Can Evil Geniuses take down this red-hot NRG squad to secure their place in the VCT Americas playoffs?
The VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Americas League's (VCT Americas) regular season matches are drawing to a close, but we have one more huge match on the cards today in the form of NRG vs Evil Geniuses. Make sure you keep your eyes on this page as we bring you all of the action as it happens.
Team 1 | Team 2 | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRG | Evil Geniuses (EG) | NRG 13 - 9 (Bind) | NRG 13 - 7 (Split) | N/A (Ascent) | NRG (2 - 0) |
Evil Geniuses face NA giants NRG in last gasp effort to make playoffs
The final week of League Play games has come for VCT Americas, and there is still so much to play for many of the teams; with Evil Geniuses being one of them. Evil Geniuses had a slow start to life in league, but have been one of the most remarkable teams over the last few weeks. They currently sit in sixth place in the standings with a 4-4 record and in touching distance of securing their place in the playoffs.
Their fate is far from certain as they will be facing off against a red-hot NRG side, who put on quite a show in their 2-0 win over LOUD in Week 7. A win today would give them a good chance of locking in their playoff spot. A loss would leave them at the mercy of several teams also still chasing that spot. And while NRG have already secured their place in the playoffs, that does not mean that Evil Geniuses' task will be any easier today. With hope in their hearts and their quest for glory riding on the outcome of this match, you have to wonder what sort of performance we will see out of Evil Geniuses today.
NRG VALORANT roster:
- Pujan "FiNESSE" Mehta (IGL)
- Victor "Victor" Wong
- Austin "Crashies" Roberts
- Ardis "Ardiis" Svarenieks
- Sam "S0m" Oh
Evil Geniuses VALORANT roster:
- Keldan "Boostio" Pupello (IGL)
- Corbin "C0M" Lee
- Max "Demon1" Mazanov
- Alexander "jawgemo" Mor
- Ethan "Ethan" Arnold
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NRG shutdown early threat from Evil Geniuses on Bind
We begin this match with a trip to Bind for Map 1, curtesy of NRG. Both sides opt to go for a variation of the double controller setup with Evil Geniuses opting to use two duellist agents as part of it. Whereas NRG opt to go for the tried and true Harbour, Viper composition.
NRG takes the opening pistol round to kick things off on their attack round. But EG flip the script from the get-go by taking their eco-round, which enables them to chain together a 4 - 1 lead. This forces NRG to burn their first timeout of the map as they look get things back on track. But EG continues to find success on their defense as they opt to lean more on their post-plant retake setups. With Jawgemo and Boostio have a particularly impressive start to Bind. NRG are able to stabilize for the most part, but EG's efforts are enough to give them an 8 - 4 lead after the first half.
NRG are able to take the second pistol round as well as their anti-eco as they creep towards EG's lead at 8 -6. They tie the map up soon after thanks to an impressive display from C0M and an ace from Ardiis which shifts the momentum of this map entirely in their favour. They quickly reach matchpoint after going on an eight round win-streak with EG struggling to make much of a dent on NRG's defense. A 3K clutch from C0M enables them to disrupt NRG's round-streak. But in the end that is all they are able to muster up, leaving NRG to walk away with Bind 13 - 9 and establish a 1 - 0 lead in the series.
Victor puts Evil Geniuses playoff hopes in jeopardy on Split
After coming up short on Bind, Evil Geniuses take this game to Split for Map 2 with their backs truly against the wall in this series. Both teams opt in to a mirror-matchup in terms of their team composition.
EG manage to take the first pistol round of Split, as well as their anti-eco as they establish some early presence on their map pick. NRG responds with two round wins of their own to tie things up again. The teams trade blows in-between a couple of tech pauses but NRG come out on top as they take the lead on this map 5 - 3 thanks to two clutches from S0M and FiNESSE. NRG's starts to grow, but EG continue to make the rounds costly for them. Limiting NRG's lead to just 7 - 5 after the first half.
NRG win the second pistol round of the map as well as their anti-eco as they look to pull away from their opponents in this series. And they manage to secure their bonus round as they reach the 10-point mark. Piling even more pressure onto EG who are forced to use their second timeout of the map. EG finally get themselves going on their attack half to reduce NRG's lead to 10 - 7 giving themselves a glimpse of a comeback. But a huge 4k from Victor nets NRG a vital Thrifty round. A moment which proves to be the final nail in EG's coffin as NRG reaches match point at 12 - 7. It was a valiant effort from Evil Geniuses across both maps. But in the end they were outclassed by NRG who manage to close out Split 13 - 7 and the series 2 - 0.
How to watch NRG vs Evil Geniuses during VCT Americas
It is a new era for the VCT as we get set for the first season of franchising. The VCT season will see 30 teams split into three region-based leagues of 10 teams competing for the chance to secure a spot at both Masters Tokyo in June and Champions 2023 in August. Fans who wish to watch the NRG vs Evil Geniuses match in 2023 VCT Americas may do so by heading to the league's Twitch and YouTube channels.
You can stay up to date with all of the action in VCT Americas by heading to our VALORANT Americas hub.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and VALORANT coverage throughout the VCT 2023 season.
