DESPITE A strong opening game, the Loyola Gaming Blaze failed to claim the crown after falling to the De La Salle University (DLSU) Viridis Arcus Gaming in four games, 13-7, 10-13, 3-13, 3-13, in the Esports AcadArena (EAA) University Alliance Cup 2020 Grand Finals on November 28.

LG Blaze stomped out the gates and erected an early 5-1 lead inspired by Raphael “LG raphitb” Santiago’s quadruple kill in round two. After the Viridis Arcus Gaming tied up the game seven-all, the Blue and White went on a 6-0 run to draw first blood, 13-7.

However, it was a different situation in game two as both teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair. DLSU finished the half on a 4-0 run to enter the break, 5-7. In the second half, LG Blaze trailed by a close margin to cut the lead down to one, 10-11, going into round 22. However, after a series of clutch plays, the Viridis Arcus Gaming closed out the game to tie the series at 1-all, 10-13.

Riding off their momentum from the previous game, DLSU shocked LG Blaze with an 11-1 score in the first half of game three. The Blue and White tried to stay afloat by retaliating with back to back points. However, DLSU’s lead proved to be too much for LG Blaze as the Viridis Arcus Gaming took the series lead, 3-13.

Unable to recover from game three’s loss, LG Blaze could not stop the bleeding after DLSU’s “Grosso” bagged an impressive triple kill in round eight as they trailed by six entering the half, 3-9. Ultimately, the Blue and White conceded a 4-0 run to end the game, 3-13.

Despite the loss, LG Manager Kenneth Alog stayed optimistic and saw the experience as a learning opportunity for future tournaments. “The Viridis Arcus Valorant team surely showed that they are the better team today. Hopefully, our team will be able to learn from this loss and grow stronger for the next split,” he voiced.

LG Blaze lineup:

Janver Hugo C. De Llamas – “flacko” 

Joshua Miguel B. Ulanday -“Rikes”

Dominic Simeon Hebron Juan – “LG skwamy”

Louis Ignatius V. Cu – “1ge”

Raphael Santiago – “LG raphitb”