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Fnatic & Karmine Corp Finds Wins At VCT EMEA 2023

It was day 5 of week 1 at the VCT EMEA 2023. The mighty Fnatic faced BBL Esports and Karmine Corp went up against Team Heretics at VCT EMEA. Which teams came out on top and how did the action pan out? Find out more only at Gamopo!

Fnatic & Team Heretics Winning At VCT EMEA

With Champions & Masters qualifications on the line, the teams can only hope of picking up wins. With Fnatic facing BBL Esports and Karmine Corp vs Team Heretics, things can go any direction on the night. Let’s check out all the action!

Fnatic vs BBL Esports

Rosters

Fnatic
  • Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett
  • Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev
  • Leo ‘Leo’ Jannesson
  • Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov
  • Maks ‘kamyk’ Rychlewski
BBL Esports
  • Ali ‘AsLanM4shadoW’ Osman Balta
  • Doğukan ‘QutionerX’ Dural
  • Mehmet ‘Turko’ Özen
  • Eren ‘Brave’ Kasırga
  • İbrahim ‘SouhcNi’ Sağır

Map Picks & Bans

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

The Series

Ascent

Fnatic started off their first map winning the first two pistol rounds. However, what followed after was ruthless destruction by BBL. They won nine rounds straight without flinching and the first half ended 9-3 in favor of BBL Esports. A 9-3 curse loading? With four rounds away from a map win, there wasn’t a lot that Fnatic could do. BBL Esports picked up their map pick winning it 13-6. It was now time for Fnatic to make a comeback to their VCT EMEA 2023 run.

Haven

Haven was Fnatic’s map pick and they sincerely hoped they could turn the tide in their favor. They started on defense on their own map pick. From the get go, Fnatic looked pretty solid while defending their sites. They won the two pistol rounds but conceded the bonus round. In the following rounds, Fnatic had to give up the site for BBL to plant but they soon got their defuses down. The first half ende 8-4 in favor of Fnatic. BBL started the second half winning two pistol rounds but failed to follow up. It was neck and neck after that but Fnatic was always one step ahead. They won the second map 13-9.

Split

It was now time for the decider. Fnatic started off the map on attack and won the first two pistol rounds. The first half of the map was absolutely level pegging. Both the teams showed immense levels of promise as they saw out rounds. The first half ended with the scoreline levelled at 6-6. Fnatic started off the second half on the strong foot. They picked up the first four rounds at a stretch. BBL tried their level best to make a comeback but was an inch or two short. Fnatic won their second map 13-11 and thus won the series.

Karmine Corp vs Team Heretics

Rosters

Karmine Corp
  • Ryad ‘Shin’ Ensaad
  • Alexis ‘Newzera’ Humbert
  • Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom
  • Nabil ‘Nivera’ Benrlitom
  • Alexandre ‘xms’ Forté
Team Heretic
  • Wassim ‘keloqz’ Cista
  • Óscar ‘mixwell’ Cañellas Colocho
  • Aleksander ‘zeek’ Zygmunt
  • Ričardas ‘Boo’ Lukaševičius
  • Auni ‘AvovA’ Chahade

Map Picks & Bans

  • TH ban Fracture
  • KC ban Ascent
  • TH pick Icebox
  • KC pick Split
  • TH ban Haven
  • KC ban Pearl
  • Lotus remains

The Series

Icebox

The series started off with the Icebox pick of Team Heretics. As they should, Heretics won the first two pistol rounds of the first map. Karmine Corp did win the bonus round thought but Heretics continued to dominate the first half. Heretics was determined to get the plant down and made sure it exploded. The first half ended 9-3 in favor of Heretics. The roles were reversed and it was Karmine Corp on attack now. They started off well winning the first two rounds on attack but that did not stop Team Heretics. They picked up four more rounds straight and thus finished off the first map 13-5.

Split

It was now time to play on the map pick of Karmine Corp. Team Heretics won the pistol rounds this time as well. While they did concede their bonus round, they outshined their opponents in the following rounds. Karmine Corp could barely pick up two rounds in the first half as it ended 10-2 in favor of their opponents. In the second half, all Heretics needed to do was win three more rounds. And they just took three rounds to do that. They won Split 13-2 and thus picked up the series win against Karmine Corp.

 

Fnatic are now top of the table with two wins out of two. Team Heretics are now on joint fifth place along with Natus Vincere.

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VCT Lock In 2023 : Round Of 16 Day 1 Predictions

It is the comeback of the Valorant competitive season and things are burning up in Sao Paulo. The VCT 2023 Lock In is underway already with the round of 16 kicking off tomorrow. Today at Gamopo, we make some predictions on who’s winning on the first day of the Ro16.

About The VCT Lock In

VCT Lock In Round Of 16

The VCT Lock In is the first tournament of the VCT season and takes place early in the year. The Lock In is meant to help teams get into top form for the rest of the season by providing them with an opportunity to compete against other top teams. Lock In is featuring every team from the Americas, Pacific, EMEA leagues as well as two invited teams from China! The winning team that secures the championship will earn their region an extra slot at Masters 2023.

VCT23_LOCKIN_Primer_Article_Qualified_Teams.jpg

The round of 16 will be featuring NRG vs. Giants and LOUD vs. Karmine Corp on the first day. Visit the link to learn more about the event.

Round Of 16 Predictions

NRG vs Giants

NRG beat KOI 2-0 in a pretty tight series to make it to this round. On the other hand, Giants beat DetonatioN FM convincingly with a 2-0 score line.

But let’s move onto the first round of 16 matchup for now. NRG is walking into this series being one of the tournament favorites. They have a well-balanced team composing of the core players of the previous OpTic lineup. While there were some doubts about s0m, he buried that in the last match against KOI with a stellar performance. Giants has a decent lineup as well but they seem to be quite reliant on nukkye, the former G2 man.

The two teams have not played against each other before. With all of that being considered, we give the edge to NRG.

LOUD vs Karmine Corp

LOUD also had a bit of a hard time making it to the round of 16 beating Gen. G in a close series. Their opponent, Karmine Corp had to try hard too. They beat FunPlus Phoenix in a series that went all the way, on a score line of 2-1.

The victors of Champions 2022 will be looking to decimate Karmine Corp. While the Brazilian team has let go of Sacy and pAncada, they are still a formidable lineup with tuyz and cauanzin. With ScreaM as the IGL, KC looks promising as well. Shin and Nivera have shown form in the maps they have played at thus far. But we don’t think it’s enough to take down LOUD. We’re going for a LOUD win tonight.

Both the matches should be quite exciting tonight. May the best teams win!

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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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Day 1 Predictions of Valorant Champions 2022

Ladies and gentlemen, the Valorant Champions 2022 is finally kicking off today. We’ve got two promising matches up for show one day one of the tournament. Paper Rex will be facing Edward Gaming to kick off the event. For the second match, Leviatan will be trying their best to clinch a win against Team Liquid. Who will win the two matches of Valorant Champions 2022 according to our predictions? Let’s find out!

About Valorant Champions 2022

The holy grail of Valorant tournaments, The Valorant Champions 2022 is taking place at the Volkswagen Arena of Istanbul this year. The event is kicking off today (31st August) and the finals will take place on 18th September. We have 16 teams participating this year coming from all over the world. Each of the teams qualified either thanks to their regional circuit points or because of winning their regional LCQ.

Valorant Champions 2022 Group Stage: Teams, Schedule, Scores & More

In the group stages, there will be 4 groups having 4 teams each. Top 2 teams from each of the groups will advance to the playoffs. All matches in the group stage will be a best of 3. In the playoffs, 8 teams will be thrown into a double-elimination bracket. All matches are best of 3 yet again except for the lower bracket final and grand final.

Our Predictions

Paper Rex vs Edward Gaming

The debut match of the VCT 2022 will surely be a cracker. It’s a battle of establishing Asian dominance for both the teams. It was not too long ago that Paper Rex picked up the runners-up spot at VCT Copenhagen. While EDG are yet to establish something as incredible, they are still a force to be reckoned with. EDG have won 10 out of their last 10 matches. Most of those wins came without even needing to play all of the maps. Paper Rex had a similar streak as well but that was broken by FunPlus Phoenix at the finals of VCT Copenhagen.

Paper Rex sweep Fnatic at Masters Copenhagen - Dot Esports

Both the teams have never faced each other before, so this might be a little tough to predict. While EDG’s recent performance at the LCQ was impressive, we don’t think it’ll be enough to overshadow PRX. So, our prediction is a win for Paper Rex.

Leviatan vs Team Liquid

We have Leviatan vs Team Liquid for the second match of VCT Champions 2022. Team Liquid had to go down the harder route of having to win the EMEA LCQ to make it here. Meanwhile, Leviatan are showing up fair and square thanks to their LATAM circuit points. Both of these teams have never met before either.

Team Liquid has a better form in terms of recent matches played. They picked up 4 wins in their last 5 matches while Leviatan picked up 3. Team Liquid are also one of the only 7 teams who are showing up at the Champions a second time, so the experience really matters. With all of that in mind, we’re confident about a win for Team Liquid.

With only a few hours, who are you betting on for the predictions of Valorant Champions 2022 ? Do check out our betting academy before you get started with betting!

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