North America Triumphs Over EMEA as OpTic Gaming, XSET Win Their Matches at Champions 2022 Playoffs
North America triumphed over EMEA when OpTic Gaming and XSET won their respective matches against Team Liquid and FNATIC at the VALORANT Champions 2022 Playoffs.
NA – 2
EMEA – 0The #VALORANTChampions Day 10 results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/weq9aMnWEL
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 10, 2022
OpTic Gaming Outlasts Team Liquid
THE #GreenWall GETS THE PLAYOFF SERIES WIN FOR NORTH AMERICA! #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/hZpXndUhXB
FEATURED STORIES— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 10, 2022
OpTic Gaming’s match against Team Liquid went the distance and ended in a 2-1 victory.
OpTic lost the first game at Breeze after Team Liquid decimated them 7-13. Despite their efforts in the first half, OpTic looked like sitting ducks for Team Liquid as they were easily picked off one by one. OpTic then tried to make something in the second half but was given no clean and easy rounds from Team Liquid who eventually closed the game in Round 20.
The second game at Bind was a different story altogether as OpTic came swinging with vengeance on their mind. The North American representatives took the first half as they secured seven rounds for themselves. After halftime, OpTic allowed Team Liquid to get three rounds but was cautious enough not to lose the lead and end the game shortly at Round 21.
The third and final game at Ascent ended in OpTic’s victory 13-8. OpTic’s dominance was back on display as they took charge of the first half 10-2. However, Team Liquid rallied in the second half as they avoided OpTic’s Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker who has been having a great series performance. Luckily, OpTic stopped Team Liquid in their tracks as they swiftly took a thrifty matchpoint on Round 20 and eventually ended the game in the next round.
The man is INCREDIBLE!
MVP of #VALORANTChampions so far? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/tWVe7kdLQo
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 10, 2022
The series MVP went to Yay as he boasted a 69/40/10 series KDA, with the American sniper even posting a 406 ACS during the second half of their first game at Breeze. Meanwhile, Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen, Victor “Victor” Wong, and Austin “crashies” Roberts also proved they had the clutch genes as they collectively had multiple clutch rounds under their belt.
XSET Sweeps FNATIC
NA ON 🔝
XSET ADVANCES TO THE UPPER SEMIFINALS! #VALORANTChampions #RepTheSet❌ pic.twitter.com/GrFIK0UvzV
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 10, 2022
Unlike OpTic’s series against an EMEA team, XSET had a much shorter bout against FNATIC as it ended in a 2-0 sweep.
To start the series, XSET dominated Game 1 on Pearl and ended it 13-8. The North American representatives wasted no time as they racked up nine rounds for themselves during the first half. However, XSET had a bit of a scare as FNATIC tried to make a comeback as they lost five of the first six rounds of the second half. Fortunately, a 3-round win streak starting from Round 19 was enough for XSET to win the game.
XSET’s second game at Fracture against FNATIC was pretty much an even bout. XSET trailed behind FNATIC in the first half as they merely took five rounds (all via defusals) as defenders. They then bounced back after halftime and proceeded to overtake the lead, reach matchpoint, and eventually win the game 13-11.
Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban led the team in the series with his monstrous 48/25/4 series KDA on a respectable 276 ACS with Chamber. Meanwhile, Rory “dephh” Jackson and Jordan “AYRIN” He are tied with 28 kills each for the whole series.
With North American fans rejoicing, both OpTic and XSET will proceed to move up the bracket to face each other at the Upper Semifinals. Meanwhile, the EMEA representatives Team Liquid and FNATIC drop down to the lower bracket where only one team can remain in Champions 2022 after their match.
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