LCQ EMEA – Team Liquid qualifies for the Champions

The Last Chance Qualifiers are coming to an end and we now know the winning team in the EMEA region. After a week of competition, it's finally Team Liquid that wins the LCQ, having conceded only two maps.

The first phase of the LCQ

From the start of the tournament, Team Liquid emerged as one of the favourites for the LCQ slot. The team made it through the first round by winning their match against One Breath Gaming, a match in which Nivera achieved an amazing feat, performing an ACE to launch his professional gaming career.

Team Liquid then won the quarter-final match without much difficulty, sending Guild Esports into the lower bracket. A victory that sent them straight to the final of the upper bracket against G2.

Intense finals for a deserved victory

Team Liquid finally won the LCQ, but the final phase was not easy. G2 Esports and then Guild Esports were both determined to take them down to win their place in the Valorant Champions.

Upper bracket final – G2 Esports VS Team Liquid

This match was probably a revenge match for Team Liquid. The last time the two organisations met was at the final of the Red Bull Home Ground, that G2 won.

Duringan interview, Keloqz, the French G2 star, said that his team would come out on top in the LCQ, unless they made mistakes.

If we lose, it will be because of us not because of them. There is no team that can beat us in Europe. Maybe there are some in the world, but we are just too good for those in Europe. If we lose a game, that's not because the enemy team is good but because we maybe played like b**t.

Keloqz - Player G2

However, he tempered his words with Koldamenta, by admitting that Team Liquid could be dangerous. Despite this, the two players agreed on one thing: with a new player in the ranks, Nivera, Team Liquid's teamplays could be uncertain. The two G2 Esports guys, as well as their colleagues, should perhaps not have underestimated this new team.

Thus, the final of the upper bracket saw the two behemoths of the tournament fight each other. Ascent was the scene of the first clash. At side change, neither roster had the upper hand; a situation that didn't last as Team Liquid scored 7 rounds in Attack to close out the map. On Bind, despite a good lead at side change, 8-4, Team Liquid weakened, allowing G2 to take a point. The two teams then decided which one would join the Grand Final on a final map, Haven. After an intense battle, and carried by the duo Nivera/ScreaM, it was finally Team Liquid that came out on top.

If the two brothers excelled on this final map, we will obviously note the success of the other members of the team, and in particular Jamppi who finished the map with an impressive KDA of 65/37/11.

G2 Esports players made it to the final of the lower bracket. Even though they were favourites, they had to face the fervent players of Guild Esports. After two maps, Keloqz and his team were defeated and thus eliminated from the tournament.

Grand Final – Team Liquid VS Guild Esports

After their victories against Futbolist and G2 Esports, the players of Guild Esports were ready for the return match. Despite the final score, the organisation fought until the end and gave Team Liquid a hard time!

The match started on Haven, a map on which both teams defend themselves particularly well, with 76% and 71% winrate respectively. The stats might have predicted a close battle, but it turned out to be quite different. Guild Esports was able to impose itself very quickly and went on to win a series of rounds. At side change, the team led 11-1. Team Liquid managed to win four more rounds before losing on a score of 13-5.

On Ascent, the battle was much closer. Once again, Guild Esports' roster proved to be very effective and held their own against Team Liquid, winning 7 rounds in Defense. However, they did not fare as well in Attack and conceded 8 rounds. Team Liquid won the second map on a score of 13-10.

This battle continued on Split, third and penultimate map. With only 4 rounds won during the first phase, Guild Esports started at a disadvantage in Defense. Team Liquid stayed strong, winning 5 more rounds in the second phase before closing out the map, 13 to 7.

Finally, Team Liquid chose to fight on Breeze. Despite the best efforts of Guild Esports players, Team Liquid's Attack phase was once again successful, leading 8 to 4 at side change. Guild Esports didn't manage to turn things around, led 13 to 7 at the end of the game.

For his first tournament, Nivera succeeded. At the end of the match, he finished with a KDA of 60/46/29, proving once again his talent and his legitimacy within the organisation.

This victory is just amazing. I'm probably gonna cry in my bed. It's so crazy. This is my first tournament. First tournament, first win. It's crazy.

Nivera – Team Liquid player

Nivera is obviously not the only player of the team to have expressed their joy on the networks, like his brother who posed in a beautiful pair of trousers for the souvenir photo!

With this flawless performance, Team Liquid joins the other qualified for the Valorant Champions. The family adventure of Nivera and ScreaM continues. Will the Benrlitom brothers and their teammates succeed in taking the title of best team in the world? Answer in December!

With the end of the APAC and SA LCQ, we now know that it is FULL SENSE and FUIRA Esports that will be participating in the Champions. The North American team has not yet been determined as the LCQ is still on hiatus at the moment.