Team Heretics Eliminate Leviatan, advance to Grand Finals in VALORANT Champions 2024
On the penultimate day of VALORANT Champions Seoul 2024, Team Heretics and Leviatan faced off in an intense Lower Bracket Finals. With both teams delivering performances worthy of a global stage, ultimately, it was Team Heretics who emerged victorious, securing their spot in the Grand Finals.
Team Heretics 3-1 Leviatan
In this grueling Best of 5 series, Heretics came out swinging. Starting with Icebox, Leviatan’s map pick, Heretics claimed a decisive 13-7 victory, setting the tone for the match. The momentum continued on Sunset, Heretics' map, where they clawed back from the brink. With the map going into overtime, Heretics secured a narrow 15-13 win, putting them firmly in the lead.
Despite being down 0-2, Leviatan refused to go down without a fight. On Abyss, they showcased a formidable defensive performance, outmaneuvering Heretics to win the map 13-9.
However, the series wouldn’t see a fifth map. On Lotus, Team Heretics unleashed a dominant performance, overwhelming Leviatan 13-3. This sealed the series 3-1, eliminating Leviatan from the tournament.
Post-Match Talks
Leviatan, despite their valiant effort, were eliminated from the tournament, finishing in 3rd place. For Erick "aspas" Santos and Corbin "C0M" Lee, their dream of a second Champions trophy was ended. But they can take pride in upholding their dominance on being the highest-placed team from the Americas region.
However, IGL Francisco "kiNgg" Aravena is proud of his team and the journey they have faced together:
"I'm really proud of each one of them. We evolved so much as players, and I think that obviously anything can happen in the future, obviously staying together will be amazing. I'm just happy of the evolution of each one of our players. Honestly, every achievement we got this year, we worked really hard for it, so I feel like it was really worth it. And I think everyone in this team is living with their heads high up."
For Team Heretics, this victory marks their fourth Grand Final appearance of the year, but they have yet to clinch a title. Tomorrow, they will face EDward Gaming in the Grand Finals, aiming to finally break their runner-up streak and claim the ultimate glory on the grandest stage of all in Incheon.
Coach Neil "neilzinho" Finlay acknowledges that the upcoming match will be difficult, but that's every match in Champions:
"I think EDG have improved a lot from Shanghai when we played them last time. So for me, it's a completely different team that we played in Shanghai. I'm expecting it to be a very good match. And we're going to have to do our best to win, to be honest. There's no easy games in Champions, right?... Literally every single game we've played, every single game that anyone's played at this tournament has been a battle. There's not been any walkovers."
The stage is set for an epic showdown, with everything on the line.
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Featured Image Source: Christina Oh/Riot Games
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