Valorant Champions Tour EMEA Stage 1 Challengers is back to the action after Riot Games delayed week 4 of the group stage due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine that affected millions of innocent lives in the region. Although this frightening war did not spread to European Union countries or America, Riot Games was one of the first companies to take a step against Russia’s use of excessive force on Ukraine with its charity campaign launched two days ago.
Only three series have been played in week 4, and VCT 2022: Europe, Middle East and Africa returned with a Turkish derby between SuperMassive Blaze and BBL Esports. SMB was the one that overwhelmed BBL in regional competition until this hectic series.
First win for BBL
Week 4 kicked off with BBL Esports demolishing SuperMassive Blaze on Split and closing up the map with a solid 13-7 score even though they lost a few anti-eco rounds due to their bad habits. The latest addition to the team, Turko, also looked adapted to his new team in week 4 of the group stage of the 2022 VCT: EMEA Stage 1 Challengers.
On the second map of the series picked by SMB, the underdog Turkish team of group B improved its performance on Icebox, but it was not enough to make up for the previous map. BBL Esports completed Icebox with a score of 13 – 10 and secured its first group stage win over its regional rival. On the flip side, SMB unexpectedly made a tough start to the VCT 2022 without a win in their first three series.
The defending champion thrashed G2
Acend upset G2 Esports in the second series of week 4 with an outstanding performance on Split. The reigning came on the scene to demonstrate that even though they lost to Fnatic before the tournament was delayed, they were still one of the best teams to take part in the tournament. The opening map of this action-packed series saw G2 dominated Acend on Bind, which was staggering because Acend was known well for its flawless Bind performance before getting slapped for the first time. This excellent start to the series by G2 brought excitement to the following map, Ascent.
Acend bounced back to the series, and both teams lost on their chosen map. The decider map of the series, Split, resulted in Acend domination thanks to the jaw-dropping shots and entries by their Turkish superstar, cNed. He was selected as the MVP of the series.
On the second day of week 4, Team Liquid decimated LDN UTD without facing resistance. It could be considered important for Team Liquid, besides their clean win, that they do not allow any surprises against non-favorite teams. The European representative will be playing against FPX on March 12.
Week 5 of the group stage of the VCT 2022: EMEA Stage 1 Challengers is set to begin on March 11 with the series between Gambit and LDN UTD, which does not promise much to the fans. You can catch all the action from Riot Games’ official Twitch channel.
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