By Paolo Trinidad
An unexpected turn of events hounded the final match of the day with Bren Esports emerging victorious, 2-1, against the erstwhile unbeaten Action PH via default in the second week of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022: Philippines Challengers.
After a nip-and-tuck affair in the first two games of the series, Action PH suffered from connectivity issues which forced the organizers to hand the victory to Bren Esports.
It was an unfortunate scenario for Action PH, who was ahead in Group A with a 3-0 record prior to the loss. Bren Esports remained at the third spot with a 2-2 standing while Action PH kept the pole position with a 3-1 slate.
Matthew “Modeskiii” Bautista (Killjoy) started off strong in Map One (Icebox) with a four-kill performance in Round Two. Another four-kill round from Jon “sirodeathyo” Piga (Sova) followed in Round Nine which gave Action PH the quick 13-4 Game One win.
BREN Esports bounced back in Map Two (Ascent) after their own version of a dominant performance. Zachary “BraiNfreeZe” Bajarias’ Sova paved the way for Bren Esports’ 13-3 Game Two win. He finished with 20 Kills, 11 Assists, and 355 ACS.
South Built Esports bagged its first win after sweeping Zeal Esports, 2-0, in the second bout of the day.
Map Two at Ascent was a hard-fought battle for the once-skidding South Built Esports. After being down 0-6 to start the match, SBE finally found their groove to force overtime against the second-ranked squad in Group B.
The defending VxV Champions eventually snagged the win in Round 30 of overtime with a 16-14 final score. Aziz “azys” Nandang (Jett) SBE finished with 31 Kills and a 268 Average Combat Score for SBE.
South Built came out on top in Game One at Haven, 13-11, riding azys’ 24-kill performance as Jett.
SBE grabbed its first win of the tournament at 1-3, while Zeal Esports is still at the two-spot with 2-2 in Group B.
Looking for Org started the day full of upsets by handing NAOS Esports its first taste of defeat, 2-1, in the opening game of the day.
The young guns looked dominant in Map One (Haven) with an impressive 8-0 start. NAOS tried to come back, tying the game at 10-all, but it was not enough as Looking for Org took the opener with a 13-10 score. Nathaniel “Nexi” Cabero (Killjoy) and Charles “Chowdy” Carcalles both had 20 Kills for LFO.
Nexi continued to impress in Map Two (Breeze), this time as Jett with an Ace in Round 11. He was then shut down as NAOS tied the series in a tough overtime win. Franz “kvzx” Dingal (Sova) and Shuan “blurred” Maglasang (Jett) both had 28 apiece for NAOS.
Just like in Map One, LFO continued their dominance in Game Three at Ascent with a 9-3 score at the half. They eventually won the match, 13-9. Chowdy finished with 24 kills and seven assists. It was a balanced team effort for the youngsters as everyone on the team reached the 50-Kill mark in this series.
Looking for Org is now at 2-2 – good for third in Group B while NAOS Esports kept the top spot with a 3-1 standing.
