The VCT EMEA Kickoff has finally begun in all its glory. VCT EMEA is one of the four leagues in the VCT Partnership League, with fans worldwide speculating which Valorant teams would make it to the playoff phase of this tournament. Currently, 11 teams in VCT EMEA Kickoff will face each other in a GSL tournament format. The teams that win both their matches in their group stages will qualify for the playoff phase of the tournament. The third day of the event consisted of two very thrilling matches from group A. Here's a quick recap of VCT EMEA Kickoff day 3.
Also Read: VCT China Kickoff Group Stage Day 1 Recap
Team Heretics Become First Team to Qualify for VCT EMEA Playoffs
The first game from day 3 of the VCT EMEA Kickoff was between Team Heretics & Karmine Corp. This was a match between two favorites to make it into the playoffs of this tournament. The team that wins this match will receive direct qualifications to the playoffs bracket. When these two teams faced off in the VCT EMEA League last year, Team Heretics won 2-0 in the B03 series against Karmine Corp.
This match was a one-sided affair due to the dominance shown by Team Heretics. Many believed that the favorite to win this series would be Karmine Corp. Map 1 was played on the battleground of Split which was the map pick of Karmine Corp. Since the start of this map, no one could predict what would happen next. Team Heretics won the first 4 rounds of the map and went on to lead the first half with a score of 9-3. It felt like MiniBoo awoke a demon within himself as he first got 3 first kills on defense as well and had a KDA of 16/8/3.
The second half of this map started similarly with Team Heretics winning 3 rounds in a row. The first map ended with a score of 13-4 to Team Heretics. Miniboo ended the map with a KDA of 24/10/4, an ADR of 241 & 5 first kills. To give a perspective of his ADR ( Average Damage Per Round), this amount would ideally provide him with 1 kill and 1 assist every round if his opponents were on full shields.
The second map was played on Lotus and this was the map pick of Team Heretics. Initially, Karmine Corp put Team Heretics on the back foot. In the first 5 rounds, Karmine Corp won four, giving them a 3 round advantage. What happened next stunned viewers as Team Heretics then went on to win the next 12 rounds in a row.
It has been a long time since this kind of domination on the map of Lotus has been witnessed. Lotus is a map with three sites and as such, is more attacker-sided. Team Heretics won 8 rounds on the defense and remained consistent on the attack. Boo, the brother of Miniboo, was incredible during this map. He had a KDA of 18/5/7, an ADR of 185, three first kills & ACS of 259, all while playing the Omen who was the primary smoker for the team. This one-sided dominance by Team Heretics took many aback and secured their post in the playoffs.
GIANTX Becomes First Valorant Team To Be Eliminated From VCT EMEA Kickoff
The next game was the first eliminator match in VCT EMEA Kickoff. This match was between GIANTX and FUT Esports. FUT Esports is one of the few teams in any VCT League to have all players from their home country on the roster.
The first game was played on the map of Split which was the pick of GIANTX. GIANTX started the match well, winning the first two rounds. Sadly they just couldn’t keep up this momentum during their attacking half. The first half ended with a score of 8-4 to FUT Esports. Many looked at the pick of Chamber by Cned, but one incredible player this half was yetujey. yetujey was playing Viper on this map and ended his defensive half with a KDA of 11/3/2.
The second half of this map was a similar story with FUT Esports keeping their grip on the game. They went on to win the map with a score of 13-6. The player to watch for this game was actually from GIANTX. Cloud ended the map with an ACS of 303, an ADR of 195, 2 first bloods, and a KDA of 20/14/6. His team did lose this map but it didn’t seem like they were ready to give up that easily.
The second map was played on the map of Icebox and was a tale of two halves. Fans got to see Cned back on Chamber on this map and also a unique composition by FUT Esports consisting of Phoenix and Fade. A similar story to the first map continued with GIANTX taking the first two rounds on their map pick but never gaining that momentum.
After the completion of round 16, the scores were level at 8-8. This is when GIANTX gathered themselves and burst forward with confidence. They won the next 5 rounds in a row on defense, giving them a win on the map of Icebox and taking the series to the final map. Nukkye was the player to watch as on Killjoy he had a KDA of 21/12/4 and an ACS of 265.
The last map was played on Sunset and this time we got to see cNed play Raze instead of Chamber. This game played out in waves due to momentum shifting from one team to another. FUT Esports started the map in amazing form, winning the first 6 rounds.
After a timeout, GIANTX realized the gravity of the situation and won the next 5 rounds in a row. To halt the comeback, FUT Esports also won the next 5 rounds, taking the score to 11-5. GIANTX tried to leave their mark but missed out, and FUT Esports won map 3 with a score of 13-7.
The next set of fixtures are as follows:
- Natus Vincere Vs Team Liquid on the 23rd of February at 6:30 PM IST ( Winner qualifies for Playoffs)
- BBL Esports Vs Movistar KOI on the 23rd of February at 9:30 PM IST ( Loser gets eliminated)
- Team Vitality vs FNATIC on the 24th of February at 12:30 AM IST ( Winner qualifies for Playoffs)
