Acend Valorant Champions

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Acend Beats Gambit Esports to Become First-Ever Valorant World Champions

Abhimannu Das
Updated On: 
Highlights
Acend beat Gambit Esports 3-2 last night to lift 2021's Valorant Champions Tour trophy.
Acend knocked out the likes of Team Liquid and Team Secret to reach the grand finals, where it managed to beat the Stage Three champions.
Acend will be looking to defend its championship next year with the 2022 season set to kick off in February 2022.

The first season of Valorant Champions Tour has come to an end and it could not have gotten any better. Both teams battled it out all the way till game five and it was Acend that had the last laugh. The five finals matches of this year’s Valorant Champions Tour were completely unpredictable. From a closely contested 11-13 game to kick things off on Breeze, to a 13-3 whitewash by Gambit on Fracture, no one could have predicted the results up until the very last round.

In the end, it was Acend that beat the Stage 3 champions and became the first-ever Valorant world champions. The team will take home $350,000 USD as prize money while Gambit will be taking home $150,000. In addition to the prize money Riot Games will also be sharing half the proceeds from its Champions skin collection in Valorant with the participating teams. So far, Riot Games has earned over $7.5 million in revenue.

Acend vs Gambit Esports Results and Recap

While it looked like Gambit had the upper hand at the start, Acend managed to hold on and did not let its grasp on the championship slip away. Despite a 13-3 loss on Fracture, the third map, Acend managed to keep its cool and secured the championship win in the fifth and final map of the event.

Results

  • Game 1 (Breeze) - Gambit won 13-11

  • Game 2 (Ascent) - Acend won 13-7

  • Game 3 (Fracture) - Gambit won 13-3

  • Game 4 (Icebox) - Acend won 14-12

  • Game 5 (Split) - Acend won 13-8

Gambit kicked things off with a 13-11 win on Breeze thanks to a solid performance by Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin. Despite Acend getting a 9-3 headstart in the first half, Gambit managed to pull itself back into the match with a resounding 10-2 second half.

Acend quickly evened things out with a 13-7 victory on Ascent. Gambit was showing cracks in its defences and if Acend could keep things up, the championship would be in the bag for the European team. But Gambit unexpectedly swept Acend 13-3 in the third match. NAts popped off with 26 kills to his name and it looked like Gambit would not go down easy.

Acend struggled to keep up with Gambit but it got the job done on the fourth map with a grueling 14-12 victory. Gambit was two round wins away from taking home the world championship but Acend did not give up.

Gambit simply could not keep up its performance from previous games as Acend outclassed its opposition completely in the final game. After a closely contested 7-5 first half, Acend managed to stomp Gambit 6-3 and take home the world championship.

The world championship may have concluded but competitive Valorant will return early next year with the 2022 season already being announced by Riot Games.

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Abhimannu is a PC esports writer at AFK Gaming. With over seven years of experience in esports journalism, he has worked on a myriad of games and their ecosystems including Valorant, Overwatch and Apex Legends.

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