We are very close to the end of Super Week in the VCT Americas League, and after three days of intense matches, we enjoyed the victory of Cloud9 and Sentinels against NRG and MIBR, respectively.
While it is true that no team can stand up to LOUD to take the championship trophy, several do not think so and continue to demonstrate a high level each week. In addition, we must make special mention that two of the most criticized teams in recent weeks, Cloud9 and Sentinels, got very good victories on this last day of games.
Now, let’s see what happened in each of these matches.
Cloud9 beats NRG with a reverse sweep included
Cloud9 continues to shut the mouths of all those who criticized them before the start of the VCT Americas for fielding a lineup with two players with little experience on the scene. However, the team has shown that the cohesion of their roster has been responsible for winning games and how they have done it. This time, their victim was NRG, who could not contain the blue avalanche that came upon them despite winning the first map.
The series was played in Haven (Cloud9), Pearl (NRG), and Ascent (decider).
Haven
Cloud9’s map pick, Haven, didn’t go as the boys had hoped. NRG started the first map of the series extremely strong and managed to take a resounding 9-3 partial victory in the first half. However, Cloud9 tried to wake up immediately by winning five of the first six rounds of the second half on the attacking side to put the score at 10-8.
Finally, NRG won the last three rounds to take the 13-8 victory.
Haven goes the way of @NRGgg!
Will they close it out on Pearl or will C9 take us the distance? #VCTAmericas
📺 https://t.co/Etrp5cZHTV pic.twitter.com/F0aJkp87p6
— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) April 23, 2023
Pearl
Cloud9’s awakening came in Pearl, NRG’s map pick, with Nathan “leaf” Orf on fire throughout the match.
Like the first map, NRG started by hitting the table to take a 7-5 partial first-half victory. However, the second half was completely different, as Cloud9 planted themselves fantastically at each of the sites on the defensive side to prevent NRG from being able to do them any damage. As a result of C9’s great defense, NRG was only able to win two rounds in the second half, so they ended up losing 9-13.
WE'VE GOT A SERIES ON OUR HANDS@C9VAL take Pearl and tie up the score at 1-1! Ascent to decide the series. #VCTAmericas
📺 https://t.co/Etrp5cZHTV pic.twitter.com/jQADEgMqfI
— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) April 23, 2023
Ascent
Finally, the decider map, Ascent, was practically a paperwork map for the Cloud9 guys. NRG started by winning the first two rounds of the first half, but they could only win five more rounds during the whole map and ended up losing by 7-13. Cloud9 Rookie Jake “jakee” Anderson was the one who crushed NRG in this decisive match and finished with 210 ADR, 318 ACS, and a 1.70 Rating.
DO WE HAVE A NEW TITAN OF NA?@C9VAL take a 2-1 win in their first match of #VCTAmericas super week!
Map 1 – Haven: NRG 8-13
Map 2 – Pearl: C9 13-9
Map 3 – Ascent: C9 13-7 pic.twitter.com/ke35kFCGgO— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) April 23, 2023
Sentinels crush MIBR and reaffirm their desire to wake up
With a star-studded lineup, Sentinels seems to have found the formula that will lead them to victory. After falling in an extremely close match to world champions LOUD, the Sentinels got their revenge against MIBR and cruised to a comfortable 2-0 victory. In addition, Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen proved that he is ready to return to the starting lineup of any team, as the player ended up being the MVP of the series.
The series was played at Pearl (Sentinels) and Fracture (MIBR).
Pearl
Sentinels showed why they chose Pearl for the first game of the series. Led by Marved, Sentinels cruised to a comfortable partial first-half victory by a score of 9-3. While this has been one of the most come-from-behind results so far in any VALORANT league in the world, it wasn’t even close to happening this time.
In the second half, the Sentinels looked very comfortable on the map and managed to win all four remaining rounds to take the 13-5 victory.
SHEESH@Sentinels take Pearl in dominating fashion to go up 1-0 in the series! Fracture up next. #VCTAmericas pic.twitter.com/XM29dPABba
— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) April 24, 2023
Fracture
Finally, Sentinels sealed the series by delivering a second death blow to MIBR. With Marved again as the protagonist, the Sentinels won 9-3 on their attacking side, leaving the map practically defined, as we all know this team’s defensive capacity.
However, MIBR tried to wake up by winning three rounds on the attacking side, but this was not enough, and they ended up conceding with a score of 6-13.
A CLEAN SWEEP 🧹@Sentinels take a 2-0 win in dominating fashion to cap off Day 3 of #VCTAmericas super week!
Map 1 – Pearl: SEN 13-5
Map 2 – Fracture: SEN 13-6 pic.twitter.com/h8zR5JT8SD— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) April 24, 2023
Header: VCT Americas