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Fnatic vs LOUD At VCT 2023: Lock In

After almost three weeks in the tournament, we had our two finalists of VCT 2023: Lock In. It was Fnatic vs LOUD at the grand finals of VCT 2023: Lock In. Did the winners of Valorant Champions 2022 pick up another title or did Fnatic complete their dream run? Let’s find out more!

Fnatic vs LOUD

Rosters

LOUD

  • Erick ‘aspas‘ Santos
  • Felipe ‘Less‘ Basso
  • Matias ‘saadhak‘ Delipetro
  • Cauan ‘cauanzin‘ Pereira
  • Arthur ‘tuyz‘ Vieira

Fnatic

  • Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett
  • Nikita ‘Derke‘ Sirmitev
  • Emir ‘Alfajer‘ Ali Beder
  • Leo ‘Leo‘ Jannesson
  • Timofey ‘Chronicle‘ Khromov

Map Picks & Bans

  • LOUD banned Haven
  • FNC banned Pearl
  • LOUD picked Ascent
  • FNC picked Fracture
  • LOUD picked Split
  • FNC picked Lotus
  • Icebox remained

The Series

Map 1 (Ascent)

Ascent started with LOUD on attack. But it was Fnatic that picked up the first two pistol rounds with a retake on the first. LOUD responded but only for a while as they won the next two rounds. Fnatic then picked up the next five rounds including two successful retakes. The first half ended 8-4 in favor of Fnatic. It was LOUD at the start of the second half that won the first two pistols. But Fnatic kept their cool and closed out their first map 13-8. Eventually, it was Fnatic winning LOUD’s first map pick. It was Leo that put up a stellar performance for Fnatic vs LOUD in the first map.

Map 2 (Fracture)

Fracture was the second map in the series of LOUD vs Fnatic. Fnatic, yet again, picked up the first two rounds starting on attack. The first half was crazy with both teams not allowing the other to consistently win rounds. The first half of the second map ended 6-6. The second half started in favor of Fnatic yet again as they won the pistols. LOUD could show little resistance in the second half as Fnatic kept on seeing out rounds. The second map ended 13-7 in favor of Fnatic as they were now up 2-0 in the series. Just one more map win and they win the title!

Map 3 (Split)

It was LOUD on attack again as the match started on Split. LOUD showed nothing but resilience and courage in the first half. While Fnatic tried to break them down, LOUD seemed to be formidable. The first half ended 7-5 in favor of LOUD. LOUD maintained their consistency winning the first three rounds of the second half as well including two defuses. Fnatic tried to make a comeback into the map but it was too little, too late. LOUD put down a few more successful defuses and won the map 13-9. It was none other than Less that put up a show on Split.

Map 4 (Lotus)

It was time for the battleground to be Valorant’s latest map. At this point, Fnatic had been accustomed to winning the opening pistol rounds. And they did it yet again! But this time, they followed it up winning round three too. LOUD, however, decided to put their game faces on. They won six rounds straight with absolute ease. Fnatic could barely respond as the first half finished 7-5 in favor of LOUD. Fnatic started the second half well, leveling the score at 7-7 by winning the pistols. But this time, it was LOUD that taught Fnatic a thing or two about retakes. Half of the rounds they won in the second half were retakes. Eventually, LOUD won the map 13-8. It was now onto Icebox- the decider map.

Map 5 (Icebox)

When it was needed the most, LOUD won the first two pistols on Icebox. Fnatic managed to win the third round by resisting a plant from LOUD. But it was not nearly enough as LOUD steamrolled over Fnatic in the first half. LOUD won the first half on a scoreline of 9-3. LOUD started the second half winning the pistols as well. But then, the unthinkable happened. Never in LOUD’s wildest dreams could they think of a Fnatic comeback. Fnatic screamed aggression as they won not one… not two…. but nine rounds straight. With LOUD picking up a much-needed round, it was now time for the only overtime of the night.

LOUD started on attack this time in overtime. In the first round of overtime, both Derke and Aspas made a statement but it was Leo that had the last laugh killing aspas and winning the first round. It was Fnatic on attack this time. A calm and collected push into the B site saw Fnatic bulldozing over the LOUD roster. And with that, Fnatic won Icebox and consequently, the VCT 2023: Lock In.

For Chronicle, it’s the first time ever that a player has lifted two Valorant trophies. Nothing but ecstasy for Boaster as well as he finally lifts up a trophy.

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Global Esports Valorant Roster’s VCT Debut At LOCK//IN

The Indian franchise team, Global Esports’ Valorant roster performed at an S-Tier tournament for the first time. The SEA representatives faced Team Vitality in a round of 32 match of Group Omega. How did the Asian team perform and did they meet the expectations? Find out!

Global Esports vs Team Vitality

It was an Asia vs Europe affair as  the Valorant roster of Global Esports faced Team Vitality. This was the first match of Global Esports at a tournament of this scale. On the other hand, Vitality is an organization that is well accustomed to playing top tournaments. Both the teams have fresh rosters with new recruits, so it was surely exciting to see the two teams clash.

Map Picks & Bans

  • GE bans Ascent
  • VIT bans Icebox
  • GE picks Split
  • VIT picks Pearl
  • GE bans Haven
  • VIT bans Fracture
  • Lotus remains

Rosters

Let’s take a look at the lineups of the two teams of last night.

Global Esports

  • Jordan “AYRIN” He (IGL)
  • Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar
  • Kim “t3xture” Na-ra
  • Park “Bazzi” Jun-ki
  • Cahya “Monyet” Nugraha

Team Vitality

  • Santeri “BONECOLD” Sassi (IGL)
  • Jokūbas “ceNder” Labutis
  • Michał “MOLSI” Łącki
  • Tomas “Destrian” Linikas
  • Karel “Twisten” Ašenbrener

The Series

Let’s check out how the series went between Team Vitality and Global Esports at Valorant Lock In.

Map 1 (Split)

The first map of the series started with Global Esports on defense. They won the first round with a successful defuse. But Vitality didn’t seem to be bothered as they picked up the next four rounds with ease. Global Esports showed little resistance picking up only two other rounds for the rest of the first half. The first half ended 9-3 in favor of Team Vitality. Global started the second half winning the first pistol round too- a ray of hope for the Asian fans. But Vitality buried all of those hopes and dreams for Global Esports as they didn’t take long to reach 13 round wins. The first map ended 13-4 in favor of Team Vitality.

Map 2 (Pearl)

Pearl began with Global Esports now on attack. This time, they managed to pick up the first two pistol rounds showing quite the determination. Vitality then responded picking up two rounds of their own as the scores leveled. Vitality started to pick up pace on defense and the first half ended 7-5 in favor of the boys from Europe. The second half started in favor of Global Esports yet again as they again won both the pistol rounds. From that point onwards, Global Esports looked like a more refined roster as they kept dominating Team Vitality. They got down a bunch of defuses in the second half as they picked up the second map.

With the map score being 1-1, it was now time for the decider. Can the Indian organization cause a Global upset (see what we did there?) or can Vitality pick up the expected result?

Map 3 (Lotus)

Global Esports just seemed to be dominated pistol rounds as they started off Lotus winning the first two rounds yet again. But Vitality responded when it was needed the most. They showed everyone who’s the boss with sheer firepower picking up round after round in the first half. The first half ended 8-4 in favor of Vitality. The second half started with Global yet again picking up the pistol rounds. And while they were hoping to gain some momentum, Team Vitality turned the game around again. They took the next four rounds without pause as they closed the decider map 13-6.

With the series closed, Team Vitality moves onto the round of 16 of VCT Lock In.

With their win in this series, Vitality aren’t the only victors of the night. Their next round opponent, Leviathan also picked up a 2-0 win over ZETA. The round of 16 also welcomes two other teams- FUT Esports and 100 Thieves. Team Vitality will be facing Leviathan tomorrow night in the round of 16.

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VCT Lock In: DRX vs C9 & EG vs Talon Predictions

We are just hours away from the Round of 16 matches with DRX vs C9 and EG vs Talon Esports. Who will be joining NRG and LOUD at the quarter finals of VCT Lock In 2023? Today, we predict the two winners of the night as we move towards the business end of the tournament.

Round Of 16 Predictions

DRX vs Cloud9

South Korean Giants will be facing the representatives of NA on our first match of the night.

Probable Lineups

DRX
  • Kim “stax” Gu-taek (IGL)
  • Goo “Rb” Sang-Min
  • Kim “Zest” Gi-seok
  • Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul
  • Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan
Cloud9
  • Anthony “vanity” Malaspina (IGL)
  • Nathan “leaf” Orf
  • Erick “Xeppaa” Bach
  • Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro
  • Jacob “yay” Whiteaker

Our Prediction

It’s the North America vs Asia in the first match of the night. DRX have defeated BBL Esports 2-1 to make it to the round of 16. On the other hand, Cloud9 steamrolled over another Asian team, Paper Rex. Both teams have shown similar levels of confidence so far in the tournament.

A lot of this DRX vs C9 match boils down to the rosters. Cloud9 now has a pretty much new roster thanks to the Riot Games partnership program. With Zellsis and yay now in the squad, they surely are a force to be reckoned with. But the same DRX roster has been playing together since VCT 2021. There are few teams that come close in terms of co-ordination and that was well displayed at Valorant Champions 2022. This should be a close encounter but we feel like DRX is making it into the quarterfinals from here.

Don’t believe us? We got both our predictions right last night!

DRX is confident they can avenge PRX with this hilarious post tweeted earlier today:

Evil Geniuses vs Talon Esports

We’ll be finishing the night off with the last match between Evil Geniuses and Talon Esports.

Probable Lineups

Evil Geniuses
  • Kelden “Boostio“Pupello (IGL)
  • Corbin “C0M” Lee
  • Alexander “jawgemo” Mor
  • Brendan “BcJ” Jensen
  • Ethan “Ethan” Arnold
Talon Esports
  • Itthirit “foxz” Ngamsaard (IGL)
  • Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut
  • Apiwat “garnetS” Apiraksukumal
  • Jittana “JitboyS” Nokngam
  • Panyawat “Sushiboys” Subsiriroj

Our Prediction

Both Evil Geniuses and Talon won their opening matches 2-0, against Heretics and MIBR respectively. The teams seem quite equal in terms of the performance they have displayed so far in the tournament.

The most impressive aspect about Evil Geniuses is the fact that they have a stacked 9-man roster. So, for Talon it’s gonna be hard to predict the lineup of EG. Ethan and BcJ brings a wealth of experience in the lineup which will be crucial for their run here. But let’s not count out Talon Esports. The Thai boys have showed nothing but courage and co-ordination in their opening match against the locals, MIBR. Former XERXIA man, Sushiboys was crowned the MVP of the match. A lot rests on his shoulders tonight as they’ll try to see it through at the series. Evil Geniuses on paper have more experience and firepower, so they should be clinching a spot at the quarterfinals.

Guess only time will tell if we get our predictions right tonight as well!

 

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