Acend showed no mercy in the first match of VCT Masters Berlin. They won the series in dominant fashion, taking down SuperMassive Blaze 2-0 today.
Going into the match, many VALORANT fans and even the desk were unsure who was going to walk away with the win. But in the end, Acend took down SMB on Bind and Ascent, which is the map SMB were most likely to win. Although the second map was a close one, SMB failed to put up a defense against the aggressive playstyle of Acend.
The showdown began on Bind, a map that Acend have had a massive amount of success on in the past. SMB started off with an interesting composition, with Mehmet “Turko” Özen on Skye and Melih “pAura” Karaduran on Viper. It turns out the comp didn’t work out well for them, though, since they lost the map in a crushing 13-5 defeat.
Toward the end of Bind, Turko was waiting out the round when Acend hilariously started sending Vandals through the portal to him. The joke was on them, though, since the next round was won by SMB with those guns. Acend were able to get things under control and take the rest of the map, but they certainly created a memorable moment in the first match of Masters by trolling their opponent with the Vandals.
Map two took the teams to Acent, where many expected SMB to bounce back. And they did start the map pretty evenly matched. It seemed Acend were in good spirits during the course of the second map as well, considering they took the time during the SMB tactical pause to have a little fun off-camera. But that fun didn’t last long since SMB took the next five rounds.
The match stayed close throughout Ascent, even though SMB were favored to win on the map. Acend were able to play aggressively against SMB in the rounds where they didn’t have the better weapons and it worked out for them. They won the second map 13-9 to claim the first match of VCT Masters Berlin.
The celebration was immediate from Acend. Taking inspiration from Fnatic’s celebrations at Masters Reykjavík, the team set up a makeshift cloth for their matador while the team ran through it as bulls.
Acend’s next match will be against the winner of Vision Strikers vs. PaperRex. SMB’s next match might see them eliminated when they face off against whoever loses that matchup.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.
