LOUD and OpTic to meet in Group B Winners’ Match, Leviatán qualify for playoffs
On the second day of VCT 2022 - Champions Istanbul, LOUD and OpTic Gaming won their first matches of the tournament to face each other in the winners' match. On the other hand, ZETA DIVISION and BOOM Esports will fight to keep their hopes alive in the loser's match.
In the opening match of the day, the Japanese team ZETA DIVISION and the Brazilian representative LOUD played against each other. The Brazilian representative picked Ascent to start the competition. ZETA made a great start by executing every LOUD member in the first two rounds. LOUD managed to answer back by winning the first gun round but ZETA were the superior side. The Japanese team won seven rounds in the first half to keep the lead in their hands. LOUD tied the game after winning the tenth round but ZETA won the last two rounds to take advantage before going into the second half. Yuma "Dep" Hashimoto held a 1.09 rating on defense with Jett in his hands as well as grabbing 2 first bloods to keep the bomb sites clean. LOUD’s Felipe "Less" Basso was the main factor of his team’s 5-round wins with a 1.34 rating and 3 first bloods on Killjoy. The second half was a completely different story as LOUD showed why they picked the map in the first place. The Brazilian team started their defensive turn by defusing the bomb in the pistol round. LOUD did not lose a single round for six rounds in a row and ZETA only won one round in the second half. LOUD closed out the first map with a score of 13-8 and made a great start to the series. Less finished the game with a 1.43 rating and 22 kills. LOUD’s star, Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi, grabbed 19 kills, including 6 first bloods.
ZETA’s pick of the series was Fracture. Once again the Japanese side won the pistol round and LOUD answered by winning the first gun round. This time, ZETA dominated the early and mid stages of the tournament. LOUD won the last three rounds of the half to close the gap. In the end, the Japanese team led the half with a score of 7-5. Kouji "Laz" Ushida had a massive Chamber performance, holding a 1.51 rating with 14 kills and a 280 ACS. On the other side, Matias "Saadhak" Delipetro’s Viper came in handy for LOUD as he held a 1.15 rating. The Argentinian player grabbed 5 kills in the last two rounds to keep his team in the game. LOUD started the second half by defusing the bomb. Saadhak’s dominance continued in the second half as he picked up where he left off, securing five kills in the first two rounds of the second half. LOUD had a great defensive performance just like they did in the previous map. The Brazilian team won the match by leading the second half with a score of 8-2. The Argentinian Viper of the team finished the game with a 1.58 rating and 26 kills. Laz’s 25-kill Chamber was not enough to keep ZETA in the series.
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The APAC representative picked Breeze to start the second match of the day. OpTic Gaming won the pistol round but BOOM Esports’ defense was on point after buying guns. The North American team grabbed a bunch of rounds throughout the half but BOOM Esports were the superior side. The APAC team grabbed eight rounds in the first half and lost four. David "Xffero" Monangin had a great Viper performance on defense with a 1.77 rating. He grabbed 5 first bloods, which was crucial for his team as they stopped OpTic’s attacks immediately. On the North American team’s squad, Austin "crashies" Roberts’s Sova was pretty useful with 13 kills and a 0.93 K/D. OpTic started the second half in style, winning six rounds in a row. However, BOOM Esports managed to grab four rounds to reach the 12-point mark. With Crashies defusing the bomb in the 24th round of the competition, OpTic forced overtime. The overtime was very competitive as it lasted for five cycles. In the end, BOOM won the game with a score of 18-16. After a very competitive and exhausting game, the APAC team started their group stage run with an important win. Tehbotol played out of his mind, grabbing 38 kills in total with 7 first bloods, while holding a 1.64 rating. The Indonesian Viper stepped up for his team in the early stages of the game and continued his dominance throughout the map.
OpTic’s map pick was Bind and they had to win the map in order to reach the winner's match. BOOM Esports played the attacking side poorly and OpTic had a great competition to defend the bomb sites with Chamber, Skye, Brimstone, Viper, and a Raze. The North American team won the first eight rounds and grabbed ten wins on defense. The notorious Chamber of OpTic, Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker, had a great performance on the agent once again with a monstrous 2.11 rating. yay picked up 19 kills with a 420 ACS to his name. crashies followed him with a 1.30 rating on Skye. BOOM won the first two rounds of the second half but they were so behind in the competition. OpTic grabbed three more rounds to force another game in the series, 13-5. After losing the first map, the North American team had a very dominant performance on the second map and boosted their morale. yay had a 1.46 rating at the end of the map.
The last map of the series was Fracture. Despite making a great start with the pistol round, BOOM looked lost on offense. They only won three rounds in the first half which was not really expected. OpTic Gaming had the upper hand on defense mainly thanks to yay’s Chamber. He had a kill-duel with Gary "blaZek1ng" Dastin but had more support from his team in the end. The NA representatives won nine rounds in the first half and secured a huge advantage before switching sides. The domination continued in the second half as OpTic won the first two rounds of the competition. They even won the first gun round and left nowhere for their opponents to go. BOOM failed to spread their consistency on Ascent to the last two maps of the series and eventually lost. blaZesk1ng tried to do his best on Fracture but he failed to complete the clutch in the last round. OpTic dominated Fracture and took home the victory, 13-3. yayy had a 4.75 K/D at the end of the competition. blaZek1ng held a 1.60 rating on Fracture, scoring more than three of his teammates combined with 18 kills.
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XfferoThe last match of the day has decided the first playoff team at VALORANT Champions İstanbul. Leviatán picked Haven in the winners’ match of Group A. The LATAM representatives won the pistol round by defusing the bomb and then won the first gun round to make a 3-0 start to the map. However, Paper Rex responded to their dominance in the early stages by making better attacking moves in the later stages of the half. The first half ended in a tie, 6-6. Paper Rex’s Aaron "mindfreak" Leonhart tried his best with a 1.28 rating Astra performance but Benjamín "Adverso" Poblete’s Breach was more effective with a 1.64 rating and 15 kills. Despite the kill differences between players, it was still a tie in the end. The second half was a different story as Leviatán showed us the reason behind the Haven pick. The LATAM team dominated the game in the second half, losing only two rounds while winning seven on offense to close out the map. Their performance in the second half was pretty good but Marco Eliot "Melser" Machuca Almaro’s Omen was the most impressive part of the roster as he held a 1.41 rating and a 2.11 K/D.
Paper Rex’s only shot to hold onto the series was winning on their map pick, Bind. Leviatán once again won the pistol round by defusing the bomb but this time, PRX’s answer was much sooner as they won the first gun round. Both teams were impressive during certain times in the first half and again, it ended in a tie. PRX’s Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee showed his capabilities with a 1.75 rating on Fade but Francisco "kiNgg" Alberto Aravena had a better performance, holding a 1.96 rating with Raze in his hands. In the early stages of the second half, Paper Rex were the superior side for a while as they had the lead more than once. However, Leviatán’s performance in the later stages of the game was just unstoppable. Starting with Fabian "Shyy" Usnayo’s ace, the LATAM representatives won four rounds in a row to sweep their opponents and qualify for the playoffs. Shy finished the game with a 1.68 rating and 28 kills. kiNgg’s 7 first bloods were also very useful for the team.
_1747477916763.png&w=3840&q=75 "Paper Rex")
_1747477916763.png&w=48&q=75 "Paper Rex")
_1747477916763.png&w=96&q=75 "Paper Rex")
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ShyyThe VCT 2022 - Champions Istanbul action will continue tomorrow with Group D games. You can find more information about the tournament on the events page.
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