LOYOLA GAMING (LG) Terra was relegated to the lower bracket of the AcadArena Alliance Games playoffs after a best-of-three series loss versus archrivals De La Salle University (DLSU) Viridis Arcus (VA), 9-13, 15-13, 5-13. The game was held earlier today at 1:00 PM and was broadcasted via the tournament’s livestream.
The first game of the series was played on the Split map. As they started on the attacking side, the Blue and White gained a 2-0 lead early in the match. Despite winning the pistol and their bonus round, LG lost their early advantage in the next seven out of ten rounds due to the well-executed retakes and successful spike hold strategies of the defending DLSU squad on each site, 5-7. After the teams switched sides, LG Terra responded with another pistol and bonus round win—highlighted by LG’s Anton “mosesGOD” Rosales’ clever ace using the Judge shotgun. However, despite playing in a map known to be advantageous to defenders, Viridis Arcus was able to weather the LG storm by virtue of a 6-2 run to ultimately secure the first match, 13-9.
Going into the second map—Ascent—VA won the first two rounds to go up 2-0. However, LG responded with a blistering 6-0 round run due to their excellent control of the map. Even with LG going up 6-2, the first half concluded 6-6 off the back of a four-round win streak by the Taft-based squad. Both teams traded big blows and amazing clutches after switching sides to force the game into overtime. Closing off the Ascent map, LG Terra was able to pull it out, 15-13, to force a decider which was played on the map Bind.
Following their loss from the overtime, Viridis Arcus started aggressively as they came out guns ablazing spearheaded by their star duelist, Xavi “xavi8k” Juan. Bouncing off xavi8k’s 20-kill performance in the first nine rounds, VA was able to open up a 7-2 lead against Ateneo. The Blue and White was able to stop DLSU’s rally by finishing the half with a 3-0 round run to cut VA’s lead down, 5-7. However, after reaching the halftime mark, Viridis Arcus still managed to maintain their stronghold over LG Terra as they swept their attackers in six straight rounds. The last map finished in favor of the Taft-based squad, 13-5. DLSU’s xavi8k closed out the series with an impressive output of 37 kills in 18 rounds.
LG Terra’s stint in the lower bracket of the playoffs will start on July 2 as they face the winner of the series between the University of Santo Tomas Teletigers and Holy Angel University Valiant Epsorts later today at 7 PM. Fans can stream the matches on https://www.facebook.com/AcadArenaGG or https://www.twitch.tv/acadarenaph.
LG Terra Roster:
Michael Ken “FleX” Uy
Matthew “Matteo” Brillantes
Anton “mosesGOD” Rosales
JF “Zief” Verde
Carlos “tinyo” Tinio
Luis “doop” Carlos
Stuart “Stu” De Guia
