The VCT 2023 LOCK//IN got underway last night at Sao Paulo in Brazil. A total of 32 teams entered the competition to grab the LOCK//IN Championship title alongside a lion’s share of $100,000 USD from the prize pool.
The first two matches were played between KOI and NRG followed by Detonation FM and Giants both played on LAN in Brazil. NRG and Giants both advanced onto the ROund of 16 while Detonation FM and KOI were sent packing home due to the format being a single elimination.
Below we have jotted a quick breakdown of events between these four teams in Brazil at the VCT 2023 LOCK//IN.
NRG Vs KOI : (Best of 3, Played on : LAN, Single Elimination Bracket)
1. NRG ban Ascent
2. KOI ban Split
3. NRG pick Icebox
4. KOI pick Haven
5. NRG ban Fracture
6. KOI ban Lotus
7. Pearl was left over
Map 1 : Icebox (Picked and won by : NRG, Final Score : 13-11)
KOI’s Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko and his men came alive on NRG’s map pick, with the former on Sova scoring a triple kill haul to help enable a 9-3 start to the map for his team. NRG showed signs of life toward the latter portion of the first half and clawed back to post eight rounds of their own thanks to Sam “s0m” Oh and his heroics which halted KOI’s onslaught.
As we speak about the onslaught forced upon by KOI, the European-CIS side were hit by the 9-3 curse with NRG successfully being able to chart a comeback into the map and go 1-0 up in the series.
Map 2 : Haven (Pick : KOI, Winner : NRG, Final Score : 13-9)
On Haven, no side got off to a commanding start with NRG and KOI having traded rounds back and forth. But gradually it seemed as if NRG were the better team to have posted unrelenting efforts to bag the first half in their favor with Ardis “ardiss” Svarenieks going berserk on his Jett pick, picking off on KOI’s defenses.
The first half ended with NRG beating KOI to settle on 8-4. Early trading of rounds gave KOI a chance to run away with 4 consecutive rounds over NRG on their attack but the North Americans began to leave no stone unturned when it came to locking out KOI off from the blast sites.
NRG comfortably cruised to a 13-9 win over KOI as they advanced onto the Round of 16 where they play Giants in 3 days.
Detonation FM Vs Giants : (Best of 3, Played on LAN, Single ELimination Bracket)
Map Veto :
DFM ban Split
GIA ban Fracture
DFM pick Haven
GIA pick Icebox
DFM ban Lotus
GIA ban Ascent
Pearl was left over
The second match of the VCT//LOCK IN 2023 Brazil was played between DetonatioN FM and Giants Gaming. DetonatioN added two new players, while Giants added star fragger nukkye, hoody, and IGL rhyme to their active roster in the transfer window.
Throughout the Best of 3, Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas and his men never let DFM have the honeymoon period to come to life with their new roster. The Giants were instrumental in picking both maps over Detonation with both seemingly played in a one-sided affair.
13-4 and 13-7 read the score lines for both Haven and Icebox in favor of the Giants as they now lock horns with NRG in the Round of 16 bracket. Detonation have been eliminated from the tournament due to the event being a single elimination which itself makes the tournament brutal.
The VCT 2023 LOCK//IN tournament continues today with 3 star-studded match-ups scheduled. FunPlus Phoenix plays Karmine Cops while BBL Esports take on DRX and to end the day, we will see a new faced Cloud9 take on Paper Rex.
For more updates on VCT 2023 LOCK//IN, make sure to follow TalkEsport on Google News.
