[VCT BR] Group A Week 3 Recap: Challengers prevail.
I wrote this as an application for the VLR writers wanted section, but I figured I might as well upload it here even if it is late. For more updated results see Week 4 Group B and Week 4 Group A. I split this in half because the whole week was too long, so this is group B.
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TLDR: Week three of Stage 1: Brazil Challengers finished with Sharks becoming the first team eliminated from the playoffs after suffering a loss to Ingaming, and Keyd Stars falling to the rising Brazilian NIP team in a spectacular series that could fill multiple highlight reels.
Ingaming (2-0) Sharks
Both teams entered this week winless and needing this win in order to have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. Sharks were the favorites after taking a map from KS, however, Ingaming had a very close series against the as of yet undefeated Furia. Ingaming showed up to the server to take the win, and Sharks became the first team eliminated from the playoffs entirely.
Sharks picked Haven and won the pistols and second rounds on both halfs. In fact the won all four pistols and second rounds in this series which is in stark contrast to the last two weeks where they lost 7/10 pistols and lost the second round every time they lost the pistol. Ingaming strung together four straight rounds beginning in round 3 and closed the first half with a 7-5 advantage. Ingaming once again won four straight starting with the third round of the second half and traded enough rounds after that to win the map 13-10.
Ingaming picked Breeze and won seven straight after Sharks won the pistol and second round. Sharks never found much of an opening on their attack and were forced to make a comeback from 4-8 on their defense. They won 5/7 rounds to come within one round of Ingaming, but Ingaming closed the map 13-9 in convincing fashion.
Ingaming came into this group as underdogs, but after two straight weeks of good showings, they sit at 1-1 and in a good position to control their own destiny for playoffs. They have two games left against Keyd Stars and NIP, but a single win guarantees them at least three way tiebreaker status for a playoff spot. Sharks came into this season with high expectations after importing two Portuguese players, but will now have to start planning for their next tournaments.
Ninjas in Pyjamas (2-1) Keyd Stars
Keyd Stars have been considered one of the favorites coming off their controversial performance at Champions 2021, however the new NIP lineup has shown the potential to shine. A battle between the EU org and the homegrown favorites went the way of NIP this time as they took down Keyd Stars in the match of the week.
NIP picked Icebox to start the series, but Keyd Stars reached an 8-2 lead early on their attack. NIP managed two rounds to keep the scoreline at 8-4 at the half then put on a show on their own attack. Keyd Stars only managed a single round against the third round bonus as NIP took the map 13-9. Bezn1 showcased his skillset with a 1v3 clutch to sinch the final round. Heat was reportedly still suffering the aftereffects of covid, and was not dominant on Jett.
Bind saw the first ever competitive map where heat played anything other than Jett. The first glimpse of his Chamber looked impressive with a monstrous 314 ACS. NIP took both pistols, but struggled on the buy rounds managing only 4 rounds on each half leading to a comfortable 13-8 for Keyd Stars. This map also saw the return of mwzera to Raze, but the bigger duelist swap was xand playing Skye for NIP instead of Jett where he was only 1-7 in opening duels.
Map three was a Split game for the ages. Keyd Stars picked a unique composition with Chamber, Jett, and Raze which left relatively little utility to take map control other than smokes and duelist aggression. This immediately became apparent as they ended the half at a 2-10 deficit. The second half was much less dominant, however, Keyd Stars strung together two series of 4 straight rounds winning with hero plays in close situations. NIP managed to stem the bleeding and closed the map 13-10 after a nail biting comeback attempt.
Jonn bounced back after some rough games with NIP initially. Despite xand struggling individually with a 5-16 first blood to first kill statline, NIP overcame their toughest challenge yet to put themselves in a position where they are likely to make the playoffs. Bezn1 also had 6 clutches during the series which puts him at 11 over the group stage so far. The only player with more than half of that is his teammate bnj. Keyd Stars now have games against Ingaming and Furia. Losing to Ingaming would almost eliminate Keyd Stars from the playoffs entirely barring a string of other games forcing a tiebreaker.
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