OpTic Beats DRX to Earn Grand Finals Rematch Against LOUD in VALORANT Champions 2022
OpTic Gaming beat DRX in the lower bracket finals 3-2 to earn themselves an all-green grand final rematch against LOUD in VALORANT Champions 2022.
OPTIC GETS THE SERIES WIN AND ADVANCES TO THE #VALORANTChampions GRAND FINALS! #GreenWall pic.twitter.com/XhJYHkpy2S
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 17, 2022
OpTic Gets Ahead Of DRX
Right from the start, OpTic got ahead of DRX as they swiftly took the first two maps in their best-of-5 series.
OpTic strikes first in the series!
FEATURED STORIESMap 2 is coming up. #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/sE8Q5gp41k
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 17, 2022
The North American team wasted no time in establishing their dominance as they took Bind 13-8.
After losing the opening two rounds on the map, OpTic then converted their buy-round into a seven-round win streak which DRX then put a timely stop to secure the remaining rounds of the first half. From there, OpTic was unable to temporarily hold off DRX as the South Korean team continued their win streak by taking the first two rounds of the second half. However, OpTic then took the next buy round, faltered for a single round, and immediately finished the game with a five-round win streak.
Breeze is a wrap!
Two down, one to go for OpTic. #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/FHwZlTm7o2
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 17, 2022
For Game 2, OpTic blew through DRX in Breeze as they took the game 13-5.
Despite being DRX’s map pick (with an astounding 14-2 record on the map this year), OpTic dominated the map right from the start. They started it with a four-round win streak, lost the next three rounds, proceeded to get another four-round win streak yet again, and lost the last round of the first half to make it an 8-4 game. After halftime, OpTic effectively took the match point via a four-round win streak but was stopped by DRX on Round 17 via a quick defuse by Yu “Buzz” Byung-chul. With only one more round left to win, OpTic won the game through a quick DRX wipeout led by Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker’s Chamber.
With the two maps secured, OpTic was in series point and only needed one more map to win the series. However, fate had different plans…
DRX Evens Out The Playing Field
Unfortunately for OpTic, DRX evened out the playing by taking the following two maps from the series.
THERE IS LIFE FOR @DRX_VS!
Ascent is up next as they look to take the series the distance. #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/HzFxoykAtb
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 17, 2022
In their own map pick, OpTic lost the third game at Fracture 8-13.
Initially, OpTic looked prime to take the series with Fracture as they took four out of the six starting rounds of the game. However, DRX then took OpTic for a ride and proceeded to have a five-round win streak for themselves. OpTic then closed the first half with their win in Round 12 and proceeded to carry over the momentum unto the next half with two more round wins. Unfortunately, it was DRX again who took over the second half with another five-round win streak starting from Round 15 and eventually ended the game at Round 21.
WE'RE GOING THE DISTANCE! @DRX_VS wins on Ascent to force the decider. #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/kfFyQD8eQC
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 17, 2022
After that first loss in the series, it was followed up by another loss at Ascent.
This time around, OpTic was in shambles as DRX had them in the palm of their hand. OpTic desperately trailed by halftime as they only managed to nag three rounds for themselves in the first half. Sparks of hope came for OpTic as they managed to win some rounds in the second half (three rounds in fact) but were ultimately shut down by DRX with a back-to-back round win in Rounds 18-19 to seal the deal.
With the series tied, the match went into the decider map, Haven.
OpTic Books Their Grand Finals Trip
With the series reaching the final map, OpTic took Haven 13-10 to win the series.
Up 8-4 at half, @OpTic is looking to take the series on Haven! #VALORANTChampions
📺 https://t.co/io2c23tsMd pic.twitter.com/leLysN2Y2j
— VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 17, 2022
With everything on the line, OpTic showed indomitable spirit as they domineered the first half. OpTic started the game with a quick take of the first three rounds but was immediately subdued by DRX with a four-round win streak. Not backing down, OpTic then secured a five-round win streak to end the half with an 8-4 lead.
Meanwhile, the second half of the game became a tough one for OpTic. DRX seemed to find their groove as they slowly crept their way to catch up to OpTic. In fact, DRX had more rounds won in the second half (with six total rounds won) as compared to OpTic’s fiver. If it weren’t for the first-half lead, OpTic would have lost the game but it all ended well as they ended the series in Round 23 before DRX forced overtime.
With DRX out of the way, OpTic is set to face LOUD for yet another grand finals bout (with the first one back in Masters Reykjavík 2022) at Champions 2022.
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