VCT Americas League Playoffs: FURIA and EG emerge victorious in quaterfinals

FURIA Esports and Evil Geniuses defeated Leviatán and NRG Esports, respectively, in the first round of the VCT Americas League Playoffs, moving one step closer to securing the MSI Tokyo and VALORANT Champions 2023 berths.

With the top six teams from the league stage, the VCT Americas League entered the playoff stage yesterday after nine weeks of intense league games. The night’s opening match pitted FURIA Esports against the formidable Leviatán of Argentina, while the second contest pitted EG against NRG. Here is how the matches transpired:

FURIA vs Leviatán – Match Recap

The best-of-three series began on Ascent, where FURIA managed to find a strong foothold in the game early on and quickly established a 5-2 lead. With Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena leading the charge, Leviatán managed to stave off the Brazzilain’s fierce counterattacks, but they were only able to win four rounds before FURIA stormed back to secure an 8-4 edge at halftime. Thanks to some exceptional play from Douglas “dgzin” Silva, FURIA maintained its composure after switching sides and won the necessary five rounds for the cost of one to secure an easy 13-5 victory.

Leviatán chose Pearl as a potential savior, but the outcome was much like the first map as FURIA strolled to a commendable 8-4 lead in the first half. In the second half, Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena, arguably the best Argentian Valorant player, took control of the situation and got Leviatán back into the game, allowing his team to finally break past the Brazilian defense and force overtime. Although both teams gave it their all in overtime to gain an advantage, the score remained tied in the first few rounds of OT. 

After a few more back-and-forth rounds, Leviatán managed to escape the disappointment and scored a 20-18 victory in overtime to tie the series at one. In the quarterfinal’s deciding map, Bind, FURIA yet again gained the upper hand over the Argentinians to take a 7-5 lead at halftime. Before the Argentian team could take any action to control the damage, dgzin and the team scored an easy 13-6 victory to seal their place in the upper bracket semifinals against their Brazilian opponent LOUD. With a spectacular 64-kill performance, the Brazilian player dgzin stood out for FURIA and overshadowed kiNgg’s heroic attempt to keep his team alive.

EG vs NRG – Match Recap

Following a thrilling opening encounter that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, NRG and EG prepared for the evening’s second quarterfinal. Taking up Haven to start things off, NRG won the pistol round and used that momentum to win the next round to establish a 2-0 lead. While EG retaliated ferociously and managed to put a few rounds on the scoreboard, NRG still held a strong grip on the game with a 6-3 lead.

With just a few minutes left before halftime, EG’s Max “Demon1” Mazanov produced an outstanding play that enabled EG to tie the game 6-6. The second half also went extremely close as both the team went back and forth to gain an advantage but it was NRG, who emerged victorious in the end with a 13-11 victory. Victor “Victor” Wong put on a strong performance for the North American side, recording 28 kills and a 197 ADR to provide his squad with ample firepower and momentum.

EG chose Split as the second map, and the team wasted no time in establishing their superiority there. With Demon1’s excellent fragging abilities and Kelden “Boostio” Pupello’s constant support, EG was able to take a commanding 8-4 lead. In the second half, NRG responded aggressively, capturing four consecutive rounds to tie the game 8-8.

The next eight rounds witnessed a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, with each side managing to secure a four-round streak to end the match at a stalemate of 12, necessitating the second overtime of the evening. Even though NRG put up a fierce fight, EG was able to choke them off and punch a 15-13 victory to get back in the game.

NRG started off well in the deciding map of the series Ascent, picking up three straight rounds to push EG on defense early on. Nevertheless, their momentum was swiftly halted as EG skillfully handled the pressure and retaliated with a five-round streak of their own to enter the second half with a 7-5 lead. After losing the second pistol round of the map, EG successfully completed another three rounds streak to increase their advantage to 10-6.

NRG was searching for any glimmer of hope for a comeback, but all they found was more resistance and disappointment as Demon1 defended the frontline for EG flawlessly. EG easily punched a 13-7 victory to win the series and book a semifinal encounter against their North American counterpart Cloud9. As no NRG player could match his aggression and fragging abilities, Demo1 walked away as EG’s top fragger with 73 kills overall and an ADR of 172.

Header: Robert Paul/ Riot Games