Derke Had Something to Prove
Vitality swept Heretics 2-0 in the Masters London upper quarterfinals, and Derke's 44-kill series answered every question left over from the EMEA Stage 1 Grand Final.
Heretics beat Vitality in a five-map Grand Final in Stage 1. Vitality came back to face them on the international stage and won without dropping a map.
That's the full summary. The rest is just Derke.
How Clean Was It
Breeze went 13-6. Lotus went 13-7. Derke finished the series with 44 kills and a 6-1 first-duel record on Breeze by halftime. Chronicle added 33 more. These weren't close maps that Vitality clawed back in overtime. They were comfortable from the start and never let Heretics breathe.
koshmaras ran Neon on both maps for Heretics. 28 kills, 1.00 rating. Nothing wrong with those numbers on paper. The problem is Neon is a different agent than it was in Stage 1. The patch slowed her down and the whole game has adjusted to her lines. Vitality had reads on every aggressive push, and one agent carrying the whole offensive structure was not going to be enough to beat this Vitality side.
Heretics had the Grand Final answer in May. They didn't have it here.
What This Means
Vitality is in the upper semifinals and they look like the best team at this event. That five-map final felt like it could have gone either way on another night. This didn't feel that way at all.
The bracket question is whether anyone left can match Derke at this level. He's not just the best player on his team right now. He's arguably the best player at Masters London through the first two days of playoffs. And Vitality just got started.
I'm locking them in as my pick to win the whole thing.