AFTER A crushing loss in their first match, the Loyola Gaming (LG) Blaze defeated the National University of Singapore (NUS) Inertia, 13-12, 10-13, 13-3, in the 2020 Cyberathlete Valorant Collegiate Invitational (CVCI) for Southeast Asia regional tournament on November 14.
See: LG Blaze falls to Indonesia’s Mralt in their 2020 CVCI for Southeast Asia regional round debut
The match began in a back and forth affair between the two squads in the early rounds. However, LG Blaze finally snatched the momentum in the 14th round when Timmy “LG yabba” Albert scored a quadra-kill to bring the game to an even 7-7. Albert’s skillful use of the Ascent map to synergize with Omen’s ability kit continued the onslaught for LG Blaze to reach game-point, 12-9. NUS attempted to mount a comeback and tied the game at 12-all. However, Dominic “LG skwammy” Juan gunned down the last of his opponents with a jumping Shorty play in the 25th round to seal the game, 13-12.
After finding their footing in the first game, LG Blaze stormed to a quick 9-5 lead in the second round. Despite their early surge, NUS Intertia answered back with their own seven-round streak to take a 10-12 lead. In round 23, LG Blaze’s Ige “1ge” Cu and Juan were unable to defend their base which resulted in a crushing loss, 10-13.
In the third and deciding game, LG Blaze opted for more aggressive plays which resulted in a whopping score of 11-1 at the end of the first half. The Blue and White’s coordination and teamwork shone throughout the game as NUS Intertia was unable to respond to the Blue and White’s pressure across the map. Juan and Hugo “flacko” de Llamas secured the victory in round 16 by taking down the last two players of the opposing side, 13-3.
The victory allows LG Blaze to fight another day as they take on the Bangkok University Esports team on December 5, 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