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Fnatic & NaVi Pick Up Wins On Week 5 Of VCT EMEA

We have just been done and dusted with the final day of week 5 of VCT EMEA 2023. As we had already predicted before, Fnatic & NaVi will be walking out of the arena as victors and that is exactly what happened. Let’s check out how the matches turned out here at Gamopo!

Fnatic & NaVi Get The W

FUT Esports vs Fnatic

Rosters

FUT Esports
  • Buğra ‘mojj’ Kiraz
  • Doğukan ‘qRaxs’ Balaban
  • Konur ‘qw1’ Alp Şahin
  • Furkan ‘MrFaliN’ Yeğen
  • Ata ‘ATA KAPTAN’ Tan
Fnatic
  • Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett
  • Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev
  • Emir ‘Alfajer’ Ali Beder
  • Leo ‘Leo’ Jannesson
  • Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov

Map Picks & Bans

  • FNC ban Pearl
  • FUT ban Fracture
  • FNC pick Icebox
  • FUT pick Lotus
  • FNC ban Split
  • FUT ban Ascent
  • Haven remains

The Series

Map 1Β  (Icebox)

The first map of the night was Icebox which is Fnatic’s favorite playground. Fnatic started the map off just the way they wanted- winning the first two rounds. However, FUT Esports was quick to respond as they won the next four rounds at a stretch. The rest of the first half was pretty much Fnatic making a comeback. The first half ended 7-5 in favor of Fnatic.

As the sides were changed, Fnatic really put their game faces on and put up a way better performance on attack. They needed only 6 more rounds to pick up the map and that’s exactly what they did. Fnatic picked up all of the rounds on attack and won on Icebox. It was none other than Alfajer that put on a stellar performance for his team.

Map 2 (Lotus)

It was now time to show up at FUT’s map pick of Lotus. Fnatic stuck by their game plan and chose not to go for an atypical team composition. Fnatic started Lotus on the right foot by winning the first two rounds yet again. While they couldn’t follow up by winning the bonus round, they made amends by making sure FUT can’t pick up consecutive rounds. The first half ended 8-4 in favor of Fnatic.

Heading into the second half, FUT was in a rather uncomfortable position. They had to recollect themselves and get their strategies right in order to make a comeback. But that’s quite the herculean task against this Fnatic roster! Fnatic kept their composure and won Lotus 13-5. With the second map done and dusted, it was a comfortable 2-0 victory for the Turkish giants.

Team Vitality vs. Natus Vincere

Rosters

Team Vitality
  • JokΕ«bas ‘ceNder’ Labutis
  • Santeri ‘BONECOLD’ Sassi
  • MichaΕ‚ ‘MOLSI’ Łącki
  • Tomas ‘Destrian’ Linikas
  • Karel ‘Twisten’ AΕ‘enbrener
Natus Vincere
  • Kyrylo ‘ANGE1’ Karasov
  • Mehmet ‘cNed’ Yağız Δ°pek
  • Dmitry ‘SUYGETSU’ Ilyushin
  • Andrey ‘Shao’ Kiprsky
  • Pontus ‘Zyppan’ Eek

Map Picks & Bans

  • VIT ban Pearl
  • NAVI ban Haven
  • VIT pick Split
  • NAVI pick Fracture
  • VIT ban Icebox
  • NAVI ban Lotus
  • Ascent remains
Map 1 (Split)

Vitality’s first pick of Split wasn’t a surprise at all as they have tons of experience on that map. But NaVi’s start on Split surely made Vitality scratch their heads. A determined NaVi roster made sure that they won the first pistol rounds. While they did concede their bonus round, they kept the momentum on their side throughout the first half. And that is why the first half finished 9-3 in favor of NaVi.

The second half saw Vitality recollecting themselves and putting on a better show. CeNder and Twisten tried their level best to bring their team back into the match. An impressive comeback was on the horizon as Team Vitality almost equaled the scores at 10-11. However, the NaVi team made sure not to drag it any further and picked up two rounds to win their first map of the night.

Map 2 (Fracture)

It was now time for the two teams to play on NaVi’s map pick. With Vitality starting on defense, they picked up the first two pistol rounds. But NaVi soon leveled the score 2-2 by winning the next two rounds. It was Vitality again in the driver’s seat as they won two rounds of their own. But the rest of the first half saw NaVi dominate. The first half was over with NaVi up 7-5.

The second half came with intense neck and neck competition. Vitality won the first round but couldn’t follow it up with the next round. The following rounds saw things go back and forth as both looked desperate to win on Fracture. But Vitality eventually caught up to Natus Vincere with the score line reading 10-10. At this point, one of the teams had to step up and it was NaVi.Β  They picked up the next three rounds without flinching and won the map 13-10. As expected, NaVi came out on top!

The VCT EMEA 2023 action returns on Wednesday with Team Vitality set to face Fnatic. NaVi will face Team Liquid next in about a week’s worth of time. Can both Fnatic & NaVi continue their domination at the VCT EMEA 2023?

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VCT EMEA 2023 Week 5 Final Day Predictions

We are heading our way into the final day of week 5 of VCT EMEA 2023. With FUT Esports facing Fnatic and Team Vitality going up against Natus Vincere, who will be our winners of the night? We bring you our VCT EMEA predictions of the day!

VCT EMEA Predictions

Our two matchups of the day are FUT Esports vs Fnatic & Team Vitality vs Natus Vincere. Check out the timings and be sure to tune in!

FUT Esports vs Fnatic

Rosters

FUT Esports
  • Buğra ‘mojj’ Kiraz
  • Doğukan ‘qRaxs’ Balaban
  • Konur ‘qw1’ Alp Şahin
  • Furkan ‘MrFaliN’ Yeğen
  • Ata ‘ATA KAPTAN’ Tan
Fnatic
  • Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett
  • Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev
  • Emir ‘Alfajer’ Ali Beder
  • Leo ‘Leo’ Jannesson
  • Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov

Prediction

Let’s kick off our VCT EMEA Predictions with our prediction on FUT Esports vs Fnatic. According to the current standings of the tournament, Fnatic are at the top of the table thanks to their unbeaten run. Meanwhile, FUT Esports are sitting currently on fourth position. The biggest flex for Fnatic so far at the tournament is the fact they have lost only one map so far. They have been spotless despite not being able to play with their preferred lineup in the opening week. But Alfajer is back after his visa issues have been sorted. Their confidence is further boosted knowing that FUT is heading into this match after losing their last one 2-0 against Giants.

The two teams have not faced each other in a competitive match before. A lot will rest on the shoulders of qw1 today as his team hopes that he puts on a terrific show. Keeping Fnatic’s dominant form in consideration, we honestly don’t see how Fnatic will bottle this matchup. We’re predicting a rather comfortable 2-0 victory for Fnatic.

Check out more esports news at our blog!

Team Vitality vs Natus Vincere

Rosters

Team Vitality
  • JokΕ«bas ‘ceNder’ Labutis
  • Santeri ‘BONECOLD’ Sassi
  • MichaΕ‚ ‘MOLSI’ Łącki
  • Tomas ‘Destrian’ Linikas
  • Karel ‘Twisten’ AΕ‘enbrener
Natus Vincere
  • Kyrylo ‘ANGE1’ Karasov
  • Mehmet ‘cNed’ Yağız Δ°pek
  • Dmitry ‘SUYGETSU’ Ilyushin
  • Andrey ‘Shao’ Kiprsky
  • Pontus ‘Zyppan’ Eek

Prediction

Our second VCT EMEA prediction is of the matchup between rivals Vitality and NaVi. Natus Vincere is currently sitting pretty at second on the table with Team Vitality on fifth position. So, it goes without saying that NaVi have turned more heads at the tournament so far. They are on a four-match winning streak and don’t look to give that up any time soon.

These two teams have only faced each other once before at the G-Loot Valorant Clash where NaVi won 2-0. On paper NaVi are definitely the better team on Valorant and their current form certainly says so. Vitality is expected to put up a fight but Zyppan & co. should walk away from this series with a 2-1 win over their opponents.

 

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Team Vitality Are Your Champions Of IEM Rio 2023

Team Vitality have been crowned the champions of IEM Rio 2023. The org has won it big in Brazil after defeating Heroic 2-0 in a best of 3 series. How did the roster make it to the finals and how did the finals turn out? Find out more only at Gamopo!

Road To The Finals

Team Vitality started off their IEM journey at Rio in the worst possible way. Their first match was against OG who had gotten the best of them, beating them 19-17. Thus, the team was forced to be relegated to the lower bracket. In the lower bracket finals, Vitality faced MIBR who they beat 2-0. Vitality was then up against FaZe who had previously lost Furia at the upper bracket finals. To the demise of FaZe, Vitality won 2-0 again and sent them home packing. At the lower bracket finals, Vitality had to face OG yet again. But it was time for vengeance as OG conceded to them 1-2 with Vitality now qualifying for the playoffs.

Vitality’s journey at the playoffs started by facing BIG. In another best of 3 series, they won 2-0 on Nuke and Mirage. It was now time for the team’s biggest test yet as they had to face Cloud9 at the semifinals. Cloud9 were ruthless on their first map which was Inferno and one more map win would mean the end of the journey for Vitality. In their second map as well, Cloud9 was ruthlessly dominating being up by 12-1. But Vitality made the comeback of their lives and went up to 12-14 from 12-1. They eventually took advantage of their momentum and won on Vertigo and then slayed Overpass booking their ticket to the finals.

The Finals

Rosters

Team Vitality

  • Dan ‘apEX’ Madesclaire
  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut
  • Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen
  • Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif
  • Lotan ‘Spinx’ Giladi

Heroic

  • Martin ‘stavn’ Lund
  • Casper ‘cadiaN’ MΓΈller
  • RenΓ© ‘TeSeS’ Madsen
  • Rasmus ‘sjuush’ Beck
  • Jakob ‘Jabbi’ Nygaard

Map Picks & Bans

  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • Heroic removed Anubis
  • Vitality picked Vertigo
  • Heroic picked Inferno
  • Vitality removed Mirage
  • Heroic removed Nuke
  • Overpass was left over

The Series

The chosen maps for the finals of IEM Rio 2023 were Vertigo, Inferno and Overpass.

Map 1 (Vertigo)

Vitality’s pick of Vertigo came off the back of their insane comeback against Cloud9 on the map just the day before. At the start of the map, it looked like a great pick. Vitality won the first five rounds of the map with relative ease and Heroic seemed to be suffering. A rather unsettled Heroic roster seemed to have comeback way later in the first half as they equaled the score at 7-7. The first half ended 8-7 in favor of Vitality.

As the sides were reversed, it was Heroic who were now leading as they had won the first three rounds. When the going got tough, it was Magisk that stepped up for his team. Picking up multi kills every round had turned more of a hobby for this lad. A determined Vitality roster soon made a comeback. Heroic did their level best to resist by picking up a few rounds when Vitality was ahead but it wasn’t enough. Vitality had won their first map of Vertigo 16-13.

Map 2 (Inferno)

It was now time for Heroic’s map pick of Inferno. Unfortunately for them, Vitality had won the first two pistol rounds. While Heroic had shown some resistance, the first half was all Vitality. An in-form apEX and ZywOo took matter into their own hands and collectively picked up 29 kills together in the first half. Thanks to their ruthlessness, Vitality finished the first half being ahead 10-5.

With the roles reversed, it was now a fresh start for the roster of Heroic. The team recollected themselves and put on quite the performance at the start of the second half. Vitality turned nervous for a second as Heroic won 6 of the first 7 rounds to tie the score at 11-11. With few rounds remaining before a possible overtime, it was now or never for both teams. Team Vitality turned the momentum around and picked up 5 more rounds to finish off the series. And thus, Team Vitality were crowned the champions of IEM Rio 2023.

With the lion’s share of $250,000 in the bank, Team Vitality are going home not only with heavier wallets but also with tickets to Cologne. IEM Cologne 2023 begins this July and Vitality are expected to go big at the tournament.

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Vitality vs OG At ESL Pro League Season 17

It was Vitality vs OG at the Upper Bracket Semifinals of Group C at ESL Pro League Season 17. A loss for either team meant being relegated to the mid bracket from the upper bracket. So, which team was forced to take the harder route? Find out only at Gamopo!

Vitality vs OG

Rosters

Let’s take a look at the rosters of Team Vitality and OG.

Vitality

  • Dan ‘apEX‘ Madesclaire
  • Mathieu ‘ZywOo‘ Herbaut
  • Audric ‘JACKZ‘ Jug
  • Emil ‘Magisk‘ Reif
  • Lotan ‘Spinx‘ Giladi

OG

  • Shahar ‘flameZ‘ Shushan
  • Adam ‘NEOFRAG‘ Zouhar
  • Maciej ‘F1KU‘ Miklas
  • Abdulkhalik ‘degster‘ Gasanov
  • Nikolaj ‘niko‘ Kristensen

Map Picks & Bans

  • OG removed Nuke
  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • OG picked Anubis
  • Vitality picked Vertigo
  • OG removed Overpass
  • Vitality removed Mirage
  • Inferno was left

The Series

The Vitality vs OG series was a best of 3 with the maps being Anubis Vertigo and Inferno. Let’s see how it turned out.

Map 1 (Anubis)

Anubis started with OG on terrorist side as they looked towards making the most out of their map pick. But to their demise, it was Team Vitality that won the first few pistol rounds. While OG did manage to respond on the third round, Vitality kept making the right calls. Vitality won four rounds straight as they set up a massive gap against OG. The first half ended 10-5 in favor of Team Vitality. In the second half, it was now Team Vitality starting on the terrorist side. We weren’t able to witness much of the second half since Vitality thought it was in their best interest to finish off the map. They took just 6 rounds to finish the map 16-5. Advantage to Team Vitality!

Map 2 (Vertigo)

Vitality started their map pick of Vertigo on the terrorist side. While OG did lose the first pistol round, they made amends in the second. But it was just another case of Vitality domination as they kept picking up rounds with ease. The first half ended 9-6 in favor of Vitality. The second half saw Team Vitality starting it off strong. It was ZywOo being ZywOo as he kept picking up frags and clutching for his team. In the end, Team Vitality picked up the second map as well on a scoreline of 16-9.

With this series win, Team Vitality are now off to the playoffs. The two teams will be facing each other soon. That should be quite the exciting matchup! Wonder who will win- guess we will have to find out!

 

 

 

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Team Vitality Are Your EPL Season 16 Champions

It all began in August when 24 teams gathered at ESL Pro League Season 16. The stakes couldn’t get higher with not only $200k on the line but also direct qualification for BLAST World Final 2022 as well as IEM Katowice 2023. After weeks of relentless hard work and a determination to pick up the title, Team Vitality are the unbeaten champions of ESL Season 16.

Roster

Dan “apEX” Madesclaire (IGL)

Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut

Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen

Emil “Magisk” Reif

Lotan “Spinx” Giladi

Team Vitality’s Road To Becoming Champions

Group Stage

Team Vitality started off in Group A along with the likes of Fnatic, Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, NIP and Endpoint. Fair to say that were already paired up with some tough teams but they passed the group stage with flying colors. Vitality easily picked up wins on all five of their group stage encounters conceding a map each to only Natus Vincere and Fnatic. Thanks to their top spot in Group A, they directly qualified for the quarterfinals.

Playoffs

In the quarterfinals, Vitality faced The Outsiders who beat FURIA 2-1 to make it there. The Outsiders showed some resistance by forcing the second map into overtime but Vitality seemed to be too strong. Vitality won the series 2-0 and went on to the semifinals against G2. Team Vitality absolutely bulldozed over G2 on Mirage and picked up Inferno in overtime to make it to the finals. It was now only Team Liquid in between Team Vitality and a shot at becoming champions.

The Finals

This is how the best of 5 series went down in the grand finals between Team Liquid and Team Vitality.

Map Picks & Bans
  • Liquid removed Nuke
  • Vitality removed Ancient
  • Liquid picked Inferno
  • Vitality picked Dust2
  • Liquid picked Mirage
  • Vitality picked Overpass
  • Vertigo was left over
Map 1 (Inferno)

Inferno was the first playground selected by Team Liquid. Liquid started off their map pick just the way they envisioned it by winning the first five rounds straight. The boys from NA dominated the first map finishing the first half ahead by 10-5. The second half started in their favor as well as they won the two pistol rounds. At this point, Team Vitality could do very little to turn the match around. And so, the first map was won 16-7 by Team Liquid.

Map 2 (Dust2)

It was time for Team Vitality to respond on the classic Dust2. But Liquid picked up the pistols on Dust2 as well. But Team Vitality responded well as they won five rounds straight to overtake their opponents. Some back and forth was witnessed but the first half ended in the favor of Team Vitality. From the start of the second half, Vitality seemed to be invincible. They only lost one round to pick up the map quick winning 16-7 on Dust2.

Map 3 (Mirage)

It was Team Liquid’s second map which seemed have been Vitality’s. Team Vitality picked up both the pistols and wreaked havoc in the first half on Mirage. They won 11 out of the 15 rounds in the first half and left little room to breath for Team Liquid. Disaster struck when Team Vitality was least expecting it. Liquid recollected themselves in the second half and kept picking up rounds, including some sweet site retakes. They managed to get on level with Vitality and force the map into an overtime. In overtime, both the teams were going back and forth. Thanks to the relentlessness of the two teams, we witnessed not one, not two, neither three but six excruciating overtimes. In the end, Team Liquid won on Mirage with a staggering 25-21 scoreline.

Map 4 (Overpass)

Vitality’s pick of Overpass started off the best possible way for them. They were dominant from the get go winning the first six rounds. But Team Liquid imitated the same and leveled the scores 6-6. The first half ended barely in favor of Team Liquid at 8-7. In the second half, the map kept going back and fourth with both teams picking up consecutive rounds. With the score settling at 15-15, it was time for yet again another overtime. Team Vitality couldn’t let this overtime slip as well and they did not. The overtime ended 19-17 in favor of Vitality and we were down for the final map which was Vertigo.

Map 5 (Vertigo)

Vertigo was the final map and the decider for who gets crowned the champion. Team Vitality put their game faces on and made the best start on any map of the finals. They won 8 straight rounds without flinching even a bit. Team Liquid managed to pick up a few rounds in the first half but still it finished 10-5 in favor of Vitality. Vitality made sure to win the pistol rounds in the second half as well. Liquid showed effort to make a comeback but it was too little, too late. Vitality picked up three rounds straight and won the map 16-11. And with that, they are now the undisputable champions of ESL Pro League Season 16.

 

There’s very few that can say that Team Vitality doesn’t deserving becoming the champions of ESL Pro League Season 16. But the show’s not over yet for the Road To Rio starts soon!

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