Gambit Advances to the Grand Finals of VALORANT’s VCT Champions
Gambit emerged victorious in a thrilling semifinals series against KRU Esports at VCT Champions. The match went into quintuple overtime before Gambit sealed their spot in the grand finals of the VALORANT competition.
KRU had a strong start on Gambit’s pick of Breeze, winning the first three rounds thanks to NagZ’s early contributions on Jett. Although Gambit managed to get on the scoreboard with an eco round, NagZ’s presence in A cave posed a challenge for Gambit. Despite typically starting slow in other series, NagZ made a blazing start on Breeze, ending the first half with 18 kills, five deaths, and an 8-4 lead for KRU.
Despite almost losing a 5v1 advantage in the defensive pistol round, Gambit managed to tie the map at 8-8 before the first full buy round. Gambit’s flawless first buy round, combined with impressive Op shots from d3ffo, strengthened their defense. Chronicle and d3ffo continued to make crucial kills, thwarting most of KRU’s attacks and successfully retaking sites. Gambit secured a 13-8 victory on Breeze, taking a flawless defensive half.
KRU managed to find success on their own map pick, particularly in attacking the A site with their Reyna-Jett combo against Gambit’s zero duelist composition. The duo of keznit and NagZ generated several opening frags, even against Gambit’s well-prepared defensive setups. KRU secured a 7-5 lead going into halftime.
Gambit struggled to enter sites without a duelist, relying on Skye’s flashes and Sova’s arrows for initiation. However, when these abilities were not effective or when those agents were eliminated, Gambit had to push into sites with limited utility, making them vulnerable to the waiting KRU defenders. KRU won six consecutive rounds on defense, closing out Ascent with a score of 13-7.
In the third map, KRU once again took an early lead, winning crucial trades that made plantings and post-plants more challenging for Gambit. Although Gambit managed to secure a few rounds on the attack side, a Brimstone ult from Delz1k in the final round of the half gave KRU an 8-4 lead before switching sides.
KRU had a flawless pistol round to kick off their attack side, extending their lead by strategically utilizing their Sage-Brimstone-Viper composition to obstruct Gambit’s defense with utility. Gambit gained momentum on defense, narrowing KRU’s six-round lead to just one round. However, an aggressive Raze-led B push from KRU, followed by an impressive response from nAts with a 4K from behind his Viper wall, led to a 12-10 match point for KRU. Despite having only Spectres, KRU couldn’t secure the necessary kills to close out the match, bringing the deciding map into overtime.
D3ffo stepped up in the first overtime round for Gambit, preventing the retake on B with just his Op and low health. KRU secured an early pick in their attack round, but a 3K from Redgar brought it to a 2v2 post-plant situation before Klaus’s impressive spray tied it again. Klaus delivered once again, denying another clutch from Regdar at the start of the second overtime period. However, Gambit responded with a sneaky Judge lurk and a clean A site cleanup led by nAts.
KRU executed a well-coordinated response to Gambit’s rotate, taking the lead in the third overtime. However, Gambit struck back on B thanks to Sheydos’s impressive 4K. Gambit had their best attack round in overtime to start the fourth period, flawlessly capturing the A site with a combination of utility and well-timed peeks. KRU fought back with their own remarkable A execute, capitalizing on some missed shots from Gambit and pushing the match into a fifth overtime. Gambit took the lead once again after an excellent attack round and finally closed out the map with a Chronicle lurk and another nAts hold, securing an 18-16 victory.
In the grand finals, Gambit will face the red-hot team Acend, who have won eight consecutive maps in their past four series. The showdown between these two teams will determine the first-ever VALORANT world champions on Sunday, December 12, at 11:30am CT.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.
Gambit, KRU Esports, VCT Champions, VALORANT competition, Breeze, NagZ, Jett, eco round, defensive pistol round, B site, KRU’s attack, Reyna-Jett combo, duelist, utility, overtime, Acend, VALORANT world champions.