Valorant Champion Tour (VCT) Stage 3 Masters is almost here.

Culminating in Berlin this September, this comes as the tactical shooter's second-ever international tournament and the last stage of their year-long competition tour. 

David Nottingham talks Valorant lore, fan theories, and what to expect in Year 2

VCT Stage 3 Masters will see the world's top Valorant teams from all over the world compete to win a championship title and a slot at Valorant's highly anticipated grand year-end tournament. 

From North America to Europe, the tournament will see 16 teams including last June's VCT Masters Reykjavik champions Sentinels, as well as coveted esports names like 100Thieves, Team Envy, KRÜ Esports, Vivo Keyd, and Havan Liberty. 

Axis Studios on how Valorant's DUALITY cinematic was made

While in Asia, there are six teams representing the region, hailing from Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, and Japan. Get to know the Asian Valorant teams competing at VCT Stage 3 Masters here. 

PAPER REX

Hailing from Singapore, Paper Rex is one of the Southeast Asian teams qualified for VCT Masters Berlin after a terrific run at the SEA VCT: Stage 3 Challengers where they beat Taiwan's CBT Gaming and Indonesia's BOOM Esports.

Based in Singapore, the team comprises Benedict 'Benkai' Tan, Aaron 'mindfreak' Leonheart, Jason 'f0rsakeN' Susanto, Khalish 'd4v41' Rusyaidee, and Zhan Teng 'shiba' Toh. 

BREN ESPORTS

The Philippines' Bren Esports is coming onto VCT Masters Berlin as Southeast Asia's top seed after winning SEA VCT: Stage 3 Challengers, avenging an earlier loss against Paper Rex in the grand finals. Sweeping the competition 3-0, the esports team is the first Filipino team making it to a Valorant international tournament.

The team comprises Jessie Cristy 'JessieVash' Cuyco, Jayvee 'DubsteP' Paguirigan, Jim 'BORKUM' Timbreza, Kevin 'Dispenser' Te, and Riley 'witz' Go.

[UPDATE: 3 September 2021]: Bren Esports will no longer be able to compete at VCT Stage 3 Masters in Berlin. In an announcement made by VALORANT today (03/09) via Twitter, Riot Games confirmed the news, citing that they were unable to secure the Filipino team's necessary travel visas ahead of the competition. 

An update on Bren Esports and #VALORANTMasters Berlin: pic.twitter.com/4WwfNNQfdb

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 3, 2021

VISION STRIKERS

In dominating fashion, Vision Strikers gave an impeccable performance at the Korea VCT: Stage 3 Challengers, reclaiming their title as the country's top Valorant team. The team currently holds the longest-standing winning streak in esports history, holding a record of 104 wins before losing a match to Korea's F4Q at Stage 2 last May. 

Vision Strikers' roster sees Gu-taek 'stax' Kim, Sang-Min 'Rb' Goo, Seung-won 'k1Ng' Lee, Byung-chu 'BuZz' Yu, Myeong-kwan 'MaKo', and Jong-min 'Lakia' Kim. 

F4Q

Despite losing to Vision Strikers at the Korea VCT: Stage 2 Challengers grand finals, the team made history ending Vision Strikers' long-running win streak in a sweeping game on Split last June. Often referred to as "the funny guys" of Valorant, F4Q which mainly comprises gaming content creators, proved to be a force to be reckoned with many anticipating their performance at VCT Masters Berlin. 

The team's roster sees Sung-min 'FiveK' Yoo, Joon-hyuk 'Bunny' Chae, Nakyeon 'Efina' Kim, Joon-hyuk 'zunba' Kim, and Jin-cheol 'Esperanza' Jeong.

ZETA DIVISION

Zeta Division comes as the top team representing Japan at VCT Masters Berlin. After a winding competition through Japan VCT: Stage 3 Challengers, the six-man made it out as champions, beating the likes of Team Northeption and SETOUCHI ENLIFE. 

Zeta Division comprises Koji 'Laz' Ushida, Tomoaki 'crow' Maruoka, Ryo 'barce' Takebayashi, Shogo 'takej' Takemori, Ryu 'Reita' Oshiro, and Akatsuki 'makiba' Miyamoto.

CRAZY RACCOON

Rounding up the list is VCT's only returning Asian team – Crazy Raccoon. VCT Masters Berlin comes as the Japan-based esports team's second run at an international Valorant tournament, after competing up against some of the world's best at VCT Masters Reykjavik earlier this year. 

The team's roster sees Min-cheol 'Medusa' An, Yusuke 'munchkin' Matsuda, Sang-beom 'Munchkin' Byeon, Jun-ki 'Bazzi' Park, Teppei 'ade' Kuno, Hideki 'Fisker' Sasaki, and Daiki 'Minty' Kato.

Valorant Championship Tour: Stage 3 Masters in Berlin is happening from 9 to 19 September, streaming live on Valorant's Twitch and YouTube channels. 

Check out the tournament schedule here.