In the fourth match of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 North America Last Chance Qualifiers, Cloud9 beat Shopify Rebellion for the first 2-0 scoreline of the tournament. With the first three matches all leading to map three, Cloud9 got the first sweep. But even with the win, the match wasn’t one-sided, with both maps going past round 22 and one went to overtime.
A lot of back and forth between these two teams, but @Cloud9 take down @ShopifyRebels 2-0 in the end.
Map 1 – Ascent: C9 13-10
Map 2 – Fracture: C9 17-15 pic.twitter.com/sMpy6xC2UR— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) August 6, 2022
The final match of the VCT 2022 NA LCQ upper quarterfinals
Heading into this match, this tournament had set a precedent of long and close series in its upper quarterfinals. Starting with The Guard versus Sentinels, two of the three maps went to overtime. Even the non-overtime map in that series was a 13-10 win, with both teams hitting double-digit round wins.
Just when fans thought the day was over, the next series of FaZe Clan versus Evil Geniuses was longer. Yet again, two of the three maps went to overtime, one of them reaching round 36 in a 19-17 win. Last but not least, the next day started with NRG versus 100 Thieves. That series was another three map series, but no overtimes like the previous day.
Then, to end off the upper quarterfinals, we had Cloud9 versus Shopify Rebellion. After Cloud9 won Ascent 13-10, the second map of Fracture was another long overtime. Just when fans thought that it would be another three-map series, Erick “Xeppaa” Bach helped secure the win at 17-15. Not as long of overtime as the FaZe Clan and Evil Geniuses match, but still one that kept fans on their toes.
Map picks making a difference at the VCT 2022 NA LCQ
When the map ended, an important stat came to light. Caster and analyst Doug “EsportsDoug” Cortez tweeted a stat that reflected how close each series was so far in the VCT 2022 NA LCQ.
C9 are the first team this tournament to win their opponent’s map pick.
Insane start to LCQ.
— Doug (@EsportsDoug) August 6, 2022
As EsportsDoug said: “C9 are the first team this tournament to win their opponent’s map pick.”
So far, each team’s map pick has led to their corresponding map victory. Even the third map of each series, which is the only remaining map after each team’s bans go through, works with this stat. The team that has the last ban in the series essentially chooses the final map in the series. Looking back, every team that had the final map ban won the series on map three. That was, until this series and Cloud9 won Shopify Rebellion’s map pick.
With this series done, the upper quarterfinals are over. Cloud9 will face The Guard in the upper bracket, while 100 Thieves will face FaZe Clan. Then, in the lower bracket, Shopify Rebellion will face Sentinels, and then NRG faces Evil Geniuses.
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