The Titan Slayers: Bilibili Gaming defeats NRG to secure Valorant Champions 2023 playoffs
The final game of Valorant Champions 2023 Group stage featured a rematch between Bilibili Gaming and NRG. After their loss in the opening game, NRG seemed poised to take the game. The whole team was confident about their victory. With Ardiis voicing it as “ We’re 100% beating Bilibili Gaming”
The game started in Bilibili Gaming’s favor but NRG made it competitive. The NRG squad went on to win five rounds in a row. Bilibili Gaming answered back but the half concluded 7-5 in the favor of NRG. In the second half, NRG extended the lead to four rounds. The NRG defense crumbled in the face of Bilibili gaming’s attack and they lost their map pick 10-13.
Ascent was no different. Bilibili’s attack once again completely annihilated the NRG defense. The site anchors in s0m and crashies completely overwhelmed on A and B. The first half concluded with a strong 8-4 scoreline. Bilibili converted the strong half into a stronger victory, dropping a single round to deliver the biggest upset of 2023 yet.
Bilibili Gaming was dead last in the rankings of most esports pundits. The main factor here was the inexperience in the team. Moreover, they were drafted alongside Fnatic, NRG and ZETA Division, some of the best Valorant teams since 2022. Not a single person saw Bilibili dominating NRG not just once but twice.
Both the teams attended the press conferences post-game. Strafe attended the Riot organized press-conference. Following is the excerpt from the same.
Q. Despite how the season concluded, NRG was one of the top Valorant squads throughout the tournament. Unfortunately your journey came to an end today. Can you give the NRG fans some parting words?
NRG FNS: “As always we appreciate everyone for coming to watch us, not just here on stage, but all over the world. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support we got in Japan, even Brazil to some extent. Thank you guys all for consistently supporting us. Sorry”
NRG’s elimination has to be the biggest shock of 2023. The team was amongst the top contenders for the title. Bilibili, the titan slayers will next face DRX in the next game.
Q. Bilibili Gaming delivered the biggest upset of the event today. What did you learn from these games, especially facing some of the best teams Valorant has to offer. Is there something you want to improve before the playoffs?
BLG Jexen: “At the beginning when we came to LA, the scrims did not go as smoothly because we could feel the difference in the in-game pace between different regions and we were not used to it. Especially with so many strong teams, they had a very distinct in-game pace. There are teams that do not leave enough time for communications and macros, their pace helps them to do whatever they want. In the scrims, we emphasize a lot on those parts and like to do our best during the whole scrimmage. Additionally, what we have to improve is that we keep playing the same things at the same pace while facing strong teams. We like to have a very simple game and focus on the issues in communications and micros inside the game, we just like to calm down and have a strong mental throughout the game.
Q. You’d face DRX in your first playoff game. What do you think about them? What is your game plan going into the next game?
BLG Biank: “Definitely we’d like to understand their game, know their habits and be well prepared before facing them. DRX as a team, they are very disciplined, maybe we can target that and then the game can go our way”
The Valorant Champions 2023 resumes on 16th August. For more updates on Valorant Champions 2023, follow Valorant Champions tour Twitter.
Credits: Riot Games // Valorant Champions Tour.