VCT Champions Day 5 Recap: Secret, Kru and Cloud9 secure victories

Day 5 of the VCT Champions saw Team Secret, Kru and Cloud9 ramp up victories and get one step closer to the playoffs. Crazy Raccoon, FURIA and Full Sense are out of the tournament and will be watching from the sidelines. Here's a detailed VCT Champions Day 5 Recap for all of you who missed out on the day's matches.

Starting off the day we had the map 3 replay for Acend Esports vs Vivo KeyD. Riot had initially given the match win to Acend, after Vivo KeyD's Johnathon "JhoW" Glória was found to be utilizing a Cypher cam exploit to tip the balance of the game in their favor. But after further deliberation it was decided by Riot that Map 3 would be replayed between the teams, with Acend being given a 7 round lead at the start of the map.

As a result of the ruling Vivo KeyD were going into this replay with their backs against the wall. But oddly enough, that didn't seem to bother them too much. Vivo KeyD opened the map with two very convincing round wins. And although Acend followed that up with two rounds of their own, they looked far from convincing. This was laid to bare as Vivo KeyD did the unthinkable by tying up the map 9 - 9. Despite their setback, Vivo KeyD seemed to be the only team to have turned up thus far.

Things weren't looking too good for Acend at the moment, as they had forfeited a 7 - 0 round lead to be put in a rather precarious position. But that seemed to be the catalyst that Acend needed to get going again as they finally got themselves into double digits. Vivo KeyD still kept things close despite Acend being on match point. But Acend's late surge was enough to see them through, as they eventually won the map 13 - 10; finally putting an end to a series full of controversy.

Acend move on to play Team Envy in the Group A inners match. Meanwhile Vivo KeyD will be heading to the first Group A elimination match where they will be taking on X10 Crit.

Following the conclusion of the Acend vs Vivo KeyD match, it was time for the first set of elimination matches to begin. Team Secret faced off against SEA rivals Crazy Raccoon in the first group B. Team Secret came into this match hoping to redeem themselves after falling to Gambit Gaming in what was an unexpectedly close match. Crazy Raccoon, on the other hand, were hoping to shake off their loss to Team Vikings.

Between the pair of them Team Secret seemed like the favorite going into this matchup, given how much Crazy Raccoon struggled in their previous match. And sure enough the odds seemed to be in Team Secret as the won the opening two rounds on Split. Crazy Raccoon responded with a pair of their own, but from that point on Team Secret made their presence known on the map. And this proved to be a defining factor in this map as Team Secret took Split 13 - 5.

Crazy Raccoon desperately needed a good start to things on map 2, and it looked like that might happen after they won the first pistol round. But from that point on Team Secret well and truly put Crazy Raccoon to the sword, as they put forth on of the most dominant performances thus far at Champions. Team Secret eventually took Haven 13 - 2 to win the series 2 - 0.

Team Secret move on to face Team Vikings in the Group C Decider match to see who progress to the knockout phase. And though we have had to say goodbye to Crazy Raccoon they will certainly be a team to keep an eye on for the future.

Following Crazy Raccoon's eviction from Champions, it was then time for the second elimination match. And it was set to be an epic one as Kru Esports took on Furia Esports in a LATAM duel. Furia were looking to bounce back from their narrow loss to Sentinels in their first group match. Whereas Kru were hoping to redeem themselves after facing off against a dominant Team Liquid roster.

Kru got off to a decent start on map 1 by winning the opening two rounds. But Furia answered in kind by taking three rounds off of them. The match then played out as a scrappy back-and-forth between the teams as Furia barely managed to maintain their lead. Though they eventually managed to take Fracture 13 - 11.

Having already lost on their map pick, Kru needed to step up if they wanted to stay in this tournament. And it didn't look to be the case at first as Furia gained an early 4 - 0 lead. But suddenly it looked as though Kru had finally found their stride as they proceeded to win ten rounds in a row; forcing the ball into Furia's court in their own backyard. And though they attempted a late comeback, Kru inevitably took Ascent 13 - 8.

The situation was dire for Furia as they headed into Haven for map 3, with Kru brimming with confidence. Kru won the opening two rounds of the map, and once more it became a bitter struggle between the two LATAM teams. But after taking a narrow 7 - 5 lead into the second half it felt like it was only a matter of time before Kru put the final nail in Furia's coffin. And sure enough that turned out to be the case as Kru won Haven 13 - 9, and the series 2 - 1.

Kru Esports will be moving on to face Sentinels in the Group B Decider match. And unfortunately this means we have had to bid Furia Esports a fond farewell at Valorant Champions.

At last we come to the final match of Day 5 at Valorant Champions. Cloud9 were set to square off against Full Sense in the first Elimination match of Group. Cloud9 suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of eventual group winners Fnatic. Whereas Full Sense looked to bounce back from the trouncing they received at the hands of Vision Strikers.

The odds were certainly in Cloud9's favor going into this match given how close their previous match was, but that by no means meant Full Sense were going to be pushovers. Although Fullsense won the first couple of rounds to start map 1, it didn't take long for Cloud9 to gain a foothold in the game; carving out an imposing 9 - 3 lead going into the half. Full Sense managed to get a few rounds back, but ultimately Cloud9 took care of business as they won Split 13 - 7.

Cloud9 may have had the advantage heading into Breeze for map 2, but Full Sense looked far from done in this match. Despite winning the opening pistol round, both teams played out a very scrappy first half. Things played it in a similar fashion in the second half as Full Sense refused to say die. An attitude that allowed Full Sense to force the map into overtime. Unfortunately it was but a swan song for the SEA team, as Cloud9 managed to win Breeze 14 - 12. Winning the series 2 - 0.

Cloud9 move on to face Vision Strikers in the Group D Decider match. Unfortunately for Full Sense this is the end of the road for them. But at the very least the managed to impress many of us who were watching the match.

Check out our full Match Recap of Cloud9 vs Full Sense.

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