NRG vs Giants: NRG pulls off impressive 2 – 1 comeback win to eliminate Giants from VALORANT LOCK//IN

NRG took on Giants gaming in another fierce NA vs EMEA clash at the VALORANT LOCK//IN tournament in Sao Paulo. Both were looking to continue on from their winning starts in the previous round of matches. With NRG overcoming a close encounter with KOI and Giants easily dispatching DetonantioN FocusMe.

NRG took us to Lotus for the first map of the series. This was the first time both sides had played the map in a competitive fixture. And NRG opted to go with a no-duelist team composition, similar to Karmine Corp's approach to the map. Giants got off to a flying start as they take the first five rounds. NRG attempted to stall Giant's momentum but their efforts go in vain. Giants take an 8 - 4 lead into halftime.

NRG gets off to a much better start on their attacking half as they win the second pistol round. They followed up two comfortable round wins to close in on Giants' lead. The EMEA side managed to regain some control over the map following a brief timeout to reach the double digit mark at 10 - 7. Giants managed to reach Map point at 12 - 7, but NRG would not go gently into the night. And, following to insane clutches from FNS and Som, NRG managed to force the map into Overtime.

Though NRG did well to bring Lotus into Overtime, they were ultimately unable to handle Giants' at the end. Leaving the EMEA side to walk out of the map with a 14 - 12 win, and a surprising 1 - 0 lead in the series.

The match headed to Haven for map 2 of the series. NRG are in need of a serious bounce back if they want to take this series. Whereas Giants' look poised to pull of a shock win against their NA rivals after their performance on Lotus.

NRG opened proceedings with five quick round wins. And unlike on Lotus, NRG were much more effective in post-plant situations on Haven. And they had clearly unsettled Giants as they were forced to call a much-needed timeout at 5 - 0. Giants did manage to get their first round win, but it did absolutely nothing to halt NRG's momentum as the NA side managed to take an 11 - 1 lead into halftime. And as the teams got set for the second half, the outcome was all but inevitable. And sure enough, NRG took Haven 13 - 1 to tie the series at 1 - 1.

After NRG's near-flawless performance on Haven it felt as though the NA side had taken a firm grasp of this series. Whereas Giants, who had impressed earlier on Lotus seemed utterly deflated. And with the teams headed to Icebox for the decisive map in the series, the question is, which Giants would turn up here.

Giants take the opening two rounds of the map. But NRG responded with two rounds of their own, in a similar fashion to how they won on Haven. Which prompted Giants to use yet another early timeout. But once again NRG continued to build on their momentum. Large in part due to some brilliant utility usage, and solid teamplay from NRG. Giants did manage to win a third round, albeit off of a blunder from NRG, but they struggled to do much to reduce the deficit. With NRG taking a comfortable 9 - 3 lead into halftime.

NRG continued where they left off by taking the second pistol round to start their attack. And with Som pulling off an ace to put NRG on match point, it seemed clear who the real giants were in this matchup. And unfortunately it wasn't the EMEA side. Giants gave it one last valiant attempt to pull the match back in their favor, and it seemed like they might have found their second wind after making it 12 - 7. But in the end NRG came out on top as the closed out Icebox 13 - 7 to take the series 2 - 1.

NRG squares off against Giants Gaming at the VCT LOCK//IN in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The tournament features all 30 of the Franchise Teams as well as two Chinese teams who were invited to participate. Fans can watch NRG vs Giants Gaming by heading to the VALORANT Twitch channel.

Check out the latest results from our LOCK//IN results article.

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