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VCT NA LCQ Day 1 Recap

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VCT NA LCQ Day 1 Recap

Day 1 of the VCT North America Last Chance Qualifiers has come to a close, and it was an exciting day for Valorant. 

Match 1: The Guard vs. Sentinels

The NA Last Chance Qualifiers started with a bang as The Guard and Sentinels squared off. Anticipation was high, as the match marked the debut of both Zellsis and Shroud as members of the Sentinels. It was also Shroud's comeback to pro esports after nearly five years. 

Does Shroud still have it? You better believe it. 

Shroud pulled off an incredible 1v3 in OT in the first set, putting the Sentinels on the board after a 15-13 win in Breeze. 

The Sentinels came out the gate strong in the second set in Ascent, taking the first four rounds. But The Guard came back and dominated the mid-late game. 

The Sentinels showed a spark towards the end, winning three consecutive rounds, but The Guard still brought it home 13-10. The second set ended up being Shroud's poorest set, posting an 8-17 K/D ratio. 

The final set started like the second, with The Sentinels starting strong before The Guard settled in and racked up points on the scoreboard. The late game was an exciting back-and-forth affair. Viewers got to catch JonahP in 4K and deliver a 4K in round 15. 

The match would go into overtime, and more than 600,000 concurrent viewers witnessed The Guard eventually coming out on top 15-13 to defeat the Sentinels. 

Those viewer figures are encouraging, especially after coming off Masters Copenhagen, which had record low viewership. Unfortunately for the Sentinels, their rough 2022 continues. Shroud started strong, but his second and third sets weren't the greatest, and he ended up posting the weakest stat line of the match.

Match 2: Evil Geniuses vs. FaZe Clan

The second match of Day 1 pitted the Evil Geniuses up against FaZe Clan.

FaZe started strong in Icebox, posting an 8-3 lead as we reached the midgame of the first set. But led by Boostio, the Evil Geniuses rallied in the mid and late game to secure a comeback win of 13-11. 

FaZe took the first four rounds in Breeze before the Evil Geniuses rallied again, with the score 9-4 heading into round 13. For a moment, it seemed like the Evil Geniuses would pull off a shutout of FaZe Clan. 

Not if supamen, dicey and the rest of FaZe Clan had anything to say about it. And they did. 

The rest of the mid-game and late game were mostly FaZe. Evil Genuises got a few rounds here and there to force the set into OT, but FaZe got the win 15-13. 

Boostio caused some talk in the final set by unexpectedly switching from Chamber to the not nearly as well-received Phoenix. Would the gambit allow the Evil Geniuses to rise from the ashes of their second set defeat?

For nearly 90 minutes, FaZe Clan and the Evil Geniuses duked it out in a fantastic first-day finale. FaZe had a sweet early set play with supamen pulling off a 4K of his own. At one point, the Evil Geniuses had an 11-7 lead, but after a five-round rally by FaZe, we had some more overtime. A lot of overtime. 

Boostio performed well in regulation as Phoenix but was more or less shut down in OT. He was often the first of the Evil Geniuses to get knocked out in every overtime round. 

As arguably the best-performing member of the Evil Geniuses for the day, his relatively lackluster OT performance was a nail in the coffin for the Evil Geniuses. After a grueling set, FaZe Clan emerged victorious 19-17.

Who's Up Next

For Day 2 of the VCT NA LCQ, Shopify Rebellion will take on Cloud9, and NRG Esports will face off against 100 Thieves. The show begins at 4PM EDT. 

There's plenty more action to go, so be sure to tune in. 

 

VCT NA LCQ Day 1 Recap
Xavier Geitz
When not busy writing about Esports, the latest and greatest digital gaming deals, and reviewing video game, you can find Xavier wandering Morrowind's Telvanni Coast, tirelessly petitioning for a Timesplitters 2 remake, or trying to understand the Concept of Love.