Let's get LOUD: VCT Champs make it to VCT LOCK//IN Grand Final
The stage had been set for VCT 2023: LOCK//IN’s first semifinal matchup between Group Alpha’s LOUD and DRX in São Paulo. As both teams walked onto the stage, there was a lot at stake for both teams.
The last time both teams matched against one another was at VCT Champions 2022 in the Upper Bracket Semifinals, where LOUD 2-0’d DRX. Regardless, both teams proved their capabilities as DRX finished the tournament in 3rd place while LOUD was crowned victorious at VCT Champions 2022. So going into this series, DRX planned on the semifinals being an opportunity to put the Pacific region at the forefront.
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The LOUD House: São Paulo erupts as aspas goes super saiyan
LOUD’s Erick “aspas” Santos posted a 1.88 rating, 366 Average Combat Score, and 24 kills on the team’s pack of Pearl. Aspas then continued his reign of terror by posting a team-leading 1.53 Rating with a 354 ACS on Icebox.
Yet, one of LOUD’s primary winning moments throughout Pearl and Icebox was stopping DRX’s star duelist Byung Chul “BuZz” Yu. The Brazilians were able to predict where BuZz would be on the first two maps as the Korean duelist was subject to many early-round deaths as a result of LOUD’s strong preparation. LOUD soared to back-to-back 9-3 first halves on Pearl and Icebox because of their ability to keep tabs on BuZz. While BuZz was able to help DRX salvage a five-round win-streak on the attack side of Icebox, it was not enough to mount a comeback.
DRX silence the crowd with strong Split and Fracture
Down 0-2, DRX answered back resoundingly on Split as they silenced the Sao Paulo crowd with a dominant 9-3 first half over LOUD. Their first-half play on Split was a complete shift from the first two maps by DRX as the team collectively won out on many of the opening trades. While LOUD’s aspas continued to be a nuisance on Split, evident by his server-leading 1.71 Rating on defense, it was not enough for LOUD to break past the 9-3 deficit from the first half. After a few answers from LOUD, DRX were able to grab their first map win of the best-of-five to bring the series to Fracture.
.@MaKoVlrt would not be denied on Fracture! #VCTLOCKIN pic.twitter.com/kvg7wmWB3h
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) March 2, 2023
Before this point, every first half saw one of DRX or LOUD dominate the first half, but Fracture proved to be the actual meeting point between the two. Both teams battled evenly throughout the first half of Fracture as they went into the second half at an even 6-6 record. That quickly changed as DRX's Controller player Kim "MaKo" Myeong-Kwan's smokes were otherworldly. His masterful utility usage helped DRX soar to map point after six consecutive round wins as both teams looked towards Ascent.
The cauanzin effect shuts down DRX's reverse-sweep dreams
THE HOMETOWN TEAM GETS IT DONE 👊@LOUDgg moves on to the Grand Finals! #VCTLOCKIN #LOUDWIN pic.twitter.com/dNSnKlOu3U
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) March 2, 2023
The final map of the first semifinals between LOUD and DRX came down to the superb play from LOUD's newcomer Cauan "cauanzin" Pereira. After the first three maps, DRX had been able to direct their attention toward shutting down aspas, but the Pacifics team was unable to make quick adaptations to the stellar crosshair placements from cauanzin. Throughout the final map, DRX kept things close, but cauanzin's map-leading 1.55 Rating was the difference maker in many of these close end-of-round scenarios.
How to watch VCT 2023: LOCK//IN Finals Weekend
LOUD will now await the winner of Fnatic and Natus Vincere on March 3, 2023 to see who their opponent will be in the Grand Final on March 4, 2023. There, LOUD will look to become the first two-time international VALORANT LAN champions and acquire an extra slot at VCT Masters: Tokyo for the Americas region.
VALORANT fans can tune in through VCT's Twitch and YouTube channels. For how all the VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo Omega matches played out, be sure to check out our article on who won each match.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.