carrico
On day 3 of the VCT EMEA Promotion tournament, we saw the first two teams eliminated from the tournament. For these teams, the dream of reaching the highest level of competition in the EMEA region is over for this year. However, we still have four teams battling out for two spots in the Stage 2 EMEA Challengers.
Rebels Gaming vs SuperMassive Blaze
The first series of the day had Rebels Gaming measuring forces with SuperMassive Blaze, in a game where there wasn’t any clear favorite.
Rebels Gaming picked Icebox, while SuperMassive Blaze once again picked Haven. Split was the decider map if needed.
On Icebox we saw Rebels Gaming having a great start to their attacking side, winning the first five rounds of the game. Despite SuperMasive Blaze having two sentinels, Sage and Chamber, it didn’t really have any impact on their defensive side, as they could stop Rebels Gaming.
Taking a 10-2 lead into the second half, the Spanish champions were in control of map one.
SuperMassive Blaze still managed to win the pistol round on the second half, but it was already too late, Rebels Gaming lead was already too big and they closed out map one 13-4, taking the series lead.
Something needed to change on the side of SuperMassive Blaze. The team didn’t look good on the first map, and they would now need to reverse sweep this series in order to stay alive in the tournament.
Haven is SuperMassive Blaze best map, but after yesterday’s performance against FOKUS, everyone knew they weren’t invincible, far from it.
The first half started well for the Turkish team as they won the pistol and eco round. Rebels Gaming was quick to answer back, winning seven of the next eight rounds, and SuperMasive Blaze was struggling to find any success on their attacking side.
0.35 LEFT?! @_GatsH pic.twitter.com/fwrZy0Wq0B
— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) April 7, 2022
7-5 was the scoreline at half-time, and the game was still very much alive.
However, on the attacking side, we once again saw Rebels Gaming putting on a great performance. The Spanish side proved they were the better team, and with a great team performance won map two 13-8, and the series 2-0.
SuperMasive Blaze is out of the tournament with this result, without even winning a single map. It’s safe to say some changes might be on the horizon for the Turkish team.
As for Rebels Gaming, they advanced to the Lower Round 2, where they will face the winner of Anonymo Mentos vs Surreal Esports.
Anonymo Mentos vs Surreal Esports
In this series, Anonymo Mentos were considered the favorites by most people, but everyone agreed it was going to be a close match.
Breeze was picked by Anonymo Mentos, while Surreal Esports chose Icebox. Haven would be the decider map if necessary.
Anonymo Mentos started well on their attacking side in Breeze. They got up to a 7-1 lead and were in complete control of the game.
Surreal Esports still managed to win some rounds, and the first half finished 8-4, and Anonymo looked like the much better team on Breeze.
WHAT WAS THAT ROUND?! pic.twitter.com/gDGYYOPbX6
— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) April 7, 2022
The second half, however, told us a whole different story. Surreal Esports showed their attacking can’t be underestimated and after winning eight of the first ten-round in the second half, the score was now 12-10 in favor of the Turkish champions.
Anonymo Mentos managed to win two crucial rounds at the end of the second half and took us to overtime.
In overtime, the polish squad managed to come out on top, winning the map 14-12 and taking the series lead.
Despite that, it was a much closer game than want the team would expect, especially after their first-half performance.
Icebox was the second map, and once again Anonymo Mentos had a great start this time, on the defending side.
Surreal Esports knew this was a must-win game and quickly turned things in their favor. The squad went on a seven-round winning streak to close the half, and lead the game 7-5 going into the second half.
WHAT A WAY TO END IT @masicVAL pic.twitter.com/5CD7Pyvf1r
— VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA (@valesports_emea) April 7, 2022
On the defensive side, Surreal Esports carried out the momentum from the first half and won the first three rounds. The Turkish team only needed three more rounds to force a third map.
The Polish squad still tried to mount a comeback, but Surreal Esports wasn’t letting this game escape and closed the map 13-98 forcing a third and deciding map.
Haven saw Surreal Esports continue their momentum from map two.
With some great A site executions, mid-round calls, the trades being on point, winning almost all the 1v1, Surreal Esports took a commanding 9-3 lead and looked poised to take this third map.
In the second half, Anonymo Mentos won a crucial pistol round and were able to mount a comeback cutting the lead of the Turkish side to a 10-8.
The clutches were falling to the side of the polish squad and it seem the momentum was shifting in the favor.
After a bad start to the second half, Surreal Esports was finally able to stop the bled and won round 20 making it 11-9 and was just two rounds ways from eliminating the polish team.
The final rounds of this game were nail-biting, but in the end, Surreal Esports managed to take the map win 13-11, and are moving on to face Rebels Gaming in the Lower Round 2.