VCT Stage 1 Masters: G2 Esports and LOUD Move Into Semifinals
The action in Reykjavík continues as the teams prepare to climb the Playoff bracket. The group stage has concluded, and we saw ZETA DIVISION and OpTic Gaming emerge victorious out of the final two Decider Matches. Despite their best efforts, both XERXIA and NiP were unsuccessful in defeating their opponents and were sent home early.
In yesterday’s Quarterfinal matches, G2 Esports made quick work of ZETA DIVISION and sent the Japanese team into the Lower Bracket. On the same day, Team Liquid fought the Brazilian Challengers LOUD and suffered a 2 – 1 defeat.
ZETA and Team Liquid will now have to fight for survival on April 16th, where one of these teams will end up getting eliminated.
G2 Esports vs. ZETA DIVISION
This match was fairly interesting given how these two teams found themselves on the opposite extremes.
G2 Esports came into the tournament as one of favourites, while ZETA was seen as one of the weakest teams in Group A. Still, these two teams somehow found themselves face-to-face in the first match of the Quarterfinals.
While the EMEA Challengers did secure a 2 – 0 win, it’s important to state how well the guys from ZETA DIVISION handled themselves. They didn’t get stomped like they did in the group stage against DRX, but instead pushed back and made G2 Esports work for their victories.
G2 also looked much more confident than they did at the beginning of this new Valorant Champions Tour season. They had a shaky start and almost missed the first Challengers. But it seems things have finally settled as the team looks in a much better state now.
LOUD vs. Team Liquid
The second Quarterfinal match of the day saw Team Liquid clash with LOUD, the Brazilian wrecking ball.
The Brazilian team completely dominated their region, winning every single match in both Group Stage and Playoffs of the Brazil Stage 1 Challengers. They only lost a single map against Liberty in the second week of the Group Stage. As such, they were viewed as one of the favourites in this esports tournament, but still, it remained to be seen how well they’d do against other regions.
Another factor that impacted LOUD in this match is the fact this was their first LAN event, so nerves definitely played a role here. Luckily, the boys from Brazil handled the situation spectacularly well and earned a huge victory in the Quarterfinals.
Team Liquid did great as well! They went with Icebox on the first map, which was a bit of a risky pick. LOUD established an early advantage and kept it all the way until the end. Despite Liquid’s best efforts, they still couldn’t turn the tide of the battle and ended up losing the first map.
Things took a sharp turn on Haven where Team Liquid came out guns blazing and completely shut down LOUD. The Brazilian squad had no answers and simply had to watch and Liquid claimed round by round. Liquid evened the score to 1 – 1 and the final result was 13 – 3 for Liquid.
Following such a devastating defeat, it was questionable whether LOUD would be able to recover properly. Luckily, that’s exactly what they did. LOUD picked up the pace and started gaining back the lost control. By the end of the second half on Ascent, LOUD had the match back in their hands and ended things with yet another victory. The final score was 2 – 1 for LOUD, which was a well-deserved win for this young team.
Two More To Go
The Quarterfinals aren’t over yet, as there’s still two matches to be played later today. The first one between DRX and the APAX Challengers, Paper Rex. The second match will be an NA rematch between OpTic and The Guard.
These two NA squads faced off in the NA Stage 1 Challengers and The Guard managed to squeeze a 3 – 2 victory. It was one of the best matches the NA region saw thus far, so we’re sure the fans are especially looking forward to this one.
Today’s VCT matches will be tons of fun, so make sure not to miss them! You can catch the teams live on the official Valorant Twitch channel.
