FOKUS and Team RA'AD will meet in the group stage of VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: EMEA Play-In. There's probably nothing to speculate about here, as the Danish-British team are trivial in a stronger league.
Yes, even in this format FOKUS is not the strongest representative of its subregion, but in fact Team RA'AD is the obvious underdog of the championship.
In general, I think we should avoid any sensations, although the format of the game may present some surprises. I'd have to put my money on the win for FOKUS.
FOKUS form
The 28th ranked team from Europe took the second place by VALORANT Challengers Northern Europe 2023: Polaris Split 1 where was worse than Apeks by all parameters.
Moreover, the Danish-British team did not improve much over the course of the season, especially since they did not make any changes to their line-up.
As a result, FOKUS came in second place again but now in VALORANT Challengers Northern Europe 2023: Polaris Split 2. Moreover, the team frankly failed in the decisive games, which spoils the picture a bit.
Recent FOKUS results:
- A 1-2 defeat to Les Petits Bouffons.
- 0-2 defeat to Apeks.
- A 0-2 defeat to Les Petits Bouffons.
- 2-0 win over Les Petits Bouffons.
- 1-3 defeat by Apeks.
Top FOKUS scores:
- Bind - 100% wins.
- Fracture - 89% wins.
- Haven - 50% wins.
- Split - 50% wins.
- Ascent - 50% wins.
It is worth noting that the Danish-British team appears least often on the Bind map.
Team RA'AD's Form
The Egyptian team made it to the finals of Insomnia Gaming Festival 2023 at Long Cognegg, but there the boys were defeated by Geekay Esports.
Team RA'AD, on the other hand, won both splits of the VALORANT Challengers 2023 MENA: Resilience - Levant and North Africa by outplaying their opponents.
However, in the last VALORANT Challengers 2023 MENA: Resilience - LAN Finals, the team still lost to Team Falcons, for which they forfeited a direct ticket to Ascension.
The latest results from Team RA'AD:
- 3-1 victory over NASR Esports.
- A 2-0 win over Triple Esports Club.
- A 1-2 loss to Team Falcons.
- 3-0 win over NASR Esports.
- Defeat by Team Falcons 2-3.
Team RA'AD's best scores:
- Haven - 93% wins.
- Ascent - 78% wins.
- Fracture - 75% wins.
- Lotus - 56% wins.
- Pearl - 50% wins.
Interestingly, the Egyptian team is also not risking to show up on the Bind map.
FOKUS - Team RA'AD meeting statistics
The teams have not met before.
Forecast for the match FOKUS - Team RA'AD
It seems to me that Team RA'AD will take their 6-8 rounds. At the very least, the Egyptians can surprise their opponent, but I don't believe they'll be able to win the match overall.
Especially as the Danish-British team have a lot more experience and competition. Therefore, in this case, I would recommend to bet on FOKUS to win.