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Cloud9 seem to be in top shape after their most recent performance in the Knights Arena Valorampage. They sailed through the tournament without losing a single map, with the exception of the grand final where they beat NRG with a 2-1 score.
The team looks ready for the VCT: North America Stage 1 Challengers, where they’re competing as one of the four directly invited teams. Even though they had a slow start in the previous season, they finally caught up with everyone by the time Valorant Champions rolled out and ended up being the only NA team to make it to the playoffs.
This recent tournament victory clearly shows their previous performance was no fluke and that they mean business.
Near-Flawless Run
As one of the 16 teams who received direct invites in Knights Arena Valorampage, Cloud9 had the luxury of skipping the qualifiers. However, that didn’t mean their main event run was any easier.
They found themselves in group A with Kowareta, Zero MarksMen Black, and The Mafia. After the initial 13-6 victory against Kowareta, Cloud9 followed up with a decisive 13-7 win over Zero MarksMen Black, securing the first place with a clean 2-0 score.
The playoffs was where the real fun started, and Cloud9 had the joy of playing the opening match against Version1. The match on Haven was a real stomp and Cloud9 finished with a 13-6. Ascent was slightly different as Version1 finally pushed back, but it was Cloud9 who ultimately took control and ended the match with 13-11.
Another stomp followed, and this time it was against the team from Virginia, Akrew. Akrew had an easy time in group E and took two clean wins, but this time was different. Cloud9 proved to be a tough opponent and Akrew lost both matches, allowing Cloud9 a free pass to Semifinals.
Your CHAMPIONS of @KnightsArena‘s $25K #VALORAMPAGE presented by @Zenni_Gaming are:
🏆 @Cloud9! 🏆 – $12,500
🥇 @OfficialXETA
🥇 @mitchcsgo
🥇 @Vanityxz
🥇 @Xeppaaa
🥇 @leaf_cs
🥇 @JamezIRL2nd: @NRGgg – $7,500
3rd: @Renegades – $2,500
4th: @GhostGaming – $2,500 pic.twitter.com/Mor8UjdcgS— Knights (@KnightsGG) January 24, 2022
The only team standing in Cloud9’s path now was Ghost Gaming. Despite their best efforts, Ghost Gaming fell pretty quickly and Cloud9 secured yet another perfect 2-0 win in the tournament.
Finally, the grand final was here, and the fans watched in awe as Cloud9 and NRG clashed in a best-of-three battle.
Cloud9 completely destroyed NRG on Icebox, scoring 13-1 and immediately demoralizing their opponents. However, NRG took the match on Bind into overtime and squeezed in a 14-12 victory.
Just when it felt like there was hope for NRG and victory was nigh, Cloud9 came down hard and mounted a massive comeback and finished the match on Breeze with 13-9. The final score was 2-1 for Cloud9.
A Good Warm-Up for Challengers
Knights Arena Valorampage was a really fun tournament and a blast to follow, but it simply doesn’t compare to the size and scope of Valorant Champions Tour. As such, it served as a great warm-up for Cloud9 who will have to contend with some much tougher opponents in VCT: NA Stage 1 Challengers in February.
If this was VCT 2021, we would have placed Cloud9 as one the lowest ranking teams in the tournament. But after seeing their comeback in Valorant Champions 2021 and them surviving teams such as Fnatic and Vision Strikers, we can say with confidence that they have a pretty good shot at Valorant Champions Tour 2022 – Stage 1 Masters.
There’s another eight teams who will join the tournament after the two rounds of VCT NA Open Qualifiers are over, but even without those eight, Cloud9’s biggest challenges will be Sentinels, 100 Thieves, and Team Envy. It will all depend on the group they end up in.
All in all, we see great potential in Cloud9 and we really hope they get a good head start in the Valorant Champions Tour. The VCT: NA Stage 1 Challengers begin on February 11th, so there’s still some time before we’ll get a better picture of what the groups and teams will look like. Stay tuned for more news, reviews, and Valorant betting tips.
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