AS IT HAPPENED: How Vivo Keyd won, and then lost their series against Acend

One of the hottest topics to come from the inaugural VALORANT Champions was Vivo Keyd and Acend’s controversial encounter in the Group A opener. Acend went on to win the series 2-1, but there is a lot to unpack.

For starters, the series’ outcome would have been different if it were not for Vivo Keyd’s questionable actions, Riot Games’ failure to patch a bug, and the Brazilian fans’ extreme clamor for justice, which all culminated in a game replay on Breeze. This is how Vivo Keyd won, and then lost their series against Acend.

Initial Results & Punishment

Brazilian representatives Vivo Keyd Stars, usually shortened as Vivo Keyd, faced off against EMEA side Acend for their best-of-3 series opener on Group A.

Vivo Keyd’s distinct aggressive playstyle was enough to beat Acend 2-1. The map scorelines looked like this:

• Game 1 (Icebox): Vivo Keyd 13 – Acend 9
• Game 2: (Bind) Vivo Keyd 3 – Acend 13
• Game 3 (Breeze): Vivo Keyd 13 – Acend 9

However, the final game at Breeze was subject to controversy as it was discovered that Vivo Keyd’s Jonathan “JhoW” Glória was using an illegal Cypher camera exploit for six rounds.

During Map 3 of the series between Acend and VK, Jonathan "JhoW" Gloria, of Vivo Keyd, violated a rule of the VALORANT Global Competition Policy.
Read more: https://t.co/WjqnDLETnC

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) December 4, 2021

Valorant have issued a punishment to Vivo Keyd after the illegal Cypher cam use by JhoW in their match against Acend

Riot has decided to revoke 6 rounds from Keyd, meaning Acend has now won the series pic.twitter.com/qZQvhQI3qq

— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) December 4, 2021

After a swift investigation, Riot Games announced that they have decided to revoke six rounds, the number rounds wherein the exploit was used, from Vivo Keyd. This meant that Acend won the series after winning the third match on Breeze by default.

If anything, Riot’s decision was expected as they previously punished both Vodafone Giants and X10, respectively, for using the same exploit.

Retraction of Original Decision

Disqualify Sentinels too for Lower and give the win for Furia too, Dapr use the same camera on breeze Vs Furia. CrazyRacon use the Skill jump jett on C on Haven whitout jett hability and the game wasn't paused like was paused on Furia VS Sentinels. #justiceforkeyd pic.twitter.com/0GFKp05yQU

— VITIN (@piazon_hugo) December 4, 2021

Almost immediately after the decision was announced, #justiceforkeyd went trending as it was discovered that Reykjavik champions Sentinels seemingly used the same exploit but went off scot-free.

Upon further deliberation, matches in Group A will be delayed to provide additional time to review the ruling against Vivo Keyd. Today’s matches will feature Team Vikings vs Gambit and Team Liquid vs Sentinels. Broadcast will begin 1 hour later than initially scheduled.

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) December 4, 2021

Riot then announced the delay of Group A matches for Day 5 of VALORANT Champions.

Update: After further review, we will be replaying the Acend vs VK match at the start of today’s broadcast with Acend ahead 7-0.
Read the competitive ruling here: https://t.co/S83VpYrfiI pic.twitter.com/hLFcOpDWtG

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) December 5, 2021

After further review and deliberation, Riot decided that the Breeze match between Vivo Keyd and Acend will be replayed, with Acend starting the game with a 7-0 lead.

Final Outcome

Despite trailing 7 rounds, Vivo Keyd put up a valiant effort but were ultimately unable to pull ahead to take the series. The match ended 13-10 in favor of Acend.

Following that loss, Vivo Keyd went on to face X10 Crit where they were swept by the Thai representatives in the elimination match. Acend, on the other hand, defeated North American representatives Team Envy 2-0 in the winners’ match.

Thanks for always playing with passion.

We'll see you next year @VivoKeyd! #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/zlukH3R3Tt

— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) December 6, 2021

With Vivo Keyd eliminated from VALORANT Champions 2021, one can’t help but wonder as to how this might have turned out had they not used the illegal Cypher cam exploit in the first place. Things could’ve turned out differently in a variety of ways.

Nevertheless, the action continues in VALORANT Champions as Acend is currently qualified for playoffs while a rematch between X10 and Envy is set to happen on December 8. Meanwhile, Team Secret will also have a chance to get into the playoffs if they are able to defeat Team Vikings on December 8.

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