Cloud9 Blue Defeats Rise Nation at VCT NA LCQ to Secure Valorant Champions Spot
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Cloud9 (C9) Blue won the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) North America (NA) Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) to earn not just $40,000 USD as the first prize but also a spot at the first-ever Valorant world championships. The team will get the opportunity to compete at Valorant Champions later this year and with C9’s inclusion, we now have all sixteen teams locked in for the event.
Cloud9 vs Rise Nation Recap
Cloud9 went up against Rise Nation at the VCT NA LCQ on Sunday with both teams competing for the event’s $100,000 prize pool and a shot at Champions. Rise had the upper hand in the event with the team securing a 2-1 victory against C9 in the upper bracket semi-finals and then went on to beat 100 Thieves, to reach the grand final. But the defeat against Rise earlier in the playoffs did not seem to deter C9 as it made its way through the lower bracket and set up a rematch against Rise.
At the grand final Cloud9 started off by picking Breeze. The team secured a small 7-5 lead in the first half and closed things off in style by dominating the second half 6-3. Both teams looked evenly matched but things took a massive turn when Rise selected Split as the second map where C9 completely demolished the opposition with a 13-0 victory. No one expected Rise to suffer such a one-sided loss on its map of choice.
The third and final game of the night on Bind was the most competitive with Rise desperately trying to stay in the game. The first-half ended in a 6-6 stalemate and C9 barely edged past Rise with a 7-5 victory in the second half, which ended the game 13-11.
Cloud9’s Nathan "leaf" Orf was the best player at the event and he put on quite the performance at the grand final. Despite playing the Initiator role, he ended with the most kills (294) and the highest average combat score (253.6).
After Tyson “TenZ” Ngo left Cloud9 earlier this year, the team struggled to keep up with the competition in North America. After an underwhelming Stage One and Two, the team stepped up and secured a win at the NA LCQ. Cloud9 will be joining Team Envy and Sentinels to represent North America at Valorant Champions which commences on 1st December, 2021.
