Just as the group stage matches are wrapping up, the VALORANT Champions 2022 playoff matches have been revealed. The four teams who have already won their group and qualified to playoffs will not face each other in the first round.
Here are the official results of the random draw for playoff matchups, starting on Day 9. #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/Xkvbucfnc7
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 5, 2022
The first round of the Champions playoffs
Starting with the first match chronologically, Latin American team Leviatán will face off against the second seed in Group B. The team they will face will be the winner of the LOUD versus ZETA DIVISION match happening before that. The first playoff match starts on Sept. 9 at 10 AM EST.
Next, we have Korean superteam DRX facing the second seed from Group C. The team they will face will be the winner of KRÜ Esports versus FunPlus Phoenix. The winner from that will play their playoff match just after the first one, at 1 PM EST.
On the next day, Sept. 10, we have NA powerhouse OpTic Gaming facing the second seed from Group A. That team will be the winner of the Team Liquid versus Paper Rex matchup. Whoever wins will face OpTic at 10 AM EST.
And last but not least, we have rising stars XSET facing off against the second seed in Group D. That means XSET will face the winner of the Fnatic versus 100 Thieves match. The final first round playoff game starts at 1 PM EST on Sept. 10.
Potential matches and storylines at Champions 2022
Some good news to start with how the bracket formed revolves around regional matchups. In 2022, we’ve seen an NA versus NA matchup at the start of every playoff for each international LAN. Depending on what happens in Group D, there is a chance that this tournament is the first without that scenario.
Not only that, but looking at the rest of the potential matchups, there are no teams in the same region facing off against each other in the first round. The only potential regional matchup is XSET versus 100 Thieves, a matchup fans in NA haven’t seen often.
We still have some storied matchups potentially, like a upper bracket finals rematch from Copenhagen if Paper Rex make it out of groups. Another interesting story is DRX, a team known for losing in three matches in playoffs, getting a bracket where they won’t face against bogey team OpTic Gaming in the uppper bracket semis for the first time this year.
Despite the fact that the teams aren’t all set in stone, these Champions playoff matches prove to be some of the most entertaining of 2022.
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