LAST OCTOBER 17, Loyola Gaming (LG) Blaze fell short against Indonesia’s Tarumanegara University Mralt, 8-13, 11-13, in the opening round of the 2020 Cyberathlete Valorant Collegiate Invitational (CVCI) for Southeast Asia regional tournament. This loss relegated LG Blaze to the lower bracket as the tournament followed a double elimination format. 

The regional tournament marked LG Blaze’s first participation in international competition. Because of their lack of experience, the Blue and White committed numerous mistakes that contributed to their loss. 

LG Blaze’s Timmy “LG yabba” Albert notched an average of three to four kills in several rounds while Raphael “raphitb” Santiago scored major impact frags to keep the squad alive. However, their combined efforts were not enough as Mralt’s aggressiveness dominated the map. Ultimately, Mralt’s flawless coordination and perfectly calculated risk-taking overwhelmed LG Blaze to take the match in two games. 

Despite the loss, the Blue and White remained positive as they kept the scores close and matched the skills of the tournament’s top-seeded squad—Mralt. “Everyone reviewed the replay yesterday and we had only minor mistakes from what we’ve practiced. For sure, we’ll bounce back stronger in the lower bracket,” said LG Team Manager Patrick Lanuza. 

The Blue and White is set to continue their campaign in the CVCI for Southeast Asia regional tournament’s lower bracket against the National University Singapore Intertia on November 14, 2:30 PM. Fans can stream the match on either https://www.facebook.com/Ligagame/ or https://www.facebook.com/CyberathleteO. 

LG Blaze lineup:

Hugo “flacko” de Llamas

Timmy “LG yabba” Albert

Raphael “LG raphitb” Santiago

Dominic “LG skwamy” Juan

Ige “1ge” Cu