Cover-Credits:
Galaxy Racer (GXR) India’s Valorant India Invitational Qualifiers #2 recently concluded in the last week of October. This was the second Indian qualifier to take place for this tournament, with the third qualifier dedicated to the Southeast Asia region. The Grand Finals of the second qualifier took place between God Squad and Revenant Esports where the teams locked horns in a best-of-five (Bo5) series. God Squad, consisting of former Global Esports players, showed an impressive performance and defeated Revenant Esports with a clean sweep 3-0 score to qualify for the main event of the Valorant India Invitational.
This will be a tournament to remember with the Global Esports roster getting shuffled ahead of the 2023 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) season. Here are the top three plays from the Grand Finals of Valorant India Invitational Qualifiers #2 where the God Squad impressed us mightily.
GXR Valorant India Invitational #2 Grand Finals - Top 3 Plays
Following are the player composition of both teams:
God Squad:
Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar
Bhavin “HellrangeR” Kotwani
Abhirup “Lightningfast” Choudhury
Akshay “KappA” Sinkar
Jayanth “skillZ” Ramesh
Revenant Esports:
Saaransh “Whimp23” Dang
Arnav “Logi” Jit Kalra
Shailesh “blackhawk” Dalvi
Kasif “Paradox” Sayyed
Jay “BADlove” Patil
Match 1 – Haven: God Squad wins a force-buy round
In the first match of the BO5 series, after a swap of 8-4 on Haven, God Squad lost the pistol round. However, the team force-bought Stinger, Specter, and Sheriff the following round. Apart from SkRossi (Chamber) who was on a lurk near the garage, all other players of God Squad started pushing A-Long. However, Whimp23 (Killjoy) killed SkRossi from garage window, forcing God Squad to change its plan. Following this, God Squad quickly rotated to B Site.
Lightningfast (Reyna) entered B-Site, killed BADlove (Sova) at A-Link, and then repositioned himself toward the back of the site. KappA (Sova) killed Whimp23, who was trying to enter the site from C-Link. Following this, Lightningfast killed Logi (Astra), who was also trying to enter B from C-Link. However, Paradox (Jett) managed to kill skillZ (Astra) from A Link, but HellRanger was quick to trade the kill. HellRanger then pushed A-Link and killed the last player, blackhawk (Breach).
Match 2 – Icebox: blackhawk and BADlove get three kills each
In the 18th round of the game, SkRossi (Chamber) pushed mid with his Tour De Force (X) while defending. However, BADlove (Sage) caught him off-guard and killed him. Lightningfast (Reyna) secured a kill on Logi (Viper) near B Site. Following this, Revenant Esports pushed A Site while skillZ (Sage) revived SkRossi.
Four players from God Squad pushed from mid to A-Site and SkRossi killed Paradox (Chamber). Likewise, Lightningfast killed Whimp23 (Fade) from Ramps on site, but blackhawk (KAY/O) traded him. SkRossi and skillZ pushed the site from A-Nest and A-Pipes, respectively, but BADlove killed them both. HellrangeR (Viper) and KappA (Sova) double-peeked BADlove, and KappA killed him. After this, HellrangeR and KappA pushed A site to defuse the Spike, but blackhawk secured a double kill with neat headshots.
Match 3 – Ascent: KappA’s Shorty Clutch
In the 20th round of the game, Paradox (Chamber) pushed aggressively from B-Site while defending but teleported back using Rendezvous (E) as he got flashed. Lightningfast (KAY/O) and SkRossi (Chamber) tried to push the site but got pulled by Logi’s (Astra) Gravity Well (C). SkRossi managed to kill Whimp23 (Fade) on B-Lane, but simultaneously Paradox killed Lightningfast from B-Corner. Following this, SkRossi got killed by BADlove’s (Sova) Shockdart (Q). Hellranger (Breach) killed blackhawk (KAY/O) near B-Cubby and BADlove in B-Corner. Paradox peeked from Cubby and killed skillZ with his Operator, equalizing the player count to 2-2.
The two remaining players of God Squad fell back and planted the Spike on A-Site. HellrangeR positioned himself near boxes on A Site, and KappA played near the generator. Paradox peeked from A-Link and killed HellrangeR. Paradox peeked again, using his Headhunter (Q) to kill Kappa, but KappA killed him using his Phantom. Following this, Logi tried to push and kill KappA, but KappA pulled out his Shorty to secure the round win with a kill.
By winning the GXR Valorant India Invitational Qualifier #2 Grand Finals, God Squad has qualified for the GXR Valorant India Invitational Main event. Enigma Gaming was the other Indian team that qualified through the first qualifier. The main event will be a LAN faceoff in Hyderabad and is scheduled to take place between 18th and 20th November. This LAN will feature a total prize pool of $100,000 USD (INR 82,34,305).
