Cover-Credits:
The grand final of Valorant Champions 2022 ended with Brazil coming out on top as the number one region. The team dominated the competition and did not drop a single map during the playoffs leading up to the grand finals. The team lost its first game during the best-of-five series last night where OpTic secured a one-sided win on Bind.
LOUD vs OpTic Gaming Recap
The first map of the night (Ascent) kicked off with OpTic securing a 7-5 lead and the North American team looked confident in the matchup. OpTic lost to LOUD in the Upper Bracket Final and it was looking to redeem itself in the rematch. But OpTic’s lead did not last very long as LOUD stayed in the fight and took the game all the way to a 15-13 scoreline. OpTic’s in-game leader Pujan “FNS” Mehta had a hard time dealing with the pressure LOUD was building up by picking off the OpTic players one by one. OpTic players had a hard time winning their duels towards the end of the game, and LOUD got the better of them.
The night's second match on Bind was a completely different story, however. OpTic secured a quick 10-2 lead in the first half and the players finished things off in style with a 13-6 scoreline.
It put both teams on even footing as we moved to game three. LOUD forced OpTic into overtime for the second time in the series on Breeze. Matias “Saadhak” Delipetro from LOUD gave no breathing room to OpTic’s players as he led his team to victory in an extremely tense 16-14 overtime game.
Heading into the fourth game of the night, OpTic had to secure a win or else it would head home without the world championship. But the team simply failed to match LOUD’s dueling capabilities. LOUD secured a hard-fought 7-5 lead in the first half after which the OpTic lineup collapsed completely. LOUD had a clean 6-0 second half during the final game and ended the series with a 3-1 scoreline.
Brazil as a region is often overlooked by the international Valorant community, but the teams from the region are among the best in the world. This year, LOUD completely dominated the competition. The team lost to OpTic 3-0 back in Masters 1 and it finally had its revenge against the North American team in the biggest Valorant tournament of 2022.
