Amid a rough start losing all of their pistol rounds, Action PH proved that their composure was a decisive factor for them to secure an important 2-0 sweep over Vietnamese squad Team Big BAAM. Their win has placed at the top of Group A of the play-ins of the VCT 2022: APAC Stage 1 Challengers, hoping to secure a Group Stage berth.
Action PH in VCT: APAC play-ins
The series was a testament to the Filipino squad's resilience as BAAM could’ve won the 1st map in Icebox given APH's struggles in defending the B site. The Vietnamese VALORANT squad even boasted an 11-5 lead.
To make matters worse, Nguyen “nTK” Tuan Kiet delivered an inspired outing by securing a triple kill in Round 13 then followed with a masterclass in Rounds 14 and 16 as he was able to garner four straight kills.
Yet the strong start never deterred the Filipino VALORANT hopefuls as Action PH managed to assess their foes and respond.
After encountering nTK’s heroics, APH conducted crucial plays to deny their foes.
Round 21 saw George “Georggyyy” Lachica getting numerous kills with both an Operator and Vandal amid the Viper’s Pit.
Then came the heroics from Emmanuel “Emman” Morales, JM “Sirodeathyo” Ignacio, and Stand-in ABATMAN. Their combined efforts led to an overtime session, where APH were in control due to their pincer antics.
While Map 1 was a struggle to victory, the 2nd Map in Ascent was more of a one-sided affair in favor of the Filipinos.
Similar to the 1st map, Georggyyy took centerstage with his sneaky plays while ABATMAN limited BAAM’s rotational setups, securing a commanding 13-4 stomp.
Georgyyy nodged the MVP honors in both games as he led his team in kills, 31 and 22 in Games 1 and 2 respectively.
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