Ever since the conclusion of the Valorant Conquerors Championship, the Indian Valorant Community has been on a Cloud 9 as the top contenders from India fought in a battle towards the lone APAC Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) berth.
You read it right, Global Esports and Velocity Gaming locked horns on Sunday in the Grand Finale of the VCC to secure the APAC LCQ and the $16,500 prize money from the pot. The Finals bracket of the VCC was indeed carnage when it boiled down to just four teams, eyeing towards the final passage towards the ultimate Valorant Champions Event, to be held later in 2021.
At the end of May, Riot had announced its collaboration with Nodwin Gaming to give the South Asian region, their first-ever official Championship event, a part of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Circuit.
Five regional qualifiers and a wildcard event were organized by Nodwin. India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan were provided with two sets of qualifiers each in a bid to accommodate every team willing to compete for the ultimate battle and due to their past historic presence in Esports. A total of 8 teams advanced towards the main event, out of which just 4 made it to the Finals bracket of the VCC.
Global Esports, Velocity Gaming, Team Exploit and Enigma Gaming were the top four names who made it out of the groups and contested the Upper bracket rounds across the past weekend.
VLT greatly exceeded expectations by surviving against the top South Asian teams, eventually coming down to their final boss battle against Global Esports.. Having initially picked up Agneya “Marzil” Kaushik and Mohit “mw1” Wakle ahead of their VCC campaign, they were among the favourites to represent India at the APAC stage. While Global Esports made their way to the Valorant Conquerors from the Second Indian Qualifier, having lost the final to VLT, in the first iteration. Though Global Esports were once again handed a defeat by the Anuj “Amaterasu” Sharma led side in the Finals Playoffs, they left no stone unturned when it all came down to the blockbuster grand final, played on Sunday.
Honorable mentions :
Evey Indian team from the open qualifiers made it to the VCC, including Enigma Gaming and the above mentioned two. Enigma Gaming had their laugh at the lone wildcard event, going past Team XO, after just seven months since their assembly in Valorant. Their appearance in the VCC playoffs was the best ever feat they ever achieved, on a South Asian level. Although they were knocked out in the Lower Bracket round by Global Esports, leaving a wake-up call for the rest of the teams about their budding dominance.
Salt Esports and Team Exploit were the teams from Pakistan/Afghanistan Qualifier who had qualified for the VCC. The former team found it a bit tough to get past the group stage but Team Exploit had a flawless run in the Group A. Along with Global Esports, they advanced onto the Upper Bracket Final, going past Enigma Gaming. They were further eliminated by the Bhavin “HellrangeR” Kotwani led side, putting an end to the journey across their VCC campaign.
