Evil Geniuses and Talon Esports win in the LOCK//IN São Paulo
The LOCK//IN São Paulo continues, and the third day of competition is over. The spectators were able to witness the victory of Evil Geniuses on the Team Heretics and the one of Talon Esports on MIBR, before the impressive match between LOUD and Gen.G.
Evil Geniuses and Talon Esports maintain their position in the Alpha Group and will soon face each other for a place in the semi-finals. This match is scheduled for Saturday 18th February at 9pm.
Evil Geniuses eliminates Team Heretics
As we pointed out in our analysis of US structures, Evil Geniuses has never managed to join the pantheon of the best teams on Valorant. Its best performance was in the second NA Challengers in 2022, tournament where they finished in 5th-6th place.
In order to give the VCT 2023 the best possible chance, the organisation has signed several new players. In addition, it has put together a one of the two biggest rosters of the year, and accumulates 9 holders since the addition of ScrewFace. The effectiveness of such a team has yet to be demonstrated, and the Lock In is the perfect opportunity to do so.
In their first match of the tournament, the Americans took on the players from Team Heretics. The latter is one of the teams that reigned supreme during the first competitions in 2020, before stagnating with average results. In an attempt to improve its image, the structure has signed some well-known faces, notably mixwell and keloqz.
Evil Geniuses defend perfectly on Pearl
So the stakes were high for the ten players. We can only imagine the pressure they felt when they appeared on Pearl for the first time in this match. On Evil Geniuses' side, Boostio and Ethan where precisie to score points, Keloqz is aggressive and makes a series of eliminations. The two teams lost and won one after the other, so that at the changeover, they found themselves at perfect equality. Everything changes when Evil Geniuses go on defense. Ethan proves to be more than effective with Yoru and the American defences are difficult to break down. Team Heretics lose 13-8 after almost an hour of play.
Heretics lose on Ascent
All the LOCK//IN matches, except the playoffs, are BO3s. The match was therefore continued on Ascent, a choice that seemed to pay off at the beginning of the game. This choice seemed to pay off at the beginning of the game, since Mixwell and his comrades quickly took the lead. However, Evil Geniuses came back just as quickly, and eventually took the lead in this game, especially with the 4K from jawgemo. After side change, the Americans picked up four more points and cruised to victory, conceding only three more rounds. The game was again ending 13-8 in favour of Evil Geniuses.
Brazilian team MIBR leaves LOCK//IN
After this intense game, MadeInBrazil, or MIBR, and Talon Esports took to the stage to the cheers of the Brazilian fans. Both very young on the Valorant sports scene, the LOCK//IN Brazil was a great opportunity for these teams to show what they can do. Unfortunately, the adventure ended prematurely for MIBR, much to the dismay of the Brazilian fans. However, heat, frz, murizzz, jzz and RgLMeister did not let themselves be stepped on.
Of course, they were defeated 8 to 13 on Haven, but they proved time and time again that they can be scary. In the sixth round, heat, on fire, eliminated the entire opposing team with rockets and accurate shots.
The game on Fracture was even tighter, and it was necessary to 24 rounds to decide between the two teams. At the end of the first half, Talon Esports were only two points ahead. The slight deficit did not faze the Brazilians, who are back in the race with five straight wins.
The Thais put an end to their dominance in round 18 and went on to win five games in a row. By the end of the twenty-third set, the score was 12-11 in favour of Talon Esports. A triple of foxz in the next round ended the suspense: Talent Esports wins 13-11.
To follow future LOCK//IN matches, visit VALORANT's Twitch channel.
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