Cover-Credits:
FunPlus Phoenix went up against Leviatán at Valorant Champions’ lower bracket and sent the Latin American (LATAM) team packing. EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) had a rough start at the event with Fnatic, Team Liquid and FunPlus Phoenix being demoted to the lower bracket after some early losses. FunPlus and Fnatic managed to survive elimination and will be moving forward to the next stage.
Leviatán’s unbeaten streak at Ascent ends
The first matchup of the night saw FunPlus make short work of Leviatán with a stroll in the park on Icebox. FunPlus had an 8-4 lead in the first half. Leviatán did show sparks of a comeback with some solid plays from Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena, which enabled his team to hold their own in fights, but it was to no avail as there was not much the LATAM team could do against FunPlus’ aggression.
Heading into the second game of the night, Leviatán looked confident as the team had an unbeaten streak on Ascent on the international stage. The team secured a 7-5 lead in the first half but FunPlus decided that it was time to put an end to the LATAM team’s winstreak on the map. Pontus “Zyppan” Eek and Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks ended the night with 39 kills each.
OpTic Gaming and XSET are set to face off against each other in the upper bracket semi-finals and the loser of the match will face off against FunPlus Phoenix. Heading into the event, EMEA was considered one of the best regions in the event but all three teams found themselves in the lower bracket with Team Liquid exiting last night, leaving Fnatic and FunPlus in the competition.
Even if Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix win their matchups in the lower bracket quarter-finals, they will face off against each other and one of them will be eliminated from the event. North America, which was considered by some pro players as one of the weaker regions, is still going strong and either OpTic or XSET will be heading to the upper bracket finals later this week.
