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VCT LOCK//IN is about to start its Playoffs stage. The tournament began with thirty-two teams invited to participate in the kick-off event for VCT 2023. Thirty teams were franchised, whereas the remaining two were the Chinese teams. The teams were then split into 16 teams and were grouped into two brackets called Alpha and Omega. They battled it out of the bracket in a single elimination format, where one loss would end the team's journey.
The recent matches for both the brackets finished leading to four teams making it to the Playoffs stage. These teams are Brazil's superteam, LOUD, South Korean tyrants, DRX from the Alpha bracket, and the EMEA superteam Fnatic alongside the world-class team, NAVI.
LOCK//IN has led to some spectacular moments in Valorant. Many players have put on great performances and have had insane debut matches and hence have successfully made a mark in VCT history. The Omega bracket recently concluded and gave some unforgettable moments to the viewers.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
Fnatic destroys 100 Thieves and four other unforgettable moments from VCT LOCK//IN's Omega bracket
1) Fnatic finally get their revenge against Sentinels
One of the most anticipated matches in LOCK//IN was Fnatic vs Sentinels. Fnatic went through major changes to the roster during franchising and brought in the players Leo and Chronicle. The remaining players will be from the previous roster.
Sentinels also made big moves on their roster by bringing in the World Champions, Sacy and pANcada, alongside XSET's dephh and zekken. The only player from the previous roster was TenZ.
On paper, the matchup even looked pretty even, and viewers didn't know what to expect from either of the teams. However, when the match happened, Fnatic destroyed Sentinels. They won the first map, Haven, by 13-6 and the second map, Split, by 13-7.
They won the BO3 (Best of Three) series by a 2-0. It raised a lot of questions about the new Sentinels roster, whereas Fnatic made a statement by finally getting their revenge from VCT Stage 2: Masters Reykjavik 2021.
2) Team Secret presents one of the biggest upsets in VCT history
Team Secret vs Team Liquid was the first match of the Omega bracket. Team Liquid made a lot of changes to their roster due to franchising and brought in big players from EMEA like nAts, Redgar, and Sayf. Viewers were expecting this team to win the entire event.
While Team Secret had also made a few changes to their roster, the matchup prediction heavily favored the other team. However, when the day of the match arrived, they surprised everyone.
Team Secret demolished Team Liquid. They won the BO3 series 2-0. They had a 13-8 scoreline on the first map, Icebox, whereas they had a 13-7 score on the second map, Fracture. Team Secret once again proved that the Pacific was a region to be feared.
3) India's SkRossi makes his debut on international VCT LAN
One of the biggest storylines going into VCT LOCK//IN was the Indian esports player SkRossi who plays for Global Esports. Fans always hype Rossi up during matches and want to see him play on the big stage. With LOCK//IN, that opportunity finally arrived.
Global Esports went up against EMEA's Team Vitality. They went on to lose to Team Vitality with a 1-2 in the BO3 series, where they lost the first map, Split by 4-13, won the second map Pearl by 13-9 but eventually lost the final map, Lotus by 13-6.
SkRossi, who has now shifted from his usual Duelist role to an Initiator role, struggled a little on the international stage, but as time progressed, Rossi's performance got better. He gave the viewers an insane 4k to close out map two and showed that Indian players aren't something to shy away from in VCT.
4) EDward Gaming puts on a great show against 100 Thieves
EDward Gaming was one of the invited Chinese teams to the tournament. The team had proven its capabilities during Valorant Champions 2021 and showed great potential for future tournaments.
VCT LOCK//IN they were pitted against one of NA's top teams, 100 Thieves. The matchup prediction was very one-sided for the most part. However, the match unfolded in a very different way. EDward Gaming was incredible throughout the series. They were able to go toe-to-toe against the 100 Thieves and had some of the most insane clutches in VCT history.
The first map, Icebox, favored 100 Thieves as they won 13-10. The second map, Lotus, was won by EDward Gaming with a 13-9 but ultimately lost the decider map, Pearl, barely by 14-12. EDward Gaming made 100 Thieves sweat as they almost won the BO3 series but fumbled a little in the last stretch. Nevertheless, China is looking to be a strong region for the Valorant scene.
5) Fnatic demolishes 100 Thieves to qualify for Playoffs
The last match of the Omega bracket was an NA vs EMEA matchup between Fnatic and 100 Thieves. Both teams looked pretty good in the tournament, so the viewers and analysts expected it to be a very close game. That was not the case.
Fnatic rolled over 100 Thieves with a 2-0 win in the qualifier match of LOCK//IN. They won the first map swiftly with a 13-1 scoreline. And delivered a 10-2 scoreline in the second map of Icebox's first half. It was here that 100 Thieves finally started to push back, but by then, it was too late as they ended up losing 13-10.
The semi-finals of LOCK//IN will begin soon. The top four teams are all looking very deadly. As viewers try and predict who might win the trophy, they can rest assured knowing that they will be getting to watch some top-tier Valorant matches.
