VALORANT Champions Day 2 Recap

Two days of VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021, rather two days of action-packed and enthralling Valorant matches at VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021 have come to an end. After witnessing the mind-blowing matchup between Cloud9 Blue and Fnatic on the inaugural day, it seemed that a hiatus would ensue before the community had the chance to witness a competition matching its ferocity. [Match=50154]

In the opening match, M3 Champions, the winners of VCT 2021 - Stage 3 - Masters Berlin - Playoffs, engaged in their first-ever head-to-head battle with [team= 8581], a notable team from Philippines. The map picks for this matchup were Icebox, Breeze, and Bind.

Team Secret started Icebox with three consecutive rounds, fell short on the 4th one, but managed to repeat their initial performance. This unexpected turn of events left the audience wide-eyed and praying for recovery from Gambit. However, fate wasn’t in their favor as the map ended 13-6 with Team Secret gaining the upper hand early in the series. Towards the end of Icebox, Jessie "JessieVash" Cucyo demonstrated a spectacular play taking out nAts and d3ffo in rapid succession.

The defeat on Icebox seemed to spark the inner beast with Gambit as they obliterated Team Secret with a flawless 13-0 run on Breeze. History was repeating itself as G2 esports had to face a similar scoreline at Masters Berlin. With a Series tied at 1-1, there was more drama and excitement revolving around this matchup than the community had anticipated.

With a Pistol round to start Bind, Team Secret looked for comeback opportunities, but Gambit had learned its lesson from Icebox and prevented them from gaining momentum. Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin had to showcase his brilliance with an ace in the 7th round – it was mind-blowing. While Gambit was leading the way with 7-5 at halftime, Team Secret was within reaching distance, at least until the 14th round. From that round onwards, there was no stopping Gambit. A 13:6 score of Bind put an end to the series with a 2-1 score.

The MVP of this match was none other than Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin, who finished the event with a 1.27 Rating, ACS 234, and an impressively high KD of 1.61.

[Match=50149]

If you were under the impression that only Gambit’s match would go the distance, this match might disappoint your expectations, but its details are sure to evoke fascination. Before we get into the specifics of this interesting matchup, the maps played in this series were Ascent, Breeze, and Haven.

FURIA dominated offense on Ascent straight out of the gate with 5 back-to-back rounds, including an awe-inspiring flawless on the 5th one. Nonetheless, these rounds allowed Sentinels to accustom themselves as they managed to tie the map at the half and unleash their notorious offense in the latter half to secure the map.

Breeze, too, witnessed a similar start with Sentinels’ defense struggling to find form. Despite being their map pick, Sentinels couldn’t establish control over Breeze as the first half reached its end with a 8:4 score. FURIA was looking to close the map as early as they could to avoid giving Sentinels’ the chance to come back. Although their success in doing so wasn’t immediate as Sentinels managed to take 10 rounds as opposed to FURIA’s 13. A highlight from this map was the combined play from Agustin "nzr" Ibarra and Alexandre "xand" Zizi in the 19th round.

In hindsight, the community witnessed two underdogs showcasing their talents against the world’s best. The third map was shaping up to literally be the decider of either teams’ fate. Nevertheless, Sentinels managed to redeem themselves on defense, which gave them the advantage earlier on. At halftime, the scoreboard read 9:3, the only map with Sentinels leading at the half. FURIA was desperate to come back; therefore, the second half saw desperate attempts to do so. They managed to take five consecutive rounds; however, a strong first half gave Sentinels a breathing room and helped them stay calm and navigate their way to the finish line with a 13:9 score. TenZ also gave us a glimpse of his true potential with a magnificent play in the first half.

As we had predicted in our viewer’s guide, Tyson "TenZ" Ngo was the Series MVP with consistent performances across all maps. He ended the series with a 1.31 rating, 266 ACS, and 1.33 KD. The statistics alone are enough to prove his reputation in the pro scene.

[Match=50150]

Considering that Team Liquid has had its most dominant form ever with 10 consecutive victories, the odds were in their favor and KRÜ Esports could only hope for a miracle. The maps for this series were Haven, Ascent, Split.

Team Liquid’s superiority in this match was eminent from the first half at Haven, which ended with an 8:4 score thanks to their formidable defense coupled with breathtaking plays from the Team Liquid roster. They wasted no time securing the map and KRU esports could only take one round in the second half. Nabil "Nivera" Benrlitom deserves an honorable mention for his performance on Haven as he finished the map with a staggering 1.85 rating, 304 ACS, and 2 KD.

Ascent, Team Liquid’s pick, followed suit with the scoreboard at the end of the first half bearing a three for KRU esports, and a 9 for Liquid. But KRU esports decided to engage in one last attempt at a comeback by taking four rounds in succession, including one with a clutch play from Juan Pablo "NagZet" Lopez.

KRU hadn’t given up yet, but Team Liquid looked to put an end to the series once and for all. They did so by taking the 20th and 21st rounds consecutively continuing their 10-game win streak and setting their eyes on the Valorant World Champion title. Here is a glimpse of Nivera’s astonishing play to finish the series:

It goes without saying that Nabil "Nivera" Benrlitom took the MVP for consistent performance across both maps and an overall rating of 1.38, 250 ACS, and 1.68 KD.

VALORANT Champions will continue tomorrow with great competition again where we expect more drama and upsets.