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North America's 12 most noteworthy tier-2 Valorant teams kicked-off their battle for the NA Valorant Challengers League in February 2023. After a week of engaging bouts, they will have made their way into Week 2 of the tournament's Group Stage.
On Day 1 of the second week of the North America Valorant Challengers League: Split 1, one of the region's most competent organizations, The Guard, will take on a North American roster fielded by an Indian organization, OREsports, in a best-of-three matchup.
The Guard vs OREsports: Who will win their Week 2 matchup of Valorant North America Challengers League Split 1?
Predictions
The Guard established themselves as one of North America's leading Valorant organizations with their performance in the 2022 VCT season. However, after failing to claim a franchise slot for the VCT Leagues, they were pushed to compete in the tier-2 Challenger Leagues.
Despite not making it to franchising, The Guard did not dissolve their roster. Although they lost their star Duelist and Head Coach, the organization retained a majority of their roster to aid them in their 2023 run. This included their young prodigy, trent, and their promising IGL, valyn, among other players.
OREsports, on the other hand, is a newly built roster that represents an organization that only recently made their entry into pro Valorant. In their lead-up to the Valorant Challengers League, OREsports put on a display of skill that impressed many in the community. However, they are yet to prove their strength on the big stage.
OREsports' roster features a set of young, talented players - PureVNS, Lear, nillyaz, and the 17-year-old zeldris - led by an experienced player like Jonaaa6 and two adept coaches. Being just one week into the Group Stage, OREsports still have a lot to prove and will be looking to capitalize on every opportunity they get.
Heading into this Week 2 matchup, The Guard is expected to have the upper hand over OREsports. While the latter may have been a promising contender in the qualifiers, the former is a proven roster that has even performed internationally.
Additionally, through their performances so far in 2023, The Guard have proved they are ahead of tier-2 teams like Disguised and TSM, and can match even tier-1 teams like Sentinels and T1.
The Guard will continue their efforts to climb the competitive ladder. They will re-establish themselves as one of North America's tier-1 contenders after collecting a victory over OREsports in this Week 2 NA Challengers matchup.
Head-to-head
The Guard and OREsports are yet to face off in an official Valorant matchup. Considering that, fans of both teams will be excited to see them take each other on for the first time on such a grand stage.
Recent results
The Guard kicked off their NA Challengers League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Disguised. Their only other appearance in 2023 was in the Ludwig x Tarik Invitational, where they managed to finish in the first place.
OREsports encountered a defeat in their opening match of the tournament, as M80 managed to seal the match with a 2-1 victory. Prior to that, they competed in the LCQ for the North American VCL, where they triumphed after maintaining an 8-1 win record.
Potential lineups
The Guard
- Jacob "valyn" Batio (IGL)
- Michael "neT" Bernet
- Jonah "JonahP" Pulice
- Trent "trent" Cairns
- Ian "tex" Botsch
- Josh "JoshRT" Lee (Coach)
OREsports
- Jonard "Jonaaa6" Penaflor
- Dayton "Lear" Akau
- Vincent "PureVNS" Nguyen
- Chase "nillyaz" Linder
- Elijah "zeldris" Hawkins
- Erik "vapen" Sutton (Coach)
- Chris "Huijinyong" Yong (Coach)
Where to watch
Fans of North American Valorant can tune into the Twitch channels of Valorant North America and Knights Arena, in addition to the various official watch parties, to watch the NA Challengers League: Split 1 live in action. The Guard will take on OREsports on February 8, 2023 at 4 pm PST/1 am CET (next day)/5.30 am IST (next day).
