Alongside the highest competitive division of the VCT, tournaments in the tier-2 Challengers league are taking place, with the Japanese region drawing the most attention. Before the end of the group stage, the main favorite of the tournament was identified, which we will tell you about.

Firstly, it's noted that the group stage of Valorant Challengers 2024 Japan: Split 1 is being held from February 3rd to March 10th, in a single round-robin tournament format. 8 teams are competing for playoff spots, with the two best teams directly advancing to the upper bracket final, while the remaining teams enter the lower bracket quarterfinals. All matches are played in a best-of-three format. Before the end of the group stage, the main tournament favorite was identified, and it is the team FENNEL.

Under the guidance of Ukrainian coach Johnta, the team is currently at the top of the tournament table with an overall match score of 5-0. Interestingly, out of the five won matches, the team lost only one map, in the match against SCARZ, which ended in a 2-1 victory. In second place in the tournament is the team REJECT, which also has a good record of 4 wins and 1 loss.

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Note that Valorant Challengers 2024 Japan: Split 1 is taking place from February 3rd to March 31st. The 8 strongest tier-2 teams are competing for a total prize pool of $33,200, as well as four direct slots to the second stage of the qualifiers.