Author: Pedro Romero
Yet again, the defending VCT champions have fallen in their next international event. Continuing the trend of a team unable to win VCT international competitions, FunPlus Phoenix dropped their series against DRX 2-0 in the lower bracket semifinals to bow out of Valorant Champions 2022 and finish in fourth place, ending EMEA’s chance of repeating as Valorant world champions.For all that happened in FPX’s rematch with the Korean side(who bested them earlier in the playoffs to send the team to the lower bracket), they suffered a backbreaking collapse in each of the series’ maps to decide the series, with its…
Some time after The International 10, after recognizing the lack of options amidst the offseason roster shuffle, Arif “MSS” Anwar found himself in an unlikely situation. Following his departure from Quincy Crew, a stack he had been a part of long before it bared its current name, he offered his services to any side looking to bolster their lineup for the next Dota Pro Circuit. It didn’t matter if that potential suitor was based in either North America or Europe. Given his extensive career that includes numerous TI appearances, MSS felt certain it was only a matter of time before…
In just eight days, Beastcoast captured the heart and soul of the North American crowd. As the last representative of South America (and the Americas as a whole), they fought side by side with the best Dota 2 reams the world had to offer inside the Esports Arlington Stadium, which served as the site for the Arlington Major, the penultimate DPC event of the season.Against expectations, they finished in 5-6th place in the Lone Star State, matching their previous mark from ESL One Stockholm. Despite a shaky group stage where they had a 2-5-2 to start the playoffs in the…
ZETA DIVISION took the Valorant scene by storm when they manufactured an incredible run in the lower bracket of the 2022 Masters: Reykjavik playoffs to finish third place for the competition.On top of recognizing the fact that a Japanese team managed to go that far in an international LAN after the region regularly placed bottom in the standings in prior Masters events, ZETA fostered a benchmark for all teams in the region to follow. No longer do they have to conservatively aim for the middle of the standings against the rest of the world. They can vie for the top…
During day four of the group stage at Valorant Champions 2022, APAC’s second seeded team XERXIA lost their opening series to North America’s XSET 2-0. Despite their unconventional attempts to stymie their opposition ‘ which included their selection of Yoru for Icebox ‘ the Asia-Pacific’s (APAC) second seeded team ultimately continued their lethargic form in international play and became 1-5 overall for the year. Now they must fend off the loser of either LATAM mainstay KRU Esports or reigning Masters champions FunPlus Phoenix to continue their bid to becoming Valorant world champions.One of XERXIA’s players Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut spoke to…
EDward Gaming lost their opening series in Valorant Champions 2022 against Paper Rex. Despite an impressive showing from the Chinese outfit, which happened in light of Qu “Life” Donghao’s untimely absence and Zhang “Smoggy” Zhao’s subsequent substitution, the Chinese representative now sit on the edge of elimination as they must avoid another defeat in order to extend their stay in Istanbul, Turkey for a little while longer.Soon after facing PRX, EDG’s IGL Haodong “Haodong” Guo spoke to the media in a scrum interview about their participation in Champions thus far, working with Smoggy as their stand-in, and much more.Pedro Romero,…
Of all the teams taking part in the 2022 Valorant Champions tournament, there had been plenty of intrigue revolving around BOOM Esports, the third seed from the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), who qualified for the event through its Last Chance Qualifier.Due to their recent inclusion of famouz and subsequent adjustments that accomodated their latest arrival, the team overran their regional rival to book themselves a place in Istanbul, Turkey and vie for the Valorant world championship. Furthermore, in reaching Champions, Boom also qualified for their first-ever VCT international event, thus creating a milestone in the org’s history within Valorant.Among those who…
As BOOM Esports’ longest serving member, blaZek1ng viewed the team’s qualification for Champions as a long time coming. Since joining in the summer of 2020 as one of their founding members to their Valorant squad ‘ which was preceded by a storied career in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, blaZek1ng has seen multiple iterations for the team seek to conquer APAC and contend against the rest of the world in Masters and Champions events, only for all to come to no avail.Fortunately for him, that all changed in the late stretch of the 2022 VCT season as the team, with the inclusion…
Leviatan, the reigning champions of Latin America, are firing on all cylinders thus far in the 2022 Valorant Champions tournament as they defeated Team Liquid 2-0 in their opening Group A encounter.It was the result of a confluence of factors that helped LEV steer ahead of their EMEA counterparts. The flawless record in pistol rounds, the neutralization of TL’s comps, including the one on Ascent, which featured Phoenix, and the long-awaited arrival of their head coach Rodrigo ‘Onur’ Dalmagro in an in-person capacity for an international LAN. All these have ultimately pushed LEV to the brink of advancing to the…
Paper Rex started their Valorant Champions 2022 run on the right foot as they defeated EDward Gaming 2-0 in the tournament’s opening match. Despite struggling in Icebox where they fell by a 13-5 margin, the APAC first seed and Masters: Copenhagen runner-up rebounded by winning the deciding map in Haven and subsequently advanced to the Group A Winner’s match. It is there where they will vie to book themselves a place in the playoffs phase amidst competitive Valorant’s biggest stage of the year.Following the series against EDG, PRX’s Benedict “Benkai” Tan spoke to the media in a scrum interview to…