giants

Category: Valorant

Vodafone Giants bench Boo and Molsi

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

The Vodafone Giants team has opted to bench Boo and Molsi from their starting VALORANT lineup. Here is everything you need to know:

Vodafone Giants bench Boo and Molsi – Why?

According to the statement by Boo, the Vodafone Giants VALORANT team desired a change within the team. Due to this, he was one of the first to go and get benched from the main lineup. Alongside him in the bench is Polish player Molsi, who joined the team not too long ago in May.

It’s no secret that Vodafone Giants haven’t gotten any big wins in regional competitions. They’ve had solid results toward the late stages of the 2020 season, but nothing too major.

Here are some of their recent results:

  • 3rd-4th in the LVP – Rising Series #2 – 17th June 2021 – $596
  • 1st-8th at LVP – Rising Series #2 Spanish Qualifier – 19th May 2021
  • 9th-16th at VCT 2021: Europe Stage 2 Challengers 2 – Qualifier – 12th April 2021

What’s next for Boo and Molsi?

As stated in both statements made by Boo and Molsi, they are looking for new teams. They are still contracted under Vodafone Giants, but are open to any offers to find a new home. We’re sure that with their experience they’ll find a solid organisation and hopefully get better results than what they got with the Giants.

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

How to Watch VCT EU Stage 3 Challengers 1 – teams, format, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

Recently, we covered a viewership event for the VCT NA regional, and now we’re turning our head to the European event. Specifically, we’re talking about the VCT EU Stage 3 Challengers 1. With a lot on the line, read on for all of the viewership details needed to enjoy the event!

Event Background

Credits: VALORANT Champions Tour EU Twitter

Within the context of competitive VALORANT, this event is only a stepping stone for larger events. Running from the 7th to 11th July, this event will be allowing teams to fight for the prize of $40,000 at the end. Beyond this, the top 4 will earn seeds for the Challengers Playoffs.

Speaking of which, take a look at the 8 teams contending in this online event for European VALORANT:

  • Guild Esports
  • Acend
  • Team Liquid
  • G2 Esports
  • Fnatic
  • Rix.GG Thunder
  • Team BDS
  • FunPlus Phoenix
Credits: Team BDS Twitter

Do note that these 8 teams have made it here following a Closed Qualifier where 16 teams competed. Now, this event plans to half the competition once again.

Format

The format here is very similar to the NA event. To reiterate, this will involve a double elimination bracket into which teams have already been seeded. Each game outside of the grand final will be a best-of-three match, with the grand final being a BO5.

To note, this format does give teams a second chance to get back in the competition by dropping into the Loser’s Bracket.

Here’s how the bracket looks prior to competition:

valoranteuchallengers
Credits: Liquipedia

Schedule for the VCT Champions Tour EU Stage 3 Challengers 1

Credits: VALORANT Champions Tour EU Twitter

Accordingly, the schedule is well spread across the various days of competition. Be sure to check out the official schedule page for the event here, applying the filter for ‘Challengers EU’ to pick out the desired matches.

Watch the VCT Champions Tour EU Stage 3 Challengers 1

You can also watch the VCT EU Stage 3 Challengers 1 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

VCT EU Stage 3 Challengers 1

Predictions for the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1

Credits: FNATIC Twitter

In order to make predictions for this event, we’ll have to take a look at some previous event history. We can kick things off with the Europe Stage 2 Challengers 2 Finals:

  1. Fnatic
  2. Team Liquid
  3. (not competing) Team Vitality
  4. Team BDS
  5. Acend
  6. G2 Esports
  7. Ninjas in Pyjamas
  8. CE Calling
Credits: FPX Twitter

It’s quick to affirm that Fnatic are your favourites. No, not only due to the above result, but also following a second place at the Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik event.

Although they did have a shaky performance at the Closed Qualifier, they managed to qualify regardless. It’s likely they’ll bring their best selves for this next competition.

Credits: RixGG Twitter

Are Fnatics uncontested? No, I wouldn’t say so. Indeed, I would consider this region a dogfight between Team Liquid and Fnatic for first place. Team Liquid managed to bag the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers Finals and placed 4th at Reykjavik. Many expect a grand final between these two teams.

However, besides records, we need to talk about G2 Esports. After they beat Fnatic in the Closed Qualifiers, they’ve turned heads. Although perhaps they haven’t had the best past few months, on the right day they can easily show up an contend with the likes of Fnatic and Team Liquid.

Credits: VALORANT Champions Tour EU Twitter

I’d also place FunPlus Phoenix in the same category of a dark horse with strong potential.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

How to Watch VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1 – teams, format, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

There’s a lot of excitement in VALORANT as we head towards some regional competition. Accordingly, in this episode of ‘How to Watch’, we’ll be focusing on a North American event. Specifically, the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1 event later on this week looks to be awesome. Read on for all of the viewership details you need!

Event Background

Within the framework for competitive VALORANT, this event is huge for teams competing. Beyond the prize pool of $40,000, teams will be competing online from the 7-11th July for a seed at the Challengers Playoffs.

Credits: Nerd Street Twitter

Note that only 4 teams will earn a direct seed to the Challengers Playoffs, while the remaining 4 are given another chance at the Challengers 2 event. Below, find the 8 European teams fighting for qualification:

  • Sentinels
  • XSET
  • Team Envy
  • 100 Thieves
  • Version1
  • Gen.G Esports
  • Rise
  • Kansas City Pioneers

Do note that all teams are here through acquiring spots via Open Qualifier.

Format

Credits: Nerd Street Twitter

In terms of format, it matches the scale of the event. All 8 teams will be immediately thrown into a double-elimination bracket. Within this bracket, each game outside the grand finals will be a BO3, with the final game being BO5.

Indeed, take a look at the bracket below, with the first rounds of games ready to go:

valorantnachallengers
Credits: Liquipedia

Also, Riot Games is disabling the agent of KAY/O for the tournament.

Schedule for the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1

Accordingly, the schedule is well spread across the various days of competition. Be sure to check out the official schedule page for the event here, applying the filter for ‘Challengers NA’ to pick out the desired matches.

Watch the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1 on esportsguide

Credits: Nerd Street Twitter

You can also watch the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1

Predictions for the VCT NA Stage 3 Challengers 1

In this section of the article, we need to try and determine the top teams more likely to win. Say no more – let’s talk Sentinels. This team is simply on another level – dominating the entire globe with their skill. Notably, they’ve placed first at the majority of NA regional competitions.

Credits: Nerd Street Twitter

What’s more, is that Sentinels are the reigning champions after an untouchable run at the VCT Stage 2 Masters Reykjavik event in June. Without question, they are expected to take home the silverware next week.

Others, it’s a little unclear how the other teams may stack up precisely. Let’s take a look at the standings from the last regional – the Stage 2 Challengers Finals:

  1. Sentinels
  2. Version1
  3. Cloud9 Blue
  4. Team Envy
  5. NRG
  6. 100 Thieves
  7. Andbox
  8. XSET
Credits: Nerd Street Twitter

Although not all teams are currently present for this event, such standings do offer some insight. Specifically, Version1 are likely our second place favourites, especially following a respectable 5-6th finish at Reykjavik in the Stage 2 Masters event.

Behind them, Cloud9 Blue deserve to be respected as a threat. After Sentinels acquired the popular player of ‘Tenz’ from the team, Cloud9 Blue have still managed to contend in the upper end of the region – still, they’ve got some work to do.

Credits: VALORANT Champions Tour NA Twitter

With regards to the remaining teams, we’re prepared to be pleasantly surprised through it’s unlikely that any of these teams will crack the top 3.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news

Vision Strikers Welcome Back Lakia for VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

VALORANT Korean super team Vision Strikers have opted to welcome back Lakia into their lineup. Here’s their announcement:

Vision Strikers Welcome Back Lakia – Who is he?

20-year-old Kim “Lakia” Jong-min is a professional VALORANT player from South Korea. He started his career in June of 2020 with Vision Strikers, but unfortunately it was a very short stay. He only represented the team for 10 days, and after that he moved into free agency, and joined Proparty a few months later. Then to kick off the year, he announced his roster move to NUTURN Gaming. With NUTURN Lakia has found immense success, and is looking to find similar results with this new Vision Strikers lineup.

Here are some of Lakia’s best achievements so far in VALORANT:

  • 3rd in VCT 2021: Stage 2 Masters – Reykjavík – 29th May 2021 – $80,000
  • 2nd at VCT 2021: Korea Stage 1 Masters – 21st March 2021 – $20,000
  • 1st at VCT 2021: Korea Stage 2 Challengers – 2nd May 2021 – $17,893

What’s next?

With NUTURN, Lakia has cemented himself as one of the best Korean VALORANT players. The team’s heroic run surprised many in the scene, and a lot are looking forward to seeing what else Korea can accomplish in international competitions. The Stage 3 of the Korean VALORANT Champions Tour will continue tonight, so be sure to follow their matches on https://www.twitch.tv/valorant_kr.

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

BabyJ joining FaZe for VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

It has been announced that BabyJ will be joining FaZe for their VALORANT lineup. Here is everything you need to know:

Who is BabyJ?

22-year-old Hunter “BabyJ” Schline is a professional VALORANT player from the United States. He kicked off his career in June of 2020with team Prospects, and stayed with them for only a month. After that he was a free agent and represented a couple of mixed teams throughout the North American competitions. He’s still very young and has loads to prove, and now he’s got an excellent chance to prove his abilities with FaZe.

Here are some of his best achievements in VALORANT:

  • 3rd/4th at Twitch Rivals: VALORANT Launch Showdown – North America – 7th June 2020 – $4,750
  • 2nd in Pittsburgh Knights Valorant Rumble – 1st August 2020 – $2,250
  • 1st at Nerd Street Gamers x T1 Valorant Open – Qualifier #2 – 3rd May 2020 – $1,500

BabyJ joining FaZe for VALORANT – Why?

As you may have seen, Team Envy have opted to bring Marved on loan heading into VCT Stage 3. This resulted in an empty spot on FaZe, and that’s exactly how BabyJ was given this opportunity.

FaZe have had glimpses of success in previous regional competitions. However they haven’t had the cherry on the cake, and have always been in the shadows of the other top teams. Namely: Sentinels, 100 Thieves, TSM, and Version1. Hopefully with this roster change, the team can improve further and hopefully get FaZe their next big victory!

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

TSM Introducing Bang for VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Popular NA org TSM are introducing a new member, Bang for their VALORANT squad. Here below is their announcement:

TSM Introducing Bang for VALORANT – Who is he?

Sean “bang” Bezerra is a young and talented VALORANT player from North America. He first started his career with Phoenix1 back in August of 2020, and then went on to represent Team Serenity and OTW Esports. Now he’s got the opportunity of a lifetime to aid TSM to success, and retake the throne as the best team in NA. Bang hasn’t won much when it comes to VALORANT, but he’s certainly outshone his former teammates. Here are some of his best achievements so far:

  • 1st at MSI Gaming Arena Summer Finals – 27th September 2020 – $2,500
  • 1st in Rarity Found Summer – Open Qualifier – 4th October 2020 – $500
  • 2nd at Valorant Sunday Showdown Week 34 – 13th December 2020 – $300
  • 1st in Esports Arena Tournament #12 – 21st September 2020 – $350

After this addition, this is how the full TSM VALORANT lineup looks like:

Players:

  • James “hazed” Cobb
  • Taylor “Drone” Johnson
  • Matthew “WARDELL” Yu
  • Yassine “Subroza” Taoufik
  • Sean “bang” Bezerra

Benched:

  • Stephen “reltuC” Cutler

Coach:

  • Chet “Chet” Singh

What’s next?

Everyone’s fully aware of TSM’s decline since Sentinels rose to the top. They’ve been itching to get better results, and hopefully with this unexpected roster change, we can anticipate a much better TSM in upcoming VALORANT competitions. 

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

T1 Unveil Updated VALORANT squad

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

North American team T1 have opted to unveil their new and updated VALORANT squad. Here’s everything you need to know:

T1 Unveil updated VALORANT squad – Who are the new additions?

For their new additions, T1 are bringing on Dawn, and welcoming back Brax. Dawn started his VALORANT career with the Pittsburgh Knights back in November of 2020. Later (April) he was signed to T1’s academy, and now he’s getting the opportunity of a lifetime to represent the main squad. He hasn’t particularly shown spectacular results, but he just might be the perfect fit for this roster.

Brax on the other hand has already spent quite a lot of time under T1. He was their first signing, all the way back in March of 2020, and he left the team in February. From there, he went on to join TSM, but unfortunately it didn’t go as expected. He joined TSM as a 6th man, and only represented them through the VCT NA Stage 2 Challengers 1 Qualifier. Here they got eliminated early by Immortals, and that was the end of the road for Brax. Now he’s rejoining this newly revamped squad to hopefully achieve better results!

This is how T1’s new roster looks like:

Players:

  • Braxton “brax” Pierce
  • Anthony “dawn” Hagopian
  • Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham
  • Timothy “autimatic” Ta
  • Rahul “curry” Nemani

Coach:

  • David “dd8” Denis (Head coach)

What will happen to the departing members?

The changes introduced in their latest roster will mean that DaZed and Spyder are parting ways with the team. DaZed has stated that he is still lookin at all the options heading into the next stages of VALORANT competition.

Spyder on the other hand has been quite silent on the matter. He’s listed as inactive for the team, but we’re certain that much like DaZed, he’s looking for a new home. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out, but until then…

Be sure to tune into www.esportsguide.com for all your important esports news!

DarkZero reveal North American VALORANT squad

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Popular organisation DarkZero has chosen to reveal its VALORANT squad. Here below is their announcement:

DarkZero reveal VALORANT squad – Who did they pick up?

The majority of the roster formed part of the Kooky Koalas squad. This consists of the following players:

  • Andy ‘Andersin’ Collins
  • Kyle ‘ScrewFace’ Jensen
  • Nick ‘Harmon’ Harmon
  • Adam ‘Ange’ Milian
  • as well as coach Zack ‘huuaw’ Solomon.

If you counted correctly, there are only 4 players mentioned in the above list. This is because DarkZero have signed Canadian player Yannick “KOLER” Blanchette. He had formerly represented Immortals, NRG, as well as Beastcoast, and now he’s looking at a fresh restart for his VALORANT career.

This is what Zachary Matula, CEO and founder of DarkZero said about the squad:

“We’ve spent the last few years building the model for our organization and this is a very exciting opportunity for DarkZero to expand into a new scene. Riot has supported League of Legends esports, and with the health of that ecosystem, we trust they will mirror that in Valorant. This team has shown they can compete with the best in the world and we look forward to seeing what they can do with the support of our program.”

It is still exciting to see new and upcoming organisations enter VALORANT. Despite it being already 1 year out, teams and orgs are still entering the esport, showing that the game is here to stay for the long game.

Visit www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

G2 bench Pyth, bring on Keloqz for VALORANT

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

G2 Esports have just announced that they are opting to bench Pyth to bring on Keloqz for VALORANT. Here is their announcement:

G2 bench Pyth – Why?

G2 Esports have already announced a couple of roster changes in recent weeks. So far, they’ve added Nukkye and AvovA from Team Heretics, and they also got Koldamenta from Acend. What’s interesting is that they have decided to keep Spanish player Mixwell as their captain for the team. Usually when drastic changes are made, a captain switch is inevitable.

Pyth was one of the very first players that joined the squad. He has been detrimental to G2’s success during the Summer of 2020, but the team hasn’t been the same since First Strike.

Who is their new addition?

Cista “keloqz” Wassim is a professional VALORANT player from France. He’s previously played for Warthox but has also played for Megastitut as a stand-in. He’s still quite new to the scene, so it’s interesting to see that G2 are giving him this opportunity so early in his career. Here are some of his best achievements:

  • 1st in VALORANT Open Tour France Spring Qualifier – 23rd May 2021 – $6,090
  • 3rd/4th at Underdogs January 2021 – 17th January 2021 

Make sure to visit www.esportsguide.com for all your important and latest esports news!

How To Watch VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2: teams, format, schedule, streams, predictions

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Tomorrow, we’ll see the VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2 play out. This tournament will feature the best North American female teams, and they’ll all be competing for the $50,000 prize pool. Here’s everything you need to know!

Tournament’s background

The VCT Game Changers event is a year-long program which emphasises on creating new opportunities and exposure for women and marginalized genders seeking to participate in VALORANT esports. This will work through a combination of community events and top-tier competition. For this event, North American org Dignitas has joined as a presenting partner. Ironically, the Dignitas Female roster is also participating in this event.

How to qualify for the main event

.For this tournament, every team had to go through the open qualifiers which played out between the 19th and 20th of June. There were only 8 spots to be given from the qualifiers. Unfortunately this meant that we had a lot of well-known teams like Gen.G Female and Man I Love Fwogs not qualifying. 

Prize distribution

There will be a total of $50,000 to be split between the top 8 teams. Here is a list of how the prize pool will be spread:

  • 1st – $20,000
  • 2nd – $10,000
  • 3rd – $7,000
  • 4th – $5,000
  • 5th-6th – $3,000
  • 7th-8th – $1,500
Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

Tournament Format for the VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2

The tournament has a very standard format. It will kick off with a double elimination bracket where each match is a best of 3. On the other hand, the Grand Finals are played in a best of 5.

Teams Participating

A total of 8 teams are participating in the VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2. Here’s a short list of all teams taking part:

Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

Schedule list

The event kicks off tomorrow, the 24th of June and will continue to play out till the 27th of June. Here are the starting matches of the event:

Upper Bracket Quarterfinals – June 24th:

  • 21:00 CEST – Dignitas Female vs Shopify Rebellion
  • 21:00 CEST – Just Breathe vs CLG Red
  • 23:30 CEST – Cloud9 vs NOTHING2LOSE
  • 23:30 CEST – TSM Female vs GX3

Streaming platform list

The event will be split on two separate streams. Here is the link for the Primary English stream, and here is the link for the Secondary English stream.

Screenshot
Credits: Riot Games

Watch the VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2 stream on esportsguide.com

You can also watch the VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2 live stream via our very own website. Providing an extensive list of the biggest esports together with streams for each esports match live today or upcoming matches.

Watch the event on www.esportsguide.com 

VCT 2021 Game Changers NA Series 2Predictions

With so many talented female teams participating, it’s going to be hard to pick out the winner. Considering the recent results in the latest female competitions, we can state that Dignitas and Cloud9 have the highest chances of winning the event. That being said, anything can happen, and we cannot wait to see this tournament play out!

Be sure to keep yourself updated with www.esportsguide.com for all your esports news!