LOUD and DRX become the first semi-finalists of VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo

The VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo Alpha Bracket battles have ended. According to the results of the starting part of the competition, the teams LOUD and DRX made it to the semi-finals, where in a week they will continue to fight for the right to become the winner of the championship. On the last game day, the teams managed to outplay NRG and Talon Esports, respectively, thus securing a place in the TOP-4 of the tournament.

NRG-LOUD

The opening match of the last gaming day began on the Split map, which became the choice of the North American team. However, LOUD players quickly seized the initiative on the server in order to resolve all issues at the equator of the map - 9:3. After the side switch, NRG did not return to the server, while the Brazilians confidently finished playing on defense and took the lead in the series - 13:3.

Then the teams moved to the Pearl map, which turned out to be LOUD's choice. Here the North American team began to improve their position, but failed to gain a solid advantage and limited themselves to only two rounds — 7:5. After the side switch, the fight only escalated as LOUD managed to bring it to overtime. And yet here NRG showed character to equalize the score in the series - 15:13.

Everything was decided on the Fracture map, where the fight only got fiercer and moved to a new level. As a result, the teams again went to overtime, where LOUD was able to please local fans and got the final victory - 18:16.

DRX-Talon Esports

The next meeting started on the Fracture map, which became the choice of the Thai team. At the same time, Talon Esports demonstrated a confident start, gaining a twofold advantage at the close of the first half — 8:4. After the side switch, the South Korean team still tried to return to the game, but it turned out to be too late. As a result, Talon Esports managed to crush the opponent and took the lead in the series — 13:10.

Next, the teams moved to the map Ascent, which turned out to be the choice of DRX. Here the first half took place in a much greater struggle, recording a draw - 6:6. However, after the side switch, the South Korean team finally joined the game in order to take out the opponent and quickly equalize the score in the series — 13:6.

Everything was decided on the Icebox map, the first half of which ended with a minimal advantage in favor of the South Korean team — 7:5. However, after the switchover, Talon Esports could not keep up the pace, while DRX finally got used to the situation and brought the matter to a victorious end — 13:10.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo runs from February 13 to March 4 in Sao Paulo at Ginásio do Ibirapuera. As part of the championship, 32 teams from China, Europe, Asia and America are fighting for a total prize pool of $500,000.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2023 Interim Results: LOCK//IN São Paulo

• 1st place: $100,000
• 2nd place: $60,000
• 3rd-4th place: $40,000
• 5th-8th place: Talon Esports and NRG — $25,000
• 9th-16th place: Giants Gaming, Karmine Corp, Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses — $10,000
• 17-32nd: KOI, DetonatioN FocusMe, FunPlus Phoenix, BBL Esports, Paper Rex, Team Heretics, MIBR and Gen.G Esports — $5,000