IT WAS a David vs. Goliath affair for Philippine representatives Team Secret in their opening match at the VALORANT Champions LAN tournament in Berlin, Germany.
Pegged as the clear-cut underdogs in this match-up against Masters 3 Champion Gambit Esports, Team Secret needed more than a miracle against the fiery Russian squad. While Secret clawed hard throughout the series, it was still Gambit who took the reserve 2-1 sweep against the Philippine squad.
Secret stuns Gambit in Icebox
Team Secret took their chances with Icebox in the series opener with Gambit.
The early rounds saw Team Secret taking control, taking on the backline lurk of Ayaz "nAtS" Akhmetshin decisively. Gambit tried to slow it down to adjust to Secret’s aggression, but the Filipino squad kept their cool.
Bogdan "Sheydos" Naumov’s Ace in the middle of the first half seemed to bring Gambit back mentally, but Secret held strong and kept the lead safe at 8-4 at halftime behind Kevin "Dispenser" Te’s 14 frags
At the second half, Gambit looked poised to regain their championship form as Nikita "d3ffo" Sudakov’s Sheriff play on his Jett netted him a triple kill with the crucial pistol. Unfortunately, for EMEA fans, Secret kept reading Gambit like a book. Veteran Jessie "JessieVash" Cuyco even had back to back clutches to secure the first map for the Filipino squad.
Gambit demolishes Secret with a 13-0 scoreline
Gambit went with Breeze for their map pick in Game 2 of the series. The Russians secured their pistol early and got the momentum going in their favour. Gambit played very fast and loose in the first half, and Secret were struggling to keep up. nAtS showed his superstar form against Secret with multiple clutches early on, leading to a commanding 12-0 lead. With a solid hold in the pistol of the second half, Gambit equalized the series in very quick fashion.
Sudden death comes for Team Secret
The teams went to Bind for the final and deciding map of the series. Secret took the much needed pistol round with good hookah control by Tim "BORKUM" Timbreza. But Gambit played their close quarters beautifully to swing the early economy in their favour.
JessieVash remained the rock for Secret as the game journeyman kept on delivering with clutches to keep his team’s mental game strong, while for Gambit it was nAtS once again making the highlight plays. It was a close first half, but it was Gambit who came out on top with a slight 7-5 lead.
The second half was déjà vu for Secret with them taking the pistol and losing the bonus round afterwards. Secret tried to play default for picks against Gambit, the renowned kings of the clock in VALORANT, was a very lofty goal.
Team Secret will return on Sunday for their Berlin elimination match.
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