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On February 13, 2023, LOCK//IN 2023 kicked off the 2023 season of the international split of the VCT in Sao Paulo in grand fashion. Day 2 of the event, February 14, 2023, consisted of three matches within the Alpha group.
The first one was between the Chinese team FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) and EMEA's Karmine Corp, while the second match of the day saw the Turkish BBL Esports take on DRX from Korea. Finally, the day ended with an epic matchup between Cloud9 (C9) and Paper Rex (PRX).
VCT LOCK//IN follows a single-elimination format, which means that three of the six teams that played yesterday were knocked out after losing their first and only match in the event. By the end of Day 2, only 27 of the 32 teams from the Americas, EMEA, APAC, and China remain in the competition.
In Day 2's first game, Karmine Corp took FPX down comfortably after faltering a little in the second map. DRX failed to close their second map as well, squandering a four-round lead to take matters to the third map. In the final map, they crushed BBL's dreams of an upset, thanks to an incredible 11-round lead that they gained in the first half.
The final matchup, which was predicted to be the hottest game of the day, turned out to be a rather one-sided affair, with Cloud9 dominating PRX on both maps to move to the next round of VCT 2023 LOCK//IN.
VCT 2023 LOCK//IN: Day 2 match results and highlights
Listed below are the Map Vetos for all three matchups:
- FunPlus Phoenix vs Karmine Corp: FPX ban Icebox; KC ban Ascent; FPX pick Lotus; KC pick Haven; FPX ban Split; KC ban Fracture; Pearl remains
- BBL Esports vs DRX: DRX ban Lotus; BBL ban Fracture; DRX pick Pearl; BBL pick Ascent; DRX ban Split; BBL ban Icebox; Haven remains
- Cloud9 vs Paper Rex: PRX ban Icebox; C9 ban Ascent; PRX pick Lotus; C9 pick Pearl; PRX ban Split; C9 ban Haven; Fracture remains
The results of the three matches from Day 2 of VCT 2023 LOCK//IN are:
- FunPlus Phoenix vs Karmine Corp: 1-2 [Lotus 6-13, Haven 13-8, Pearl 6-13]
- BBL Esports vs DRX: 1-2 [Pearl 3-13, Ascent 13-11, Haven 7-13]
- Cloud9 vs Paper Rex: 2-0 [Lotus 13-8, Pearl 13-4]
Following their losses, FPX, BBL, and PRX have subsequently been eliminated from the VCT 2023 LOCK//IN event. In the next round, Karmine Corp will play against the winner of the match between Gen.G and LOUD, while DRX and C9 will face off against each other.
Top highlights from Day 2 of VCT LOCK//IN
1) nizhaoTXH's Omen TP into the friendly Killjoy Nanoswarm with a Shorty
In the post-plant phase of round 8 in the match between FPX and Karmine Corp, FPX's Omen nizhaoTXH 'Shrouded Stepped' into the opponent Omen's spike smoke, which had an detonating Nanoswarm on it and waited there with a Shorty to eliminate an unsuspecting xms. This interesting decision went on to win the round for the Chinese team.
2) ScreaM proves that he's the headshot machine in a 1v2 clutch on Haven
Karmine Corp's IGL ScreaM showed the world why he's called the 'Headshot Machine' in an impressive 1v2 clutch against FPX's BerLIN and nizhaoTXH spending only 10 out of the 18 bullets left in his Vandal, hitting the cleanest one-taps.
3) MaKo's cool, calm, and collected headshots win DRX their attacking bonus round on Pearl
DRX were on a two-man deficit in their bonus round of their attacking half before MaKo landed two insane shots on Aslan and Turko, bringing it to an even 2v2. Shortly after, MaKo and Rb went on to win the round, giving them a huge economic advantage for the rest of the game.
4) C9 leaf sticks the spike defuse right under PRX's nose on Lotus
PRX employed an interesting strategy in round 11 of their game against C9, where they 'Sage walled' the entry to Lotus' B Site to block off any shots coming from A-Link to secure an easy plant.
What they didn't consider was the fact that it made their post-plant quite difficult without the presence of any damaging utility on the spike. C9's leaf sneakily got the defuse mere seconds after the spike was planted, with a smoke covering the entry choke point while his teammates shot at the enemies, winning them the round.
5) C9 Xeppa's spectacular ACE in round 16 of their Pearl game
C9's Xeppa put the final nail in PRX's coffin with an amazing 1v4 ACE clutch in round 16 of their Pearl game against PRX, bringing his team to map and series point in their VCT LOCK//IN round 1 game.
Upcoming matchups
Day 3 of VCT LOCK//IN will host the following Round 1 matches in the Alpha group:
- Team Heretics vs Evil Geniuses: 9:00 am PST/ 6:00 pm CET/ 10:30 pm IST
- MIBR vs Talon Esports: 12:00 pm PST/ 9:00 pm CET/ 1:30 am IST (next day)
- Gen.G vs LOUD: 3:00 pm PST/ 12:00 am CET (next day)/ 4:30 am IST (next day)
You can watch these matches live on Valorant's official Twitch or YouTube channels or your favorite streamer's watch party for additional commentary.
