LOUD, DRX Begin Champions 2022 Playoffs with Respective Sweeps
LOUD and DRX began the VALORANT Champions 2022 Playoffs with their respective sweeps against Leviatán and FunPlus Phoenix (FPX).
Here are the #VALORANTChampions Day 9 results! pic.twitter.com/Cx1wCA5m0U
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 9, 2022
LOUD Wins LATAM Matchup Against Leviatán
THE FIRST PLAYOFF MATCH OF #VALORANTChampions İSTANBUL GOES TO @LOUDgg! #LOUDWIN pic.twitter.com/t9ZCUpIree
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 9, 2022
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Brazilian representatives LOUD won against Leviatán via a 2-0 sweep in their LATAM matchup for the first round of playoffs at Champions.
LOUD’s first game against their LATAM rivals saw the team overcoming a 6-12 deficit at Icebox. At the start, LOUD trailed behind Leviatán as the half ended against them 4-8. After halftime, things didn’t change much as LOUD struggled at defending Leviatán’s attacks. With Leviatán’s matchpoint at Round 18, LOUD’s perseverance gave the team enough strength to turn around the game and rally for six consecutive rounds to force overtime. From there, LOUD made quick work of Leviatán as they managed to complete an 8-round win streak for a 14-12 comeback win at overtime.
Fresh from their comeback win, LOUD finished the series at Haven. Initially, Leviatán looked undeterred by the previous game’s outcome as they managed to secure three of the first five rounds of the game. However, LOUD ended the half in the lead 7-5. From there, LOUD never gave up their lead and closed the game 13-6 with only one round lost in the second half.
Bryan “pancada” Luna’s flexibility on Sage (Game 1) and Omen (Game 2) led the team in stats as he finished the series with a record of 37/25/14 KDA on 238 ACS and a Kill-Death rating of +12. Not far off were his teammates Felipe “Less” de Loyola and Erick “aspas” Santos with their series KDA of 35/30/8 and 32/31/6 respectively.
DRX Shoots Down The Phoenix
WINNING MOMENT! @DRX_VS#VALORANTChampions | 📺 https://t.co/MDpRTZqCFp pic.twitter.com/eVRwE86ZsQ
— VALORANT Champions Tour KR (@valesports_kr) September 9, 2022
Meanwhile, South Korea’s DRX managed to shoot down FPX and swept them 2-0 in their series.
DRX’s first match against FPX was a game for the ages as their battle at Ascent became a 36-round game that lasted for more than an hour and a half of game time. The first half went DRX’s way as it ended 7-5 in their favor. However, FPX turned the tides of the game from their eco-round win against DRX at Round 14. Although DRX managed to secure a match point at Round 20, they lost four consecutive rounds against FPX which led to overtime. DRX and FPX battled it out in six overtimes where the South Korean team prevailed and won the game 19-17.
Riding high from that exhausting win at Ascent, DRX simply demolished FPX 13-5 at the next game in Breeze. DRX dominated the first half as it ended in a massive gap with a score of 9-3. From there, it was simply a walk in the park for DRX as they ended the game by Round 18.
Kim “Zest” Ki-seok ended up as the overall MVP as he boasted more series kills than everyone else in the team with his series KDA of 50/35/13. Meanwhile, Yu “Buzz” Byung-chul bolstered a series record of 49/45/15 KDA on a 249 ACS (the highest overall ACS in the team with his trusty Jett. Kim “stax” Gu-taek also wasn’t far off in the kill records as the DRX initiator posted a series record of 44/30/20 KDA on a 231 ACS.
With their respective series wins in the first round of playoffs at Champions 2022, DRX and LOUD move up the bracket to face each other in the Upper Semifinals. Meanwhile, Leviatán and FPX both drop to the lower bracket where they will fight each other, and only one team will survive.
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