken out Fnatic and I want to take out the other EU team. What a better fashion than the Grant Finals?"

Regardless of who they end up facing, Sentinels will be the clear favorite to win the tournament. They have not lost a single map since the start of the tournament, and have now defeated the top teams hailing from Brazil, EU, and Korea. Throughout the tournament, they have demonstrated effective strategy, consistent teamwork, and a mastery of VALORANT's mechanics to stomp everyone in their way at the VCT Masters LAN.

Sentinels talk about being underestimated, playing on LAN, and who they want to face in Grand Finals

The Sentinels had a lot to say in the post-match press conference.

When asked about NUTURN Gaming's statements that Sentinels are worse at teamwork, ShahZam soundly dismissed that notion. 

"[Our teamwork] is definitely underestimated by other teams," Shahzam explained in the post-game press conference. "We knew their Bind [plan] revolved around Breach flashing for Jett peek. . . our plan was like, we are going to let the Sova utility lead and bait it out, we won't get caught out by the breach utility . . . we aren't going to let them play their game, we were aware of their plays, so we kind of worked around it, that is teamwork. . . People need to start recognizing the things we are doing, even if it doesn't look as cool as the things other people do."

When asked about whether he thinks their success is evidence that NA is indeed the best region, ShahZam offered a diplomatic answer.

"We beat one of the best EU teams, one of the best Brazilian teams, and one of the best Korean teams to get here," ShahZam said. "So I feel like, people would be crazy not to respect us as a region now. But you can't definitively say one region is better than the other just yet, because we are just one team representing a region. . . I think we will know more and more over time how the regions really pan out."

When asked about what it was like to play against the different regions, a high-spirited Tyson "TenZ" Ngo explained that, "each region has its own playstyle, but we are really good at adjusting to play against that style's weakness."

Multiple team members at the press conference touched on how much they have enjoyed playing on LAN throughout this tournament. ShahZam even went as far as arguing that the LAN has given them a bit of a tactical advantage due to their past experiences with LAN competition.

"I think our [LAN experience] is a big advantage," ShahZam explained. "Some of these guys are really new to LAN environments, for some of these guys this might be their first big tournament or big esport. . . we have been through a lot of big tournaments in CS, even if things don't feel exactly the same as at home. It's a mental thing too, we know the game feels much better on LAN, we are comfortable with it, it helps."

"You would be hard-pressed to find someone who plays professionally who is like 'yeah, LAN feels worst' other than them being uncomfortable when they first start." Michael "dapr" Gulino said. "But for Sentinels in general, Killjoy, Cypher, Sage, just being more passive, it just rewards you being patient and disciplined. There's not like Ferrari peeks that will catch you off guard . . . it makes me feel more confident holding angles. It feels great."

On a less serious note, when asked about how the experience of tactical crouching on LAN was improved, DAPR jokingly responded, "The teabag is more fluid [on LAN], you feel like you are more immersed when you do it."

Sentinels have all the momentum in the world, and based on their press conference are also in very high spirits. We will find out tomorrow who their final opponent will be, and on Sunday they will battle for the first VCT International title ever.