The Valorant Pittsburgh Knights Invitational Gauntlet Series was a one-day tournament that took place yesterday, August 16. At the end of it, TSM were crowned champions.
While most of us were focused on the Allied Esports Valorant Invitational another event went under the radar this Sunday. We’re talking about the Valorant Pittsburg Knights Invitational Gauntlet Series, now that’s a long name. The tournament featured some of the best Valorant teams in the North American region and it only lasted a single day. A pity! Here’s the full list of organizations that competed at the event:
- TSM
- T1
- Gen.G
- Cloud9
- Complexity Gaming
- Team Envy
- Renegades
- Immortals
- Homeless
- Luminosity Gaming
- Mamba Mode Gaming - CI
- Rise - CI
- Morning Light - CI
- Pretty Boyz - CI
- Shiba - OQ
- Spot Up - OQ
Out of the 16 teams, 10 received direct invitations, while the remaining 6 earned their spot either through Open Qualifiers or the Closed Invitational, both of which happened a few days earlier. The total prize pool for the event stood at $10,000. Don’t let the fact that the event was held during only a single day fool you. The Gauntlet Series had a group stage with the 16 teams split into four groups of 4, followed by Bo1 playoffs and a Bo3 Grand Final.
In the group stage we basically saw all the teams that got a direct invitation advance further, except for T1 and Luminosity. Truly a surprise, as T1 were one of the initial favorites to win the entire event. Going into the playoffs fans were left with the remaining eight:
- TSM
- Immortals
- Cloud9
- Renegades
- Team Envy
- Homeless
- Gen.G Esports
- Complexity Gaming
Slowly but surely that number dwindled down to the final two – TSM and Gen.G Esports. In fact, TSM had to climb back up after a defeat in the upper bracket. They managed to do so by eliminating Cloud9. In the grand finals, Gen.G had a game advantage due to the fact they came from the upper bracket, but that wasn’t enough. TSM won two games in a row both with a final score of 13:9. The North American powerhouse successfully defended its reputation. TSM have participated in a total of 12 events and won 7 of them, not bad by any means. No other NA team has that many trophies yet, but that may soon change as 100 Thieves are rebuilding their roster.
CHAMPIONS of the @KnightsGG #KnightsGauntlet $10K Invitational are @TSM! @WVRDELL @Dronecsgo @hazedCS @Subroza @reltuC2nd: @GenG ($3,000)3rd: @Cloud9 ($1,000)Thank you to everyone who tuned in with us!Full statistics of event:https://t.co/wbAv2AFemg pic.twitter.com/YjAWyzVQJz
— Knights Valorant League (@KVLgg) August 17, 2020
Don't worry if you missed our PK Invitational win last night. WE GOTCHU. PK Invitational highlightsLosers Final vs. Cloud 9 >> https://t.co/SWJU06cyotGrand Finals G1 vs. Gen.G >> https://t.co/Y5tVwI1rzdGrand Finals G2 vs. Gen.G >> https://t.co/uMldggH1Rr pic.twitter.com/kozGxwZsdO
— TSM (@TSM) August 17, 2020
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