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Riot Games Announces The Franchise Teams of VCT 2023

We have drawn the curtains on the VCT 2022 season earlier this week with LOUD securing the Valorant Champions 2022. The end of the season marks the hype for the next season and things are already getting hot. With Riot Games declaring the franchise teams of VCT 2023, social media has erupted with mixed reactions.

During Champions 2022, Riot Games announced that they will be introducing a franchise-like event next year. This means that only a select number of teams will be able to join upon invites into the competitive ecosystem. There will be a total of three leagues across the world based upon location. A total of 30 teams will be participating with 10 teams for each of Americas, Pacific and EMEA. The esports organizations are legally partnered with Riot to allow them to compete in the event while providing their intellectual property to the developers. Teams that are not partnered with Riot will have to qualify for the event through the amateur scene.

Franchise Teams of VCT 2023

Here are all the franchise teams for the VCT 2023 season:

VCT Americas

  • 100 Thieves
  • Cloud9
  • Evil Geniuses
  • FURIA
  • KRU Esports
  • Leviatan
  • LOUD
  • MIBR
  • NRG
  • Sentinels

VCT EMEA

  • BBL Esports
  • Fnatic
  • Team Vitality
  • Team Heretics
  • NAVI
  • Team Liquid
  • Karmine Corp
  • Giants
  • FUT Esports
  • KOI

VCT Pacific

  • Zeta Division
  • Gen.G
  • DRX
  • Paper Rex
  • Talon Esports
  • Detonation Gaming
  • T1
  • Team Secret
  • Rex Regum Qeon
  • Global Esports

You can learn more about the franchise teams reveal here.

Teams Missing Out

Unfortunately, some big names are missing out from the franchise event. OpTic Gaming, the team that finished top 3 in the last three top tier Valorant events have been left out. Their former IGL, FNS and yay have both announced that they are up for grabs as a restricted free agent.

Deeming themselves the best EMEA team in a recent announcement, FPX are also disheartened to not be a part of the plan. They not only won Copenhagen but also finished top 4 at Champions 2022. The organization announced that they will be focusing on “taking care of their players” in the near future.

The winners of Valorant Champions 2021, Acend Club are also missing out on a franchise spot. Their founder, Benjamin Rolle took to social media assuring fans that he’s still proud of what the organization has achieved. Bencb went on to state:

We’re disappointed, but we’re determined to build a powerhouse.

You can check out the full statement here:

Well, it surely is disappointing that some big teams will be missing out on the biggest stage of Valorant next year. We hope that these teams do make a comeback and perform on the main stage!

 

 

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Group C Leaderboard of ESL Pro League Season 16

With Valorant Champions 2022 wrapped up, our focus is now shifted to all the other major esports tournaments that are taking place around the world. No, we did not forget about CS:GO at all which is why today we’re covering ESL Pro League Season 16. Group C has now finally been wrapped up, so let’s take a look at who’s qualified for the ESL Pro League playoffs!

ESL Pro League Group C

5 days was all it took to wrap up the entire action of Group C. As expected, there was no lack of action as the group composed of both top dogs as well as underdogs.

Who qualified?

MOUZ topped the leaderboard of Group C winning 4 out of their 5 matches. Their only loss came against Astralis who even failed to qualify. Since they’re in 1st place, they have directly qualified for the quarterfinals. Heroic and Complexity are the other two teams joining MOUZ at the playoffs. However, they have only advanced to the round of 12 and not the quarterfinals yet.

Agony for Astralis

For the 4-time Major winning Danish team, this was a tournament they’d love to forget. Astralis could not replicate even an inch of the performance they had portrayed in the years of 2018 and 2019.

Astralis started the tournament off on the wrong foot losing 1-2 to Complexity on day 1 of Group C at ESL. A 2-0 clean win against table-toppers MOUZ revived hopes but quickly withered away losing 1-2 to HEET. There was some hope of qualifying as they won against ENCE the next day but a loss to Heroic sent them back home. Their loss to HEET surely cost them a spot at the playoffs which is even more sad considering that HEET finished at the very bottom.

Even worse news for Astralis is that k0nfig suffered a complicated ankle fracture, the organization announced on social media today. Coming off the bench, their reserve, Mikkel “MistR” Thomsen, will be included in the main roster. MistR will be in the main squad for the upcoming RMR.

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LOUD Crowned Champions of Valorant Champions 2022

It’s been three weeks since the Valorant Champions 2022 kicked off. After 33 intense matches, we have finally witnessed the grand final between LOUD and OpTic Gaming. With the finals now done and dusted, the action surely lived up to the hype of the finals. How did the maps turn out? Keep on reading to find out only at Gamopo!

LOUD vs OpTic

LOUD and OpTic Gaming have faced each other a total of five times before, of which the latter has won thrice. This gives OpTic Gaming a slight edge over LOUD.

Rosters

LOUD

  • Matias “saadhak” Delipetro (IGL)
  • Erick “aspas” Santos
  • Felipe “Less” Basso
  • Bryan “pANcada” Luna
  • Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi

OpTic Gaming

  • Pujan “FNS” Mehta (IGL)
  • Victor “Victor” Wong
  • Austin “crashies” Roberts
  • Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker
  • Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen

Map Picks

  • LOUD ban Pearl and Fracture
  • LOUD pick Ascent
  • OPTC pick Bind
  • LOUD pick Breeze
  • OPTC pick Haven
  • Icebox remains

The Series

Map 1 (Ascent)

The first map of the grand finals began at Ascent. LOUD started off the map just the way they wanted picking up the first two pistol rounds. OpTic then began a scary streak of winning six straight rounds with some filthy plays from yay. The first half ended 7-5 in favor of OpTic. In the second half, it was OpTic that picked up the pistol rounds. LOUD picked up some pace winning the next three rounds but OpTic responded well…. for a while. LOUD made a comeback right after forcing the game to be taken to an overtime. The overtime was just as nail-biting and LOUD took the first map home 15-13.

Map 2 (Bind)

OpTic needed to make a statement on Bind and their start surely did. They picked up the first four rounds without a sweat. LOUD responded but only for a few rounds. OpTic ended the first half well in their favor ending it 10-2. LOUD recollected themselves and started the second half of the map really well. They won the first four rounds and looked to make a comeback. But with only two rounds needed to pick up the map, OpTic picked up the pieces and won Bind.

Map 3 (Breeze)

LOUD’s map pick didn’t start in their favor at all. Without a sweat, OpTic picked up the first five rounds with ease. LOUD made a solid comeback though with the first half ending 6-6. All hell broke loose in the second half of Breeze. Both teams kept going back and forth and both teams barely picked up consecutive rounds. The scores were 12-12 and it went to yet another overtime. Both teams went neck and neck in overtime but in the end, LOUD took their second win 16-14. LOUD was now one map away from being crowned the victors of Valorant Champions 2022.

Map 4 (Haven)

OpTic’s pick of Haven started very, very well for LOUD. The boys from South America not only picked up the pistols but the bonus round as well. First half did not fail to deliver the expected level of action as it ended 7-6 in favor of LOUD. The second half started with LOUD steamrolling over the entire roster of OpTic. OpTic couldn’t pick up a single round in defense as they fell prey to LOUD’s aggressiveness. In the end, LOUD won the map and the series 3-1.

Well, good news for Brazil fans as the trophy finally comes home as LOUD have been crowned Valorant champions. All we look forward to now is VCT 2023!

 

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A Guide To The Best Start on FUT 23

A new season of FIFA is dawning upon us. For all the FIFA Ultimate Team players out there, it’s another year of grinding to make the best team possible. Let’s face it, we all hate grinding and we all wish we could make things a little easier. With that thought in mind, Gamopo brings you the ultimate guide of getting the best start on FUT 23.

When is FIFA releasing?

FIFA 23 is set to release on all platforms on 30th September, 2022. By platforms, we mean Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, and Microsoft Windows. However, if you already have (or getting) the Ultimate Edition, you can start playing from the 27th which is 3 days earlier. But that’s not all you’re getting out of the Ultimate Edition.

Perks of Ultimate Edition

Let’s take a look at all the perks that come with pre-ordering the Ultimate Edition:

  • 4,600 FIFA Points
  • Three Days Early Access, start playing FIFA 23 on September 27
  • FUT Ones to Watch Player Item (Untradeable)
  • FUT Team of the Week 1 Player Item (Untradeable)
  • Kylian Mbappé Loan Item, for 5 FUT matches
  • FUT Ambassador Loan Player Pick, for 3 FUT matches
  • Career Mode Homegrown Talent, local youth prospect with world-class potential

We recommend getting the Ultimate Edition as soon as possible if you want the best start for FUT 23.

Be sure to keep an eye out on our news section for more of such guides and tips!

Best Start on FUT 23

In order to have the best possible start on FUT 23, it’s important you keep a few pointers at the back of your mind. Let’s go through all of them:

Web App

The Web App is the in-browser application for all your FUT needs. If you haven’t used it before, just know that you can do pretty much everything there except, of course, playing matches. You can set formations and tactics, buy and list players on the market, buy packs and much more. The Web App for FUT 23 comes online 21st September. You can start using the transfer market if you’re a returning FUT player with an account in good standing. The FUT 23 Companion App comes out the next day but it’s not that important unless you trade on the go.

Got the Ultimate Edition?

If you picked up the Ultimate Edition, there are some stuff that you need to keep in mind. Like previous years, the 10-hour access (that comes with EA Play) doesn’t release before the Ultimate Edition. So, if you picked up EA Play along with the Ultimate Edition, there really isn’t a difference in that case. However, if you got yourself the Standard Edition along with EA Play, you can play for 10 hours from the 27th before the full game releases.

Covering the Basics

Nations to Pick

When you’re getting started, pick any of the following as your preferred nation:

  • England
  • Italy
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • France

I would suggest going for either England or France because they provide you some of the players you’re gonna need for Advanced SBCs.

Got Packs?

If you got yourself some loyalty packs, open all of them and sell everything that has some value. These coins at the very start matter a lot! You should have a few thousand coins if you do it properly. If you pack a meta player or something high-rated, hold onto it as the price will increase within the next day or two.

FIFA 20 Ultimate Team Pack Odds: What are the chances of getting Ronaldo or Messi in a pack? | Goal.com English Oman

Foundation Objectives and SBCs

Dive right into the foundation objectives and SBCs after you open the packs. Objectives are pretty much the same as it always has been before. You gotta apply some contracts here and there, make your team reach max chemistry and buy or list players on the transfer market. For the SBCs, you have to keep in mind that you’re almost guaranteed to make more money than you invest. Therefore, don’t hesitate to spend some coins to get those much needed players. Finish all of the advanced SBCs as quickly as you can utilizing as many players you already have in your pile.

If you follow all of the guidelines, you’ll be looking at the best possible start on FUT 23. May the pack luck God be in your favor on this Ultimate Team!

 

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Rogue wins LEC 2022 Summer Playoffs

Six of Europe’s best appeared last month to book a ticket at Worlds. With only two set for the main event and another two up for the play-ins, no stone could have been left unturned. In the end, it was G2 and Rogue that met in the finals of LEC 2022 Summer. Read on to find out all the action!

G2 vs Rogue

Even though both had qualified for Worlds 2022 just by showing up at the finals, it was now about bragging rights. Only one can be crowned the best in Europe and it could only be determined by a best of 5. How did the matches turn out? Let’s find out!

Rosters

G2

  • Sergen “Broken Blade” Çelik
  • Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski
  • Rasmus “caPs” Borregaard Winther
  • Victor “Flakked” Lirola Tortosa
  • Raphaël “Targamas” Crabbé

Rogue

  • Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu
  • Kim “Malrang” Geun-seong
  • Emil “Larssen” Larsson
  • Markos “Comp” Stamkopoulos
  • Adrian “Trymbi” Trybus

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The Series

Match 1

The first match started out slow as the first blood of Broken Blade was taken by Rogue 9 minutes into the match. Rogue also took the Infernal Dragon soon after. Disaster struck for G2 in the 16th minute when Rogue not only stole their dragon but also sent the entire team back to the base. Rogue started building on an impressive gold lead by taking one objective after the other. G2’s base was penetrated with their first inhibitor being destroyed in the 28th minute. The walls came tumbling down for G2 in the 31st minute when Comp invaded their base to pick up his pentakill. Advantage to Rogue for picking up the first map!

Match 2

The second match of the LEC 2022 finals started even slower for G2 and Rogue. It was BrokenBlade yet again who got killed first. Malrang picked up the kill of Flakked but he picked up Trymbi. Jankos was in the right place as well as he slayed Malrang. 16th minute of the match saw the first full-fledged teamfight as Rogue picked up three kills of G2. They picked up their first dragon too right after. Despite all this, G2 did a good job at keeping the gold difference to a minimum. They couldn’t sustain their lead for long though as Rogue started dominating teamfight after teamfight. But G2 made a strong statement winning a teamfight of their own in the 37th minute. They went straight in aiming for Rogue’s nexus but individual brilliance by Malrang saved his team. From then on, Rogue didn’t take long to wrap up match two in the 43rd minute.

Match 3

The third match started in favor of G2. Caps picked up Larssen’s life in mid-lane with some help from Jankos. Rogue soon responded as Malrang picked up the kill of Jankos. G2 picked up the first dragon but Rogue soon took the first turret after slaying Flakked. Rogue then restarted their tradition of dominating teamfights with a triple kill from Comps and another by Odoamne in the 17th minute. They kept working hard to take down objectives while making sure G2 don’t catch them off guard. Rogue took two red inhibitors in the 27th minute. The boys in blue did not take long to wrap up the night as they took down the nexus in the 29th minute.

With the finals wrapped up, Rogue are your new LEC champions! Only time will tell how they’ll perform at Worlds.

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OpTic and XSET move onto the Upper Bracket Semifinals

We’re done and over with the upper bracket quarterfinals of Valorant Champions 2022. To the demise of Team Liquid of Fnatic, OpTic Gaming and XSET have qualified for the upper bracket semifinals. However, good news is there’s still hope left as they’ve conceded to the lower bracket.

Day 2 of Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

On day 2 of the upper bracket quarterfinals, it was NA vs EMEA in both the matches. The representatives of NA, OpTic and XSET faced the sides from EMEA, Team Liquid and Fnatic respectively. Let’s find out how the action went!

OpTic vs Team Liquid

OpTic Gaming vs Team Liquid was our first NA vs EMEA matchup of the night. This was the first time the two sides have met each other in competitive Valorant.

Rosters

OpTic Gaming
  • Pujan “FNS” Mehta (IGL)
  • Victor “Victor” Wong
  • Austin “crashies” Roberts
  • Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker
  • Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen
Team Liquid
  • Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom (IGL)
  • Dom “soulcas” Sulcas
  • Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen
  • Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom
  • Dmitriy “dimasick”  Matvienko

Map Picks

  • TL ban Fracture
  • OpTic ban Haven
  • TL pick Breeze
  • OpTic pick Bind
  • TL ban Pearl
  • OpTic ban Icebox
  • Ascent remains

The Series

Map 1 (Breeze)

Team Liquid’s first map pick, Breeze started off the way they wanted. They picked up the two pistol rounds but conceded the bonus as expected. TL pretty much bulldozed the rest of the first half under the leadership of ScreaM. The half ended 9-3 in their favor. OpTic started the second half with new vigor winning the first three rounds. But Team Liquid responded soon picking up three straight rounds for themselves, soon ending the first map 13-7.

Map 2 (Bind)

Picked by OpTic, they needed to make a statement on Bind if they wanted to stay in the upper bracket. They surely did by picking up the first five rounds straight thanks to brilliant team efforts. But TL responded right after by winning the next five rounds and leveling the score. But the half ended 9-5 in favor of OpTic. The second half saw yay go wild picking up five first kills on Chamber. OpTic continued to dominate on Bind as they easily picked up the map 13-8.

Map 3 (Ascent)

Ascent was what was left to decide who makes it to the upper bracket semifinals. From the start of the third map, it was yay who was at the top of his game on Chamber yet again. He picked up 19 kills in the first half and spearheaded the team to be up by 10-2. The second half started with OpTic winning the first round but TL showed some strong determination after. They won six straight rounds giving their rivals something to worry about. But the boys from NA recollected themselves and picked up two rounds to seal the deal.

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XSET vs Fnatic

XSET vs Fnatic was the second NA vs EMEA encounter of the day. These two teams have never faced each other before competitively.

Rosters

XSET
  • Rory “dephh” Jackson (IGL)
  • Zachary “zekken” Patrone
  • Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban
  • Jordan “AYRIN” He
  • Brendan “BcJ” Jensen
Fnatic
  • Jake “Boaster” Howlett (IGL)
  • James “Mistic” Orfila
  • Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
  • Enzo “Enzo” Mestari
  • Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder

Map Picks

  • XSET ban Bind
  • FNC ban Haven
  • XSET pick Pearl
  • FNC pick Fracture
  • XSET ban Icebox
  • FNC ban Breeze
  • Ascent remains

The Series

Map 1 (Pearl)

The series began with XSET’s pick of Pearl. Fnatic did well to put the plant down on several occasions in the first half but XSET’s retaking capability proved to be superior. They won four rounds just by retaking the site and defusing right in time. The first half finished 9-3 in favor of the American team. Fnatic started the second half of the map winning the pistols as well as the bonus round. But it seemed to be a matter of time before XSET got back into the game. AYRIN stepped up big time with Astra and XSET wrapped up the first map 13-8.

Map 2 (Fracture)

Fnatic needed a response and they were hoping they could pull it off with their pick of Fracture. They started the map accordingly picking up the pistol rounds but XSET won the bonus. Fnatic kept on putting the plants down but XSET had quite a few successful attempts at defuses. The first half ended 8-5 in favor of Fnatic. Derke put up an amazing show in the second half but fell short to XSET’s strategic outplays. The two teams were neck and neck but XSET walked out the arena as victors.

Who is OpTic and XSET facing next?

Unfortunate news for NA Valorant fans because OpTic and XSET are facing each other in the upper bracket semifinals. The match is set for tomorrow after DRX face LOUD. The losers of those two matches will be sent to the lower brackets.

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Predictions for Valorant Champions 2022 Playoffs Day 1

We finally draw the curtains on the group stage of Valorant Champions 2022. There may be only 8 teams left but the playoffs are surely gonna be a long one. With day 1 set to start soon, check out our predictions for the winners of Valorant Champions 2022 Playoffs day 1!

DRX vs FunPlus Phoenix

We have Korea vs EMEA to kick off the upper bracket quarter finals. DRX had eased past group D picking up 2-0 wins against Furia and 100 Thieves. FPX didn’t have as smooth a sail as they were 2nd in group C and had to defeat KRU last night in a decider match. They put up a brilliant performance and earned themselves a worthy spot in the playoffs.

The two teams faced each other only twice before with both teams picking up a win each. The last match was a 2-0 win for FPX at Masters Copenhagen. FPX has a better form winning 3 out of their last 4 matches in all competitions whereas FunPlus won 2. FPX just played a match last night against KRU, so they’re getting no time to rest which might impact player performance a bit. At the grandest stage in all of Valorant, experience matters. And it is undoubtedly FunPlus Phoenix that has more experience in the international stage.

This is a tough one to call but it should be a win for FunPlus Phoenix.

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Leviatan vs LOUD

Things are about to get extra hot at South America as the boys from Chile take on LOUD. Leviatan certainly impressed everyone during the group stage picking up rather comfortable wins against Paper Rex and Team Liquid. LOUD put up an impressive performance in group B only conceding to OpTic Gaming. ZETA, unfortunately, had to face their wrath twice.


Leviatan has a better record in recent competitive matches and they have faced better opponents as well. LOUD only picked up two wins in the last five matches, both of them coming against the same team that is ZETA. The two teams have never faced each other before despite being from the same continent.

No one can say for sure who’s winning between these two but we’re slightly giving the edge to Leviatan for their mindblowing performance at the group stage.

That’s it from us for our day 1 playoffs predictions at the Valorant Champions 2022. Who do you have your money on?

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Final Day of Valorant Champions 2022 Group Stage

It was the final day of the group stage of Valorant Champions 2022. We’ve witnessed jam-packed action even before making it to the playoffs. With just two seeds left in the upper-bracket quarterfinals, who were the final two teams to make it? Let’s find out!

Final Day of Valorant Champions 2022

The final day decided the destiny of two teams that’d be joining the playoffs of Champions 2022. The stage was set for KRU taking on FunPlus Phoenix and 100 Thieves going up against Fnatic. Both teams were pretty neck and neck on paper and it was tough to pick a winner. But eventually, we had our winners with the course of time.

KRU vs FunPlus Phoenix

KRU vs FunPlus Phoenix was the first group stage match of the final day. The two teams met last week as well where FPX picked up the series 2-0.

Rosters

KRU
  • Nicolas “Klaus” Ferrari (IGL)
  • Roberto “Mazino” Rivas
  • Juan “NagZ” Pablo Lopez
  • Joaquin “delz1k” Espinoza
  • Angelo “keznit” Mori
FunPlus Phoenix
  • Kyrylo “AGNE1” Karasov
  • Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky
  • Pontus “Zyppan” Eek
  • Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin
  • Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks

Map Picks

  • KRU ban Fracture
  • FPX ban Breeze
  • KRU pick Icebox
  • FPX pick Ascent
  • KRU ban Haven
  • FPX ban Pearl
  • Bind remains

The Series

Map 1 (Icebox)

KRU’s pick started off with pistol round wins for FPX. KRU responded by winning the bonus round but FPX picked up pace again. The first half ended pretty much evenly with scoreline reading 7-5 in favor of FunPlus. KRU executed what they had hoped for by winning the pistol rounds in the second half. The scoreline was even 7-7 at that point. The game could’ve been anyone’s but the team of FPX showed up winning the first map 13-9. It was a commendable team effort for FunPlus Phoenix as four players ended with a ACS of above 220.

Map 2 (Ascent)

On the 2nd map, it was FPX again who won the pistol rounds. They kept up the momentum by winning the next three rounds as well. They ended the first half of their map pick going up 9-3. Was a 9-3 curse loading? Not at all. FPX made sure they continued to dominate as they picked up a few more rounds with ease in defense. They picked up the second map as well as the series ending Ascent with a whopping score of 13-4. An ace by ardiis in the final round surely was the cherry on the top for FPX.

100 Thieves vs Fnatic

This was the final match of the final day of group stage at Valorant Champions 2022. The Thieves picked up a 2-1 win over Fnatic just a week ago.

Rosters

100 Thieves
  • Brenden “stellar” McGrath (IGL)
  • Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk
  • Derrek “Derrek” Ha
  • William “Will” Cheng
  • Sean “bang” Bezerra
Fnatic
  • Jake “Boaster” Howlett (IGL)
  • James “Mistic” Orfila
  • Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
  • Enzo “Enzo” Mestari
  • Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder

Map Picks

  • FNC ban Haven
  • 100T ban Icebox
  • FNC pick Bind
  • 100T pick Ascent
  • FNC ban Breeze
  • 100T ban Fracture
  • Pearl remains

The Series

Map 1 (Bind)

Picked by Fnatic, Bind was the first map where the two teams met. With Fnatic on attack, the start couldn’t have been any better for the European side. The entire roster looked polished but it seemed to have been a walk at the park for Alfajer and Derke. They ended the first half up by 10-2. They started the second half winning the two pistol rounds as well. The Thieves showed some resistance though by winning three rounds straight but their efforts were in vain. Fnatic picked up round 18 and sealed Bind with a comfortable 13-4 scoreline.

Map 2 (Ascent)

Ascent was the first map pick for 100 Thieves. The boys from NA won the pistol rounds of the first half. Fnatic, as expected, were quick to respond winning the next two rounds. The EU team got their momentum and ended the first half winning 8-4. In the second half, it was Fnatic who picked up the bonus as well as the pistol rounds. 100 Thieves responded well, putting in a solid effort and winning three rounds to try and turn the match around in their favor. But Fnatic showed their grit and won the series picking up Ascent 13-7.

Playoff Teams

All of the teams that are joining us at the playoffs are:

  • DRX
  • FunPlus Phoenix
  • Leviatan
  • LOUD
  • Optic Gaming
  • Team Liquid
  • XSET
  • Fnatic

The playoffs will begin today with Leviatan facing LOUD at first and DRX vs FunPlus Phoenix taking place later.

Who have you picked as your winners from the first day of playoffs? We know our picks! Check out our day 1 picks of who is making it to the upper bracket semi-finals.

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Wrapping up Group A of ESL Pro League Season 16

Group A of ESL Pro League Season 16 is seeing some fierce action thanks to some amazing teams. The final 3 matches will be wrapping up the group tonight. Let’s see who’s facing who but more importantly, let’s see who might win.

Group A Action

Right off the bat, Group A is one of the groups to watch out for at ESL Pro League Season 16. The group consists of the likes of Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Team Spirit, Team Vitality and Endpoint. According to the format of the group stage, all teams will face each other once. As of now, it’s Team Vitality that is at the top of the group with 4/4 wins. Thanks to their winning streak, they have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Natus Vincere and Fnatic are the favorites to qualify for the Round of 12. Both of the teams have picked up 2 wins out of the 4 matches played so far. Team Spirit also has the same number of wins but lags behind in terms of round difference.

Predictions

Natus Vincere vs Ninjas in Pyjamas

Natus Vincere started off Season 16 on a strong note picking up wins against Fnatic and Team Spirit. But to their demise, they lost the next two matches against last placed Endpoint and Vitality. NaVi has won 11 out of the 14 times they have faced NiP in professional tournaments including their last 3 head-to-heads. The two teams last met in Group A of IEM XVII Cologne earlier this year during July. While it is true that both of the teams are nowhere near their best forms, NaVi is a little better off in that regard. With that in mind, Natus should be picking up a win and moving onto the next stage of the tournament.

Team Vitality vs Team Spirit

Team Vitality are at the very top of Group A winning all four of their matches. And why wouldn’t they top the group? They have ZywOo and Spinx at the very top of their game. While they have already qualified for the quarter-finals, they don’t really need a win. In fact, it’s Team Spirit that badly needs a win to overtake Fnatic and NaVi. Vitality picked up a 2-1 win against Spirit the last time they faced each other back in Season 14. Both ZywOo and apEX played Vitality back then, so it shouldn’t be too hard to replicate that win. Our prediction is a win in favor of Team Vitality.

Endpoint vs Fnatic

Endpoint are currently at last place of Group A in ESL Pro League Season 16. Their only win came against Natus Vincere though, so the team has at least some hope. Endpoint has an extremely slim chance to gather something on the final day and qualify for the playoffs. On the other hand, Fnatic badly needs to secure this win to confirm a spot for the next round. Good news for them is they have a much better form in terms of getting wins than Endpoint. The two teams faced each other only thrice with Fnatic picking up two wins. We think it’s pretty safe to say that Fnatic will be picking up another win tonight.

If you wanna drop in these bets, be sure to check out the most trusted CSGO betting sites.

Will Fnatic and Natus Vincere pick up the last two spots from Group A? Let’s wait and watch!

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JD Gaming Become Champions of LPL Summer 2022

Some of China’s best came to The Hub at Shanghai this June to be crowned victors of LPL Summer 2022. What started off with 17 teams finally boiled down to the top 2 in the end. In the end, it was JD Gaming that beat Top Esports to win LPL Summer 2022.

Rosters

JD Gaming

  • Bai “369” Jia-Hao (Top)
  • Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok (Jungle)
  • Zeng “Yagao” Qi (Mid)
  • Wang “Hope” Jie (AD Carry)
  • Lou “Missing” Yun-Feng (Support)

Top Esports

  • Huang “Wayward” Ren-Xing (Top)
  • Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang (Jungle)
  • Zhuo “knight” Ding (Mid)
  • Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo (AD Carry)
  • Ling “Mark” Xu (Support)

Match 1

The first match between JD Gaming and Top Esports started off a little slow. Both teams were trying to understand the look and feel of the match. The two teams picked up a kill each in the first five minutes. Top Esports started to pick up pace as they picked up 3 kills and the first turret within the span of a few minutes. In mid-game, things went back and forth as both teams started picking up kills as well as turrets. There were two huge teamfights in the 25th and 27th minute of the game and JDG definitely made a comeback into the game after. JDG considerably levelled up in the game having a gold lead of a few thousand. They just carried on from there after another successful teamfight as the 30th minute was approaching. After that, they went straight for the inhibitors and the nexus turrets. And thus, the first match finished in favor of JD Gaming.

Match 2

Top Esports started the second match well picking up the first blood. They were looking pretty comfortable picking up another kill soon after and getting the first dragon. But TES failed to continue their dominance heading into the mid-game. Two team fights at that phase of the game clearly reflected that JDG recollected themselves well. In the first, JDG picked up two kills and in the next one, TES had to walk away for their dear lives. But the tides turned in favor of Top Esports yet again. They won a teamfight thanks to a brilliant ultimate from Wayward and quickly slayed the Baron soon after. TES took down a few turrets quickly and racked up a 10k gold lead. But the drama kept unfolding as JDG kept minimizing the gold deficit bit by bit. Things were quite for a while but as TES was going for the dragon at the cusp of the 45th minute. JDG took down Mark and went straight for the dragon. And just when things started to look good for JDG, the unthinkable happened. TES quickly eliminated four players of JDG and went straight for their base taking down the nexus turrets and then the nexus within seconds. With that, TES levelled the scoreline 1-1.

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Match 3

Like the first match, this one started off a little slow as well. Top Esports picked up first blood killing 369. But JDG responded by taking the first dragon. Soon after, TES took down the first top turret with the help of the Rift Herald. Top Esports went on to make good use of Rift Heralds as they consecutively took down two mid turrets right after winning a team fight. However, TES failed to remain consistent in the game. JDG put on their game faces on and fiercely took on some team fights. Their teamfights were followed up by taking down turrets one after the other. Top Esports failed to resist the constant battering of JDG and they conceded the game at around the 32nd minute mark. Advantage to JD Gaming going up 2-1 in the series!

Match 4

Match 4 started in favor of JDG as they picked up the kill of JackeyLove in the 3rd minute. TES responded picking up consecutive kills of 369 and Hope soon after. At this early stage of the game, things were neck and neck. JDG picked up the first dragon of the game at around 15 minutes. They soon picked up the first turret of the game as well. Heading into the 20th minute, TES had the lead in terms of kills, turrets and gold as well. In the 25th minute, TES pick up their first dragon but at the cost of the lives of Mark and Knight. TES regained their edge over JDG in the 32nd minute when they took down 3 members in front of the Baron. TES soon penetrated into the defense of JD taking down the middle inhibitor turret. It was only a matter of time before TES destroyed their opponents nexus and that is exactly what happened. TES won the 4th match and made sure we go all the way to see who is crowned the champion of LPL Summer 2022.

Match 5

JDG didn’t take long to get the final match started in their favor. 369 and Kanavi punished Wayward in the 5th minute of the match to get first blood. TES responded soon picking up the kills of Missing and Kanavi right after picking up the first Rift Herald. TES continued to dominate teamfights killing Yagao and Kanavi in the 15th minute. They follow it up picking the second Rift Herald. JDG somewhat responded by picking up the first turret in their favor. Soon after, they also slayed their first dragon. But it was the 30th minute that completely changed the course of the match. For the first time in the match, JDG dominated a teamfight. They clean sweeped the entire TES roster and repeated it on the 34th minute. The walls came tumbling down as JDG were quick to take down the Nexus. The dust settled as JD Gaming won the LPL Summer 2022.

 

JD Gaming finally got their ticket for Worlds 2022. How far will they go at Worlds? Only time will tell.

 

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