Another VCT Masters Reykjavík trophy is heading back to North America after OpTic Gaming got their revenge against Brazilian side LOUD today with a 3-0 sweep in the grand finals.
Like in their first meeting, OpTic came out firing on map one, with a stalwart defensive showing on LOUD’s pick of Ascent in the opening half. A masterful performance on Jett by yay fueled a large 10-2 lead at halftime. LOUD claimed the pistol round, anti-eco, and bonus round trio to start the second half and make OpTic fans nervous. LOUD reduced the OpTic lead to two rounds before a clutch Marved round put his team on map point, and OpTic finally pushed themselves over the finish line 13-9.
LOUD’s goal of starting out strong on Bind was immediately derailed when an anti-eco 3K from Victor broke the Brazilian bank early on their attack side. LOUD struggled to garner any momentum on attack when the likes of yay and Marved shut down executes on either site, leading to an 8-4 OpTic lead at halftime. LOUD quickly tied the score 8-8 and even took a lead before OpTic could finally squeak out an attack round, eventually forcing an 11-11 tie. Sacy stole a 12-11 lead off a clutch defuse with three points of health left, but Victor stole one back on an amazing ace. A tremendous triple from yay supported an OpTic retake to take a 13-12 lead, and a Victor Showstopper secured the narrow map win for OpTic.
Smelling blood in the water, OpTic jumped out to an early lead on attack with the pistol round, anti-eco, and bonus combo to start the first half. LOUD fought their way back into it, but OpTic pulled away late in the first half again to take an 8-4 lead into halftime heading into defense. OpTic kept LOUD at bay at first, but LOUD closed the distance on their attack side, sending the map to another overtime. A successful B execute from mid gave OpTic the early advantage, but LOUD responded to initiate a second OT period. FNS produced a 4K to give OpTic another OT lead before they shut down a late LOUD A execute to finally close out the map and secure the sweep.
OpTic claim another Masters Reykjavík for NA after Sentinels ran through the competition in 2021, and the win today brings NA back to the top of pro VALORANT after a lackluster conclusion at Champions 2021. OpTic avenged both of their tournament losses to XERXIA and LOUD, and also notched wins against KRÜ, The Guard, DRX, and ZETA DIVISION en route to lifting the trophy.
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