KRU Esports, an exceptional victory at LCQ Americas
At the end of the VCT Americas regular season, KRU Esports does not have a single win to its name, and was therefore not expected to win in the LCQ Americas. Despite this complex period and the statistics against them, keznit and his team-mates put in an exceptional performance in this last-chance tournament. Thanks to their victory over Leviatan in the final, they have secured their place in the next round. Valorant Champions 2023.
A regular in the competition
KRU Esports is not one of the organisations that have recently joined the Valorant esports scene. On the contrary, the Argentinian organisation founded by footballer Sergio Agüero launched itself on the FPS in January 2021. Since then, it has made numerous appearances at major VCT events, even taking part in the first Valorant Champions, before qualifying for the next edition in 2022 for a second time.
With a particular following in the LATAM community, it was no surprise to see her name appear on the shortlist for the franchise system. Needless to say, many fans were waiting to see the exploits of Melser and his comrades in the new American League.
The 2023 season was complicated
Unfortunately, 2023 did not get off to the best start for their beloved team. In Lock In Brazil, xand, Melser, axeddy, NagZ, Klaus and DaveeyS didn't get the chance to show off their skills and were eliminated in the first round by Natus Vincere, after a masterful comeback on Lotus to boot.
This difficult defeat was followed by a few changes to the roster, with the return of the star player keznit in particular. Confident of its potential, the team embarked on the Americas VCT regular season full of determination... but there again, players and supporters were soon to be disappointed. The first game against FURIA ended in defeat, as did the second against MIBR and the seven games that followed.
At the end of the eighth week of competition, KRU Esports has no wins to show for it. It should be noted, however, that not all of these defeats were by the skin of their teeth, as five of the nine matches played ended 2-1. What's more, some of the matches that ended 2-0 were more than close. Despite all this, the team had to settle for last place in the overall standings and missed out on qualification for the Tokyo Masters.
KRU Esport creates a surprise at the LCQ
Given their lacklustre results during the regular season, the KRU Esports players were definitely not favourites to win the title. the American Last Chance Qualifier. What's more, few people thought they would win the opening match against MIBR. Even though the statistics and public opinion were not in their favour, they did not back down and pulled off a surprise. The Brazilians could do nothing against a Klaus dominates Bindand then lost out to Lotus.
Galvanised by this first victory since December 2022, the team gradually revealed its full potential. They defeated FURIA Esports 2-1 and Leviatan 2-0. Keznit is no stranger to these two great victories; the duellist star has obtained an ACS impressive in these two matches, 316 and 337 respectively.
In the final of the top bracket, KRU Esports took on Cloud9one of the best teams of the regular season. On paper, NagZ and Co were not favourites. But once again, they showed an efficiency that was unheard of until this tournament: after a crushing defeat in the on Ascent (13-4), they went on to claim a fourth victory with successive wins over Pearl (13-4) and Haven (13-6).
Thanks to this superb comeback, KRU Esports reached the Grand Final of the Last Chance Qualifier and were already dreaming of qualifying for the most prestigious tournament of the year.
Qualification for Valorant Champions
At this stage, only one match remained between the KRU Esports players and a third appearance in the Valorant Champions. To obtain their precious sesame, they still had to beat Leviatan and they were determined to get their revenge!
In all, it took four maps to separate the two finalists. The KRU set the tone on Split (13-5), before letting slip Pearl between their fingers (8-13). The Argentinians then regained the lead of the match by crushing their opponents on Ascent (13-6). The Chileans kept up the pressure on LotusAs a result, the two teams were level at the break. Nevertheless, the keznit/NagZ duo were more than effective in attack, securing the point their team was missing. The game ended with a close score (13-10), and an explosion of joy from the players who had come back from (very) far away...
During the post-match interview, MelserThe captain explained that he and his mates had worked hard to get to this point, and he was naturally delighted by this magical moment:
It's a dream come true. The whole team knew we could do it. We all worked hard to get here and to achieve this victory.
Melser
No big surprise there, keznit received the title of MVP of the Final. It has to be said that, with a total of 73 eliminations to his name, the duellist has not been idle! And he'll soon be able to show the rest of the world that he really is one of the best. KRU Esport to take on Paper Rexon Wednesday 9 August, in the first round of the Valorant Champions.
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