Image Credit: VALORANT
Fans went wild for NAVI and DRX at VALORANT Champions 2023 opening matches.
The first day of the VALORANT Champions 2023 group stage saw NAVI and DRX come out on top of their group. The most-awaited tournament of the year has started and the opening matchups left fans on the edge of their seats.
NAVI and DRX advanced to winners series of Group D
Group D was deemed the toughest bracket in the group stage of VALORANT Champions 2023. The first day of the tournament featured insane clutches, mind-blowing duels, incredible positioning, and many more.
Two powerhouse teams kicked off the Group D matchups. NAVI chalked up the first win in VALORANT Champions 2023 after a clean sweep against Team Liquid.
Team Liquid started the series on good footing as they scored four consecutive rounds at Game 1.
NAVI broke the streak in round 5 and managed to tie up the score. The second half was yet another back-and-forth affair between the two powerhouses. However, NAVI took the better of Team Liquid and sealed the game in a 13-11 fashion.
Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen recorded the first Ace in VALORANT Champions 2023 with his outstanding Neon plays.
The second game was what NAVI needed to seal the series. It was also the first game of VALORANT Champions 2023 that pushed to overtime. The first half of the game saw tactical attacks from Team Liquid.
Although they lost the pistol round and save round, NAVI scored five back-to-back round wins and pushed Team Liquid to play tactically.
Team Liquid opted for fake utilities from Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky’s Skye and forced out rotations from NAVI. This strategy succeeded as NAVI were drawn to the fake hits.
The second half saw NAVI doing the same and Team Liquid struggled to maintain their defense. Neither team wanted to back down. The two teams exchanged firepower and the game was pushed to several rounds of overtime.
NAVI proved to be the better team as they closed the series with a 17-15 score. The game saw exceptional performance for the Viper players of each team namely Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin and Dmitry "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin.
The second opening match featured another fan-favorites. DRX and LOUD showcased exceptional plays that left the fans in awe. The jaw-dropping matchup ended after a 2-1 win in favor of DRX.
The second series of the day was as intense as the previous one.
Game 1 saw LOUD take the first few punches against DRX. However, DRX was more than prepared for the onslaught as they answered back with seven consecutive round wins. DRX missed the chance to close the game and LOUD successfully pushed it to overtime.
DRX tapped out after some inopportune moments that cost them the game.
Fans saw DRX reset from the mental toll of their previous game. DRX asserted their dominance and controlled the pace of the game. Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan pulled an insane 2v5 clutch that left everyone’s jaws dropped. Kim "stax" Gu-taek closed the game with the perfect flank in the enemy’s spawn.
The decider kicked off with an unusual draft from LOUD. The team chose two Controllers and two Initiators for Ascent map, a map known as a stronghold for Sentinels.
LOUD struggled to take down the defense of DRX as Goo "Rb" Sang-min’s Killjoy proved to be a fortress of their site. Rb hammered the last nail in LOUD’s coffin with a quick 3k at match point.
NAVI and Team Liquid coaches are twin brothers
A fun fact about the opening match between NAVI and Team Liquid was that their respective coaches are identical twin brothers. Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren of NAVI and Emil "eMIL" Sandgren of Team Liquid were born on December 24, 1994.
The rivalry debuted at VCT EMEA League where d00mbr0s took the victory in the Week 6 of regular season. The revenge was quick for eMIL as Team Liquid beat NAVI during the VCT EMEA upper bracket semifinals.
The Twitch chat of the live broadcast went wild as both coaches were featured side by side and the resemblance is uncanny. The brotherly competition was a fun add-on to the match hype between the two powerhouse teams.
Three matchups for VALORANT Champions 2023 Day 2
Watch out for the scheduled matches tomorrow:
