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The VCT Ascension Americas 2023 tournament has officially begun. The top two teams from Brazil, North America, and Latin America will fight for a single spot to be the team who will play in the 2024 and 2025 VCT Americas League, amongst other franchised teams. The group stage consists of two groups, with three teams in each group. The group stages are purely for seeding purposes in the playoffs stage.
00Nation and The Guard are the second-seeded teams from Brazil and North America, respectively. Both of these teams have showcased great Valorant. The Guard will look to start their Ascension run with a win, while 00Nation hopes to attain a 2-0 record to have a comfortable spot in the playoffs bracket.
00Nation vs The Guard: Who will win this VCT Ascension Americas 2023 matchup?
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Predictions
00Nation were a pretty mediocre team in the first split of the Brazilian Challengers League. They placed seventh and failed to make it to playoffs. However, the team had a resurgence in the second split after the addition of experienced players Alexandre "xand" Zizi and Gabriel "bezn1" Luiz da Costa.
Both were part of the former Brazilian Ninjas in Pyjamas roster, which made it to VCT Masters 2022: Reykjavik. The team steadily improved and hit their peak during the playoffs. 00Nation was only bested by the regional titans, The Union. 00Nation is a solid team, with each individual capable of having standout moments.
The Guard is among the most recognizable names in the VCT Americas Ascension tournament. The team consists of the core which shocked the world in the early stages of 2022 after taking down Optic Gaming in their debut split and qualifying for VCT Masters 2022: Reykjavik. The Guard has mechanically talented players, along with an incredibly well-built chemistry.
Some key players fans should watch out for are Jonah "JonahP" Pulice and Ian "tex" Botsch. Tex, in particular, has been a fantastic Duelist in North America, and The Guard utilizes him perfectly by setting him up for success.
The Guard is slightly favored to win this matchup. However, 00Nation has already shown in the Ascension tournament that they are not to be underestimated. With The Union being able to beat M80, 00Nation have a perfect chance at going 2-0 in the group stages if The Guard does not show up well prepared.
Head-to-head
These teams have not played against each other before.
Recent results
00Nation's latest result was a convincing 2-0 victory over the number one Latin American team, 9z Team.
The Guard's previous result was a 1-3 loss to M80 in the North American Challengers League grand finals.
Expected rosters
00Nation
- Arthur "Artzin" Araujo
- Bruno "B4rtiN" Câmara
- Gabriel "shion" Vilela
- Gabriel "bezn1" Luiz da Costa
- Alexandre "xand" Zizi
- Dyamond "phonics" Pillon (Head Coach)
The Guard
- Jacob "valyn" Batio (IGL)
- Michael "neT" Bernet
- Jonah "JonahP" Pulice
- Trent "trent" Cairns
- Ian "tex" Botsch
- Josh "JoshRT" Lee (Head Coach)
When and where to watch
Fans can tune into the official Valorant Americas broadcast live on Twitch and YouTube. Regional languages such as Portuguese and Spanish are also available for viewers.
00Nation will face off against The Guard on July 2, 2023, at 4:30 am IST / 1:00 am CEST / 4:00 pm PDT (July 1, 2023)
