By Paolo R. Trinidad
Action PH and NAOS Esports secured their slots in the upper bracket finals after sweeping their respective opponents in the winners’ semifinals of the VALORANT Champions Tour Philippines Stage 1: Challengers Playoffs, Friday evening.
APH annihilated Oasis Gaming, 2-0, in the winners’ semifinals of the APH, who had a stellar campaign yesterday in the first round, sustained its fine form with a 13-4 Game One win at Icebox.
The team then sealed its upper bracket finals slot with a 13-8 Game Two win. There, the team overcame Mark “Marky” Tuling’s Jett – who converted on a one-versus-four Clutch to end the half – as they closed the series with an 8-2 blast.
Jon “sirodeathyo” Piga, who played Sova in both matches, was waxing hot the entire series. He put up 22 kills and 342 ACS in Map One, followed by a 24-kill and 13-assist performance in Map Two.
Meanwhile, NAOS Esports claimed the second seat in the upper bracket finale after taking out South Built Esports via a 2-0 win.
It was a back and forth affair in Game Two at Haven with NAOS Esports stopping the possibility of overtime with a 13-11 final score. Shaun “blurred” Magsalang (Jett) took charge on a NAOS team effort victory with 22 kills.
In Game One, South Built Esports was on the verge of a 1-0 lead after taking a two-point lead at Round 18, 10-8. Unfortunately for them, NAOS sparked a 5-0 rally to end the opener with a 13-10 victory. Franz “kvzx” Dingal dropped 30 kills and a 357 ACS as Sova for the winning team.
The Action PH-NAOS Esports upper bracket finals clash will take place tomorrow, Saturday.
