Brazilian esports VALORANT team LOUD beat OpTic Gaming in the final event of the 2022 Valorant Champions Tour, marking the team’s maiden victory on the international stage. The South American team dropped just two maps from the group stages leading to the record-breaking peak viewership final round against North American rivals at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul.
“I think for me, it was so tiring competing over and over again. We almost made it back in Iceland and that was really good. That demonstrated that we had the ability to compete on an international level, but we were lacking something,” Matias “saadhak” Delipetro said in a post-match press conference. “I have no words about it, it’s just so amazing,” he added, speaking about the cheers by fans in the arena.
These teams clashed a total of three times in Champions and their rivalry was intensified during the Masters Reykjavík 2022 back in April, where OpTic won against LOUD. In the intense final, OpTic led 7-5 in the first round at Ascent. LOUD recovered and wrapped up the round all the way to a 15-13 overtime win. In the second map, Bind, OpTic struck back and took a 13-6 map victory. Get esportsbets here!
The second round alone attracted over 1.4 million concurrent viewers across official broadcasts and co-streams, surpassing the previous viewership figures for Champions 2021 and both Masters Reykjavík tournaments. Last year’s final peaked was at just over 1 million viewers, making this peak viewership makes this final the most-watched VALORANT and VCT event ever.
The third game at Breeze lasted a total of 30 rounds, with both teams scoring six rounds in every half that forced a thrilling overtime. The pressure is on during the overtime as both teams displayed incredible gameplays. LOUD eventually won it 16-14. The crucial fourth map at Haven was one sided, with LOUD claiming 13-5 game four win to clinch the title and bring home USD $300,000 prize.
LOUD have now leveled their record against OpTic after this triumph at 3-3. This win also means the region became the first team in the world to claim major titles in Counter-Strike, Rainbow Six: Siege and the Riot-made title. Brazil is also set to host the 2023 season’s kick-off tournament in Sao Paulo next February. Meanwhile, South Korea’s DRX beat FunPlus Phoenix to claim the third place.
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