M80 and The Guard win their first match at VCT Ascension 2023 Americas

The VCT Ascension 2023 Americas is in full swing, and the six best teams in the region are fighting for that coveted spot in the VCT Americas League for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

In two rounds, we have already witnessed a first surprise: M80, the region’s favorite team, was crushed by The Union in the tournament’s first match. However, the team recovered in their second match with a resounding victory over FUSION. On the other hand, The Guard won their first match of the tournament and will now try to qualify for the Upper Bracket semifinals against 9z Team.

Let’s remember that the VCT Ascension 2023 Americas format is completely different from the one used in EMEA. All six teams will qualify for the tournament playoffs in this region but in different seeds. As a result, the first place of each Group will advance to the Upper Bracket semifinals, while the rest of the teams will start from the quarterfinals.

Let’s see what has happened in the VCT Ascension 2023 Americas.

M80 react to FUSION after losing against The Union

As we mentioned, this VCT Ascension 2023 Americas left us with a big surprise on the tournament’s first day. We were sure M80 would take the victory in their two Group Stage matches. However, The Union thought completely the opposite, and they got an excellent 2-0 victory to prevent M80 from qualifying directly to the tournament’s semifinals.

In this match, we had a first map (Fracture) decanted in favor of The Union, as they ended with a resounding victory by 13-7. At the same time, the second map was a pitched battle that was defined through Overtime and ended with a score in favor of The Union by 17-15.

It’s done! @theuniongg defeats @M80gg 2-0 to claim the first victory on home soil in São Paulo!#VCTAscension pic.twitter.com/JylfNnjNol

— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) June 30, 2023

Then, in the second match played by M80, we observed the complete opposite, i.e., what we expected from this lineup in this VCT Ascension 2023 Americas. The North American squad crushed the South Americans with a score of 13-7 in both Fracture and Lotus. As a result, the team will now have to wait for the other results to know its opponent in the tournament’s quarterfinals.

Strong performance from @M80gg as they overcome @fusionfsgg 2-0 to secure their first win in São Paulo!#VCTAscension pic.twitter.com/NYEoaRyf6n

— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) July 1, 2023

The Guard will seek a first place in the Group against 9z Team

The Guard, the other favorite team to win that coveted spot for the VCT Americas League, got an excellent victory in their first game played in this tournament against 00 Nation by 2-0. In addition, Jonah “JonahP” Pulice led The Guard to an extraordinary victory in Bind by 14-12 and then in Haven with a solid 13-5 win.

As a result, the team will have to play its second match in the coming hours as it looks to finish this group stage leading Group B and, consequently, qualify directly to the tournament’s semifinals.

North America triumphs today as @TheGuard defeats @ZeroZeroBRASIL 2-0 in Day 2 of Ascension!#VCTAscension pic.twitter.com/6fMWKmFIdE

— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) July 2, 2023

Header: VCT Americas