NRG showcases their talent in VCT LOCK//IN debut
The first official match of the 2023 VCT has concluded in São Paulo, Brazil, where the best VALORANT teams in the world have gathered together looking for glory. The tournament’s first series showcased 2 incredible teams, North America’s NRG and EMEA’s KOI. Both organizations built their rosters from the ground up, including previous Master and VCT champions.
Even though both squads have incredible talent, all the attention was placed on NRG since they signed 3 players of the historic OpTic roster from 2022. The roster is formed by: In game leader FNS plus Victor and crashies (all former OpTic players), with s0m and import ardiis.
The North American squad did stumble in their first couple of rounds, but through time, they managed to close out a 2-0 win against KOI. NRG picked Icebox as their first map, an expected outcome as the former OpTic players are well-versed in the map.
Due to the meta shift NRG’s composition didn’t feature Chamber or many entry picks, however even without much entry power NRG still went to play aggressively even on their defensive half. They looked to push their tempo early in the round, constantly pushing the B site hunting for KOI’s members. However, unfortunately for NA’s fans, this strategy didn’t work as expected for NRG.
KOI’s composition featured a favorite amongst all teams, Jett, a pick that most pros thought would make a strong impression going into the LOCK//IN event. KOI’s Jett main, Wolfen, was making his international debut and managed to perform well under pressure. Unfortunately, the other 2 members also debuting for KOI, sheydos and starxo, didn’t perform to the standard of a tournament like this.
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2023. 02. 15. 5AM KST📺 https://t.co/0fH7he16za#DRXWIN #PaveTheWay #VCT #VCTLOCKIN pic.twitter.com/dkJ1oaWgL9
— DRX VS @ #VCTLOCKIN (@DRX_VS) February 13, 2023
After a couple of rounds where KOI was able to rush into wins, NRG started to scrap some rounds back into their pockets. S0m managed to maintain pressure in defense and was the rotational player for NRG, quickly moving between sites to provide help. Even on low economy rounds, s0m started to buy Marshals paired with Viper’s utility to hopefully punish any sort of mistake from KOI.
This approach gave NRG the time needed to turn things around, and in round 10 everything changed. After an incredible site retake, NRG found their footing in the match, grabbing several rounds on attack to finish the match 13-11 in their favor.
Going into map 2, Haven, NRG completely relied on ardiis’ prowess on the map. There is quite a lot of pressure for ardiis to perform in the LOCK//IN tournament, being a mechanical player only second to Yay. Ardiis delivered on his trademark Jett, constantly winning duels against KOI’s players. Ultimately NRG grabbed Haven 13-9, having a better showing than on their previous map Icebox.
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