Here is ESTNN’s VCT NA LCQ Recap of Day 2.
Match 1: NRG Esports vs. 100 Thieves
Day 2 started with a matchup of NRG Esports taking on 100 Thieves. The two squads traded rounds in the first half on Icebox. NRG began to pull away in the second half with a five-round rally with tex and eeiu leading the charge. Derek, Asuna, and bang were performing well for 100T, but Will’s Chamber had a rough start.
WHAT. A. SHOT. 🤯@texerino | #VALORANTLCQ pic.twitter.com/a5UrmYZfUg
— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) August 5, 2022
100T managed to respond to NRG’s rally by taking three consecutive rounds, but after back-to-back defuses, NRG secured map 1 13-11.
Map 2 took the squads to Bind, one of 100T’s strongest maps. Will saw some improvements after the switch to Raze but was still not performing at the top of his game.
CLEAN RETAKE! #100T pic.twitter.com/TB7vJEw4tY
— 100 Thieves Esports (@100T_Esports) August 5, 2022
Not that it mattered, as the rest of 100T did extremely well. 100T maintained dominance in both halves and got a clean 13-7 victory heading into the final map of the series: Ascent.
THE WILL BANG DUO!!! pic.twitter.com/riZHfL5Hfv
— 100 Thieves Esports (@100T_Esports) August 5, 2022
The first half was a back-and-forth affair. Will switched back to Chamber and finally ascended to his final form. He really came alive in the third set, and the synergy with the other members of 100T really began to shine.
NRG did well with Ethan standing out as the MVP of the set for NRG. The second half started with the score evened up at 6-6. But at the tail end of the second half, 100T began to put on the pressure. NRG was able to stall match point for a while, but after three consecutive wins, 100T bested NRG 13-11 to win the series 2-1.
Match 2: Shopify Rebellion vs. Cloud9
The second match of the day pitted Shopify Rebellion against Cloud9. It turned out to be the most competitive match so far.
MOOSE IS ON THE LOOSE.@mooseloff | #VALORANTLCQ pic.twitter.com/wyt9ReDmym
— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) August 6, 2022
The first map was largely a Deathmatch slaughterfest, with SR and Cloud9 exchanging rallies in the first half. Moose got loose early on, performing a beautiful smoke-a-dope in the seventh round.
Giga brain @Vanityxz.@Cloud9 | #VALORANTLCQ pic.twitter.com/wabTxCb46o
— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) August 6, 2022
However, C9 picked up the pace in the second half and began pulling away. SR was able to prevent match point a couple of times, but Cloud9 eventually pulled it out with a 13-10 victory on Ascent.
Map 2 took the squads to Fracture, SR’s home turf. Someone let the dogs out here, or at least one dog, bdog in particular. And boy, did he go off.
yeah @bdog2916 is that dude@ShopifyRebels | #VCTNA pic.twitter.com/EbdIxnW6gK
— VALORANTING (@VALORANTING) August 6, 2022
Delivering multiple 4Ks and a forty bomb, bdog had arguably the best single map performance of anyone thus far in the tournament. Unfortunately, the play of the rest of SR began to decline. SR was getting outplayed by Cloud9, with Vanity, Xeppaa and leaf all stepping up in major ways. Cloud9 went into the second half down 5-7 but started to bring in back.
1 word: @leaf_cs @Cloud9 | #VCTNA pic.twitter.com/2C5g0ELW3e
— VALORANTING (@VALORANTING) August 6, 2022
Despite the relatively lackluster performances of his teammates, bdog hard carried SR, with SR coming close to victory several times. But when the smoke settled and the match point exchanges came to a close, Cloud9 came out on top 17-15 to deliver the first shutout of the tournament.
Who’s Up Next
Day 3 will kick off with the Upper Bracket matches. Cloud9 will be taking on The Guard, and the Sentinels will play Shopify Rebellion. It’s do-or-die for the Sentinels to salvage their 2022 season. SR defeated the Sentinels the last time they played each other (Though, at the time, the SR team was still with Luminosity Gaming). And with bdog on fire right now, the pressure will really be on.
The fun begins at 4 PM EDT.
