The most exciting rivalry in international Valorant was rekindled on the sixth day of VCT LOCK//IN. LOUD and NRG Esports put on a show, pushing the last two maps of their quarterfinal match to two overtime finishes.
The atmosphere of a grand final match as LOUD answered the call of Brazilian fans, defeating NRG 2-1. The win secured them a top four finish and advanced them to the finals weekend of VCT LOCK//IN.
The match proved the rivalry between the two squads is alive and well despite the off season roster changes that saw LOUD field two new players and the former OpTic Gaming core trio moving to NRG.
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LOUD and NRG continue an old rivalry at VCT Lock In
The highly anticipated quarterfinal match-up between the two squads broke the record for the most concurrent viewers for VCT LOCK//IN at the time of writing.
According to Esports Charts, LOUD and NRG’s match had 852,720 peak viewers, which was 312,720 more than the event’s opening day concurrent viewership numbers.
The match escalated quickly after LOUD took a convincing 13-3 win on NRG’s opening map pick, Split. NRG answered back on the following map, gaining an 11-5 lead on Pearl. LOUD rallied behind their fans, pushing the map into overtime.
The North American squad eventually tied the series 1-1 after they won in double overtime, 15-13. NRG had successfully stopped LOUD’s A site push on the 28th round of the map.
Fracture, the final map of the match, featured an unbelievable back-and-forth battle between both teams that resulted in a quintuple overtime 18-16 victory for LOUD.
The Brazilian squad’s newcomers came up big with Cauan “cauanzin” Pereira winning a 1v2 in the 24th round that forced the first overtime. Arthur “tuyz” Vieira also came up clutch, winning another 1v2 in the 31st round that gave LOUD match point.
LOUD successfully retook B site from NRG, breaking the recurring overtime cycles that ignited the home Brazilian crowd into a frenzy.
LOUD and NRG’s epic battle at VCT LOCK//IN opened a new chapter in their heated rivalry that began last year. The Brazilian squad and NRG’s ex-OpTic trio faced each other five times in 2022.
Their most memorable matches were when OpTic Gaming defeated LOUD 3-0 in the grand final of Masters Reykjavik. The Brazilian powerhouse team got their revenge at the end of the year, beating OpTic 3-1 in the grand final of Valorant Champions.
NRG has been eliminated from the tournament. LOUD is set to face Korean powerhouse squad DRX in the semifinals of the alpha bracket. The match is set to take place on March 2, 9:00 a.m. PST | 5:00 p.m. GMT | 2:00 p.m. BRT | March 3, 1:00 a.m. GMT+8.
Valorant fans can watch the matches live on Riot Games’ official Twitch and YouTube channels.
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