Total Shorty Kills
VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event: Day 3 Results
Brandon "Mothman" Moore
03/07/2021
The North American Valorant action kept up the fire. Day 3 of the VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event did not disappoint. The four teams have already qualified for Masters, but the fight for prize money and seeding was on. Three incredible competitive Valorant matches took place. Only one team could remain after moving on from Day 2, however. The Upper Final sent the winner to the Grand Final and the loser to the Lower Final. Lower Round 3 decided the second team for the Lower Final. And the Lower Final determined who will fight for this event’s championship.
Run It Back has the results of this third day of the VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event written below.
VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event
Upper Final
FaZe Clan 2:0 Luminosity Gaming
Icebox
Lumonisity verus FaZe Clan is a match many felt would be one-sided. And it was, just not the way anybody expected. The series began on Icebox. Diondre “YaBoiDre” Bond wasted zero time in making his presence known with a 3K in both the first and second round. FaZe Clan had a response, though, taking the rounds. LG would finally tie it up, but FaZe found their groove with Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty leading the charge. Andrej “babybay” Francisty and Brady “thief” Dever both stepped up in terms of fragging for their respective team. That saw FaZe Clan take the lead, but LG managed to fight back. A massive 4K by Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen prevented a tie at the half.
The second half started with a Luminosity pistol round victory. YaBoiDre once again popped off with a 4K to take a small lead. It wasn’t long before FaZe took back the lead for yet another time on this map. FaZe continued rolling after that. Corey “corey” Nigra pushed the round count to 11 with a 3K, contributing to a Flawless round. It was babybay with a 3K to force match point. FaZe Clan had no trouble reaching the finish line, defeating LG on Icebox 13:7.
Ascent
FaZe Clan kept the momentum moving onto Ascent. Both corey and Marved picked up where they left off in the early rounds. An extremely close round gave Luminosity Gaming their first of the map. Another close round took place with LG just barely missing the plant for time to run out, giving FaZe a bigger lead rather than tying it up. It seemed like the domination by corey and FaZe Clan would never end. LG, with thief doing some damage, managed to close the gap. Alex “aproto” Protopapas joined in on LG’s fragging to keep the team in the thick of it. The half would end with a similar score to Icebox 7:5 with FaZe on top, however.
FaZe Clan switched to the attacking side, immediately showcasing some aggressive tactics. A 4K by babybay with the Frenzy very well could have been the nail in the coffin. Kaleb “moose” Jayne was not ready to give up just yet. A quick 4K while FaZe were planting the Spike allowed for an easy defuse. That cause a bit of a momentum shift for Luminosity Gaming. That was shut down shortly after, though, by a Zachary “ZachaREEE” Lombardo 3K, taking Ascent to series point. FaZe Clan cemented their spot in the Grand Final with what many would call an upset. Ascent ended 13:8, sending LG to the VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event Lower Final against either 100 Thieves or Gen.G Esports.
Lower Round 3
100 Thieves 2:1 Gen.G Esports
Ascent
Ascent started with a sneaky play from 100 Thieves. Three rushed A while two snuck onto B and got the Spike down. The A rush didn’t go as planned, leaving Gen.G with an easy retake after the Spike was planted. Danny “huynh” Huynh snagged a 3K in the scuffle. The remainder of Gen.G all played their part. They shut down the 100T squad for a huge 9 rounds in a row, narrowly avoiding some Spencer “Hiko” Martin clutch opportunities. Even a 4K with the potential to become an Ace from Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk was halted by the Gen.G defense. Anthony “gMd” Guimond, Kenneth “koosta” Suen, and Shawn “Shawn” O’Riley all sat on the leaderboard with 10 kills each at one point. 100 Thieves were able to take two rounds only as halftime approached with a score of 10:2.
On defense, 100 Thieves were able to take the pistol round of the second half. The next round was another quick and clear 100 Thieves victory as they hoped to stop the bleeding. Gen.G were able to overcome an early round player deficit. They got the Spike planted and held down A Site to gain their 11th round of Ascent. 100 Thieves were not done, however, with Asuna adding to the K column on the scoreboard. 100T pushed back, only down by three. A big clutch from Hiko almost came in to keep 100T pressing forward, but Gen.G let out a sigh of relief to take Ascent to map point. Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella retaliated with a 4K Operator round. Fighting for overtime was the only option. That is exactly what happened.
A 10:2 lead was Gen.G’s to lose and they lost it. 100 Thieves planted their feet and gave up no ground on defense. 100 Thieves managed to take A Site, get the Spike down, and bring it to a 1v1 with Hiko and Shawn. Shawn managed to eliminate the birthday boy and defuse the Spike. 100T won their defensive round, taking Ascent to at least double overtime. An offensive round finally once again went to the Thieves, but Gen.G responded and forced another overtime scenario 14:14.
The back and forth continued with 100 Thieves putting together some great attacking performances late in the game. The defensive-sided regulation made this seem like two completely different teams as they both began to take their offensive rounds. At 15:15, 100 Thieves pulled out their trickery. They rushed one site, but had players sit back and plant the Spike on the other. Finally, the 10:2 comeback was complete. In 1:05:43, Gen.G fell to 100T 17:15 with Asuna dropping 30 kills.
Haven
Gen.G began Haven on the defensive side. After a crazy overtime battle going in favor of 100 Thieves on Ascent, Gen.G were ready to move on here. The first two rounds went their way as huynh shut down 100T with a vengeance. 100T tried to keep things from getting out of hand like it did in the map prior, taking their first round early on. Michael “MkaeL” De Luca made sure Gen.G’s defense remained sturdy, though, with a 3K. gMd snagged his own 3K on a stellar retake to grow the Gen.G lead even further. Halftime approached with Gen.G ahead 9:3, just a bit different than the first map.
On Haven, 100T’s map pick, Gen.G switched sides with the hope of not repeating the outcome of Ascent. 100 Thieves started the second half with a solid 2v2 retake and their fourth round victory. Their fifth round came immediately after in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fashion. Gen.G pushed back with their 10th, however. An incredible 4K and the clutch for nitr0 kept 100 Thieves alive just a bit longer. Another wild overtime period did not happen as Gen.G forced map three 13:7.
Bind
Bind would be the decider. The winner takes on LG in the Lower Final. 100 Thieves started map three on defense. Ethan “Ethan” Arnold, the newest 100T member, started off solid for the team, but Gen.G was able to keep things close. Shawn decided to go nuts with a 4K and give his team the very early lead. Asuna was a man on a mission in this match, taking the fight to Gen.G with ruthless aggression and grabbing a 4K of his own. Naturally, Asuna followed that up with a 3K. 100T’s defense got going at this point. Hiko grabbed a 4K with a spray on the ground after the third before finding the fourth. The entire team was on point in the first half, but Asuna was the star. He ended it with 20 kills.
10:2 was the score at halftime, giving off first map vibes. Gen.G would look to play the spoiler much like 100T did to them on Ascent. The pistol round went to 100 Thieves, though. Gen.G needed that to begin their comeback. Thankfully, Shawn popped off with the Sheriff, taking a 4K and Gen.G’s third round. Another went to Gen.G prior to the true gun rounds taking place in the second half. That is when 100 Thieves decided it was time to win. Two rounds more was all it took and 100 Thieves claimed victory 13:4.
Lower Final
100 Thieves 2:0 Luminosity Gaming
Icebox
The Lower Final of the VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event started off hot on Icebox. YaBoiDre and moose popped off for Luminosity while Hiko and Asuna played the aggressors for 100 Thieves. LG took the first two rounds, but gave 100T a chance to answer. Another LG victory occurred, but 100T kicked it into gear. Four straight elimination victories went to the 100T squad. After that, LG decided to shift 100T’s gear back a step. They would end the half with four in a row of their own. Shutting down 100T on the retakes gave them a 7:5 lead.
To start the second half, Joshua “steel” Nissan pulled off some circus tricks to deny the plant and allow 100T to take the pistol round. Ethan held his ground and took it to the LG players headed his way. The rest of the team cleaned up and tied it 7:7. Soon after and 100 Thieves took the lead. Asuna came in with a 3K, topped off by a wild Showstopper Ultimate, in order to retake and defuse the Spike. That pushed the 100T lead to 10:7. Another insane Asuna 3K put him at 21 kills and gave his team their 11th round victory of Icebox. Who would’ve thought? Asuna pulls off another 3K for match point. With no time to plant, the round ended and 100 Thieves took the first map 13:7.
Ascent
100T picked up right where they left off. The pistol round in Ascent’s first half was theirs. That set them up nicely for a second round victory as nitr0 started off with five kills and zero deaths. Asuna joined in on the fun with an Ace that was finished in style. He tossed Paint Shells through a window into B Main for the final kill of the round. 100 Thieves’ defense was as lockdown as could be. Asuna just couldn’t be stopped, Blast Packing around corners, clicking heads, and dominating the entire LG roster.
Luminosity Gaming only managed one round in the first half. Sides switched with an 11:1 round count in favor of 100 Thieves. With 100T on offense, there was no hope for LG on Ascent. steel helped secure the pistol round with a 3K Sheriff rampage. At this point, not a single LG player had reached 10 kills. None of them would either. 100 Thieves attacked with no remorse, finishing LG 13:1. They move on to battle FaZe Clan in the Grand Final.
Stay tuned to Run It Back for further coverage of the Valorant Champions Tour, including the VCT NA Challengers 3 Main Event Grand Final and the Stage 1 Masters tournament!
