Valorant has found a new World Champion. LOUD beat OpTic in the final on Sunday to take the lion’s share of the one million dollar prize money.
The eventual finalists had already met in the group stage – with the better end for OpTic, who had prevailed 2-1 in the best-of-three. But since LOUD did not show any weakness against ZETA DIVISION and BOOM Esports, the Brazilians also advanced to the knockout phase.
Three head-to-head clashes in the tournament
They then played big in this one: On their way to the Upper Bracket final, the eventual champion first eliminated Leviatán and DRX with a commanding 2-0 score before facing OpTic again. The combination from the USA and Canada had previously triumphed 2-1 over Team Liquid and XSET.
The Upper Bracket final was also 2-1. In contrast to the group phase, LOUD was the winner this time, securing their place in the Grand Final. OpTic, however, digested the setback and prevailed in a thrilling duel against DRX in the best-of-five lower bracket final. Having let a 2-0 lead slip away, the North Americans managed a decisive 13-10 win on Map Haven, thanks in part to a strong performance from MVP Jacob ‘yay’ Whiteaker, for a 3-2 final score.
LOUD triumphant and looking to add to their tally
This was the third clash between OpTic and LOUD. In the final, the Brazilians managed a narrow 15:13 opening win on Ascent before OpTic immediately hit back with a 13:6 win on Bind. In game three, the vice-president suffered a neck blow: 16:14 on Breeze meant the second razor-thin defeat, from which OpTic would not recover. In the fourth and last match, LOUD didn’t let anything go to waste and brought home the 3:1 final score and with it the title with 13:5.
It was a special moment for the Brazilian team, who announced on Twitter that they wanted to go one better: “You can be sure that our story has only just begun “