Case Esports and TENSTAR are the winners of VRL Finals Day 1
On the opening day of VRL - Finals, the Group A participants competed against each other. Case Esports and TENSTAR were the winners of the day but it is also not the end of the journey for the other teams. Here is the recap of the first day!
The first game of the tournament was between the Spanish champions, Case Esports, and the Northern Europe: Polaris champions, EXCEL. Case’s map pick was Ascent but EXCEL started the map with a great defensive effort. Gilad "ALIVE" Hakim’s Chamber played a huge role in the opening round and EXCEL’s dominance continued until the end of the half. The European team won 8 rounds on the defensive side and secured an important advantage before going into the second half. Patryk "paTiTek" Fabrowski and Tyler "Foxie" Lowton both held a 1.46 rating and they were the biggest factor in the NE: Polaris champions' success. On Case’s side, Štěpán "Ambi" Beránek only had 2 kills with Jett in his hands and he also held a 0.16 rating which was pretty much questionable. Despite making an impressive start to the second half, Case Esports failed to keep their performance at the same level and eventually lost the map, 13-10. Foxie finished the map with 20 kills and 5 first bloods with Omen in his hands.
EXCEL’s pick was Haven and they had a solid chance to sweep their opponents on the map. They started the map in dominance once again and led the first half with a score of 8-4. paTiTek and chiwawa led their teams with 11 kills each. Moreover, the Polish Breach also held a 1.44 rating. Almost the same scenario of the first map happened in the first half of Haven but the second half was different. Case Esports dominated the map after their switch to the attacking side. They won 8 rounds in a row and reached the map point. EXCEL won two rounds in a row to continue their hopes of forcing overtime but Case did not allow them and closed out the second map after 23 rounds, 13-10. Berkant "Wolfen" Joshkun had a massive Chamber performance with a solid 1.65 rating and 29 kills, including 6 first bloods.
The decider map of the series was Icebox. Case Esports won the first map by defusing the opponent’s bomb but EXCEL sat behind the wheel and won 5 rounds in a row. The first half ended with both sides’ consecutive streaks and ended in a tie, 6-6. The second half of the competition decided the winner of the series and Case Esports made a great start. The Spanish team had a better performance on the attacking side and won the map after 9 rounds in the second half which resulted in 7-2. Wolfen was the MVP once again with a 1.29 rating and 19 kills, but this time on Sova. paTiTek and chiwawa’s efforts were not enough as Case Esports closed out the series after taking their opponent down with a score of 13-8 on Icebox.
Wolfen
roxie
falltw
Ambi
Yurii
paTiTek
Foxie
ALIVEThe second series of the day consisted of the French champions, Team Vitality, and the Eastern Europe champions, TENSTAR. Vitality picked Icebox and the competition began. The French team had a very dominant performance in the early stages of the first half but after the 5th round, TENSTAR took control of the match. The Polish squad looked unbeatable on the defensive side and actually lost only 1 round until the end of the first half. They led the half 7-5 with Jakub "maniek" Mańkowski holding a 1.33 rating and Wojciech "Stix" Chamielec with a 1.38. The Polish duo had great performances, especially after the 5th round. Team Vitality’s Jokūbas "ceNder" Labutis had an impressive individual performance with the highest rating of the half, 1.49, and a 297 ACS with Chamber in his hands. As the sides were switched for the second half, TENSTAR picked up where they left off and won the first 2 rounds of the action. Team Vitality showed their will to come back but the Polish squad did not allow them. TENSTAR won the first map with a score of 13-8 and held the advantage in their hands. maniek put on a show with an impressive 1.61 rating and 26 kills on Chamber. He used the agent’s skill set so useful by grabbing 9 first bloods.
TENSTAR map pick was Bind and they had a very good shot at sweeping their opponent. The first half was completely one-sided as Team Vitality failed to defend TENSTAR’s attacks. The Polish team dominated the half by winning 10 rounds and losing only 2. maniek was the MVP again with a 1.53 rating and 5 first bloods with Raze in his hands. On the other side of the map, Cender once again tried his best with 12 kills and a 1.32 rating but his team was totally wiped from the map. TENSTAR needed only 3 rounds to sweep their opponents and they did not waste any time, winning the first 3 rounds of the second half to dominate the map with a score of 13-2. maniek completed the match with a 1.47 rating and 17 kills.
BONECOLD
nataNk
Case Esports and TENSTAR will face each other in the winners’ match whereas Team Vitality and EXCEL will compete in the losers’ match. Group B games will be played tomorrow. More information can be found on the events page.
Latest News
- How to check VALORANT Flashback 2025: Stats, persona, and moreVALORANT Flashback 2025 is out! Review your stats, Boast/Roast highlights, pro player persona & global comparisons. Learn how to access via site/email!
1 day ago - Natus Vincere unveils full VALORANT roster for 2026NaVi announces its full VALORANT 2026 roster led by Shao and Ange1, blending old faces with new ones in a quest for Champions Shanghai.
3 days ago - VALORANT Champions Tour 2026: New Kickoff format and global VCT schedule revealedRiot Games reveals new Kickoff format for 2026, along with the full VCT 2026 schedule. 3 days ago
Comments
vct 2023
For all information about the VCT 2023, check out our VCT Hub. There you will find our FAQ to answer all of your questions and details about the teams, different Leagues, and more.