VCT Americas League: C9 beat Sentinels and EG beat Leviatán

Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses have secured thrilling victories in their Week 4 matchup at VCT Americas League after defeating Sentinels and Leviatán, respectively.

The North American Valorant fans were in for a treat last night as two of the popular teams in the region, Cloud9 and Sentinels, squared off in a tough best-of-three series. These teams have previously faced each other multiple times, with the most recent match taking place in 2022 during the Champions Tour NA Stage 2: Challengers, where Cloud9 took the series by a score of 2-0.

The Argentian team Leviatán and EG engaged in a dramatic battle in the evening’s second match, taking it through all three maps to determine the victor. Here is how the matches transpired:

Cloud9 vs Sentinels – Match Summary 

Lotus

Sentinels quickly established a 3-0 lead as the best-of-three series began on Lotus, riding the momentum from the pistol round. Before Sentinels could gain any further ground, Nathan “leaf” Orf took the matter into his own hand. His incredible fragging abilities enabled C9 to turn the game around, going from being down 0-3 to lead 9-3 before halftime.

C9 kept the momentum going in the second half, with their star fragger leaf relentlessly attacking Zachary “zekken” Patrone and men. The American player piled up 19 kills in total with an ADR of 183, giving C9 the necessary firepower to punch a 13-4 victory.

Fracture

Fans were hoping Sentinels would do better on the second map, but instead, things got worse for them. C9 stormed through a commendable 12-1 lead, smashing Sentinels back and forth throughout the first half. Sentinels made one more attempt to bridge the gap with a five-round run, but they were unable to overcome C9’s huge lead.

Showcasing fierce fragging skills and synchronized team play, C9 closed the map with a handy win and take their record 5-1 at the VCT EMEA. Picking up 22 kills on Fracture, Leaf stood out as the top performer for C9 across the two maps, walking away with a 1.53 rating and K/D/A of 41/ 20 /6.

Evil Geniuses vs Leviatán

After experiencing four defeats in their last five encounters, EG started off the series against the Argentian team on Split with high hopes. However, Leviatán wasted no time in crushing their spirit, cruising to an early 5-2 lead to put EG under pressure. Even though EG made every effort to bridge the gap, they were only able to win two more rounds before the Argentian team rallied and closed the first half with an 8-4 advantage.

EG’s comeback efforts continued in the second half, with fraggers Alexander “jawgemo” Mor and Max “Demon1” Mazanov leading the assault from the front. The team secured a six-round winning run after taking the second pistol round of the map to turn the tide in their favor with a 12-9 score.

Leviatán stalled the carnage by winning the game’s 22nd round, but EG made no mistakes and won the next to conclude the map 13-10 and seize the lead right away. Combining for a total of 41 kills, EG’s tenacious duo jawgemo and Demon1 expertly carried out their role for the team.

Pearl

Leviatán chose Pearl to make things right, and with a 4-1 advantage, they were able to take control of the game. However, the team was unable to maintain the advantage for very long as EG put on a strong showing to regain the momentum and tie the score 6-6 at halftime. As the Argentinian team desperately needed a heroic display, IGL Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena took charge and put on an exceptional performance as both the leader of the team and an explosive fragger.

After dropping the second pistol round of the map, kiNgg and company secured four consecutive rounds to gain an 11-7 lead. EG made an effort to stop Leviatán’s momentum by winning the following rounds, but despite some loose ends, Leviatán maintained complete control over the game thanks to KiNgg and his fellow teammate Agustin “Nozwerr” Ibarra.

The team secured a hard-fought 13-10 victory to equalize the series 1-1 and force a decider. With a total of 18 kills, Corbin “C0M” Lee performed brilliantly for EG on Pearl but it wasn’t enough to make a difference.

Ascent

As both teams managed to secure one map each, the best-of-three series went to the third and final map Ascent. EG took the lead early on with a win in the pistol rounds before adding another round to make it 2-0. Leviatán were quick to retaliate, picking up two rounds of their own to level the score before EG stormed in and cruised through a 9-3 lead at halftime.

Even though Leviatán made every effort to avoid disappointment, EG maintained a strong lead throughout the second half before winning 13-10. Demon1 stood out for the North American team again with 20 kills but this time his efforts were aided and abided by fellow teammate Ethan “Ethan” Arnold, who also ended the map with 20 kills in his pocket.

Header: Colin Young-Wolff/ Riot Games