Acend Wins the First Ever Valorant Champions Trophy

In a fierce finale battle between Acend and Gambits, Acend becomes the first Valorant team ever to lift the Valorant Champions Trophy. After a year of the most competitive Valorant competitions ever, a global winner finally emerged from two of the best EMEA teams at the Berlin hosted Valorant Champions Tour 2021.

At the end of the very erratic series, which saw both teams swinging back and forth with no one willing to give way for the other, Acend finally defeated Gambit Esports 3-2 to become the first team to be crowned the Valorant Champions. Valorant Champions 2021 was the playing ground for pro teams from different regions. All of these teams had defeated every other team in their region, hence making the contest a compilation of the best of the best.

From Underdog to Champion

Among all the teams, Acend was considered the underdogs from the beginning. Coming from the same EMEA region as Gambit Esport, one would think that Acend would not stand a chance at the Championship Tour, especially as they had finished behind Gambit in EMEA in circuit points. But contrary to what many expected, Acend proved themselves unsurmountable, hacking down opponent teams in all their games and becoming the first Esport team to win three consecutive 2-0 victories.

Hailing from Europe, Acend Club first came into the Valorant Esports scene on 10th March 2021. The initial team consisted of players from Raise Your Edge Gaming including Starxo, cNed, Koldamenta BONECOLD, and Nbs who is the team coach. The squad quickly became famous in Europe after winning many regional titles.

While playing under their new flag, they had competed for the Masters 1 qualifiers as Raise Your Edge. There they faced several hurdles, but they managed to win the title. Best known for their aggressive style of play, the Acend tried to replicate their terrific run at the Masters, but Team Vitality and Ninjas nibbed their aggression in the bud.

During the downtime, Acend rebuilt and made some changes including selling Koldamenta to G2 Esport and replacing him with Zeek. Up next, they became the team to beat at LVP Rising Series 2, and as expected, they won the title with ease. Poised to maintain their winning momentum, especially as they couldn’t attend the Masters: Berlin qualification, Acend took the time to prepare for the Valorant Champions, and while still being an underdog, they swore to prove to the world the stuff they’re made of.

As the Valorant Champions Tour kick-started, Acend took off with a 2-1 victory. However, that was a tip of the iceberg, as it only marked the beginning of an insane run that earned them three astonishing victories in their next three matches. At this point, it dawned on all the big wigs that the underdogs are not here to play second fiddle to anyone.

The Final

Defeating Gambit, the EMEA kings wasn’t a walk in the park for Acend. They fought tooth and nail all through the rounds right from the first minute. Gambit gave an impressive performance on Fracture. They decimated Acend so much that the underdogs could only win a single round in the first half which ended in an 11-1 lead for Gambit. Acend fought hard to close the widening gap, but Gambit got away with a 13-2 victory as the game progressed to series point.

Acend made a comeback at Icebox, they matched Gambit fire for fire, dragged the game to overtime, and inevitably tied the series at 2-2. Moving on to Valorant original map: Split, Acend started off with an early lead. At half time, they had a 7-5 edge over Gambit, who struggled all they could to overturn the results in their favor, but Acend proved to be a more tactical team. They held onto the lead and walked away with a 13- 8 victory.

For winning the Championship, Acend will walk away with a grand prize of $350,000, while Gambit will be rewarded with $150,000. Semi Finalists, Team Liquid and KRU will also receive $90,000 each.