THE ATENEO Blue Eagles faltered against Valorant tournament favorites De La Salle University (DLSU) Virdis Arcus (VA) Esports, dropping two consecutive matches in the opening bout. The series was held last night at the Areté’s Hyundai Hall in Quezon City.
This opening defeat places the Blue Eagles at a zero-point record in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Valorant group stage.
Leading the team in frags was Juan Antonio Rosales, who tallied 29 kills over two matches. Meanwhile, VA’s Miguel Fernando Dy proved to be a thorn to Ateneo, dropping a combined 32 kills throughout both matches.
Map 1 – Lotus
Ateneo entered the first match on defense with the team composition of John Amador on Sova, Joaquin Antonio on Neon, Rosales on Breach, Christian Owen on Omen, and Joaquin De Guia on Killjoy.
With a double initiator lineup, the Blue Eagles planned to take advantage of their agents’ utilities to create strategic plays. However, La Salle efficiently utilized their double duelist strategy of Neon and Raze to overwhelm the Blue Eagle defenders. Struggling against VA Esports’ attacking strategy, the Blue Eagles won just two rounds in the first half of match one, 2-10.
On the attacker side, the Blue and White won both pistol and buy rounds as they hoped to create enough momentum to recover from the large deficit. However, VA maintained their stronghold and aggressively met the attackers head-on by taking early control of crucial areas of the map to win the next two rounds.
DLSU aimed to quickly conclude the game on match point as both teams clashed at C Lobby. With enemies coming in from both the B and C sites, the Blue Eagles were buried in the opposing team’s utility and ultimately succumbed to their firepower, 4-13.
Map 2 – Icebox
Despite losing the first match against the Juan-led squad, Ateneo did not completely waver as they moved on to Icebox with an extra chip on their shoulder.
Unlike the previous match, the Blue Eagles started as attackers on the map with Agents Sova (Amador), Viper (Rosales), Gekko (Owen), Killjoy (De Guia), and Reyna (Antonio).
After making slight adjustments to their strategy, Ateneo took VA by surprise in the pistol round, courtesy of Amador winning a 1v1 against Lucas Gruenberg with his Classic, 1-0. Although Ateneo won the first round, the Blue and White later struggled through an extended stretch, as DLSU consistently took them out during their attempts to take over the site, 1-6.
In the eighth round, the Blue Eagles picked off two of La Salle’s players near the Mid Blue and A Belt areas, enabling them to rotate for a plant at B site. After securing a superior position, Ateneo successfully fended off the VA players to finally win their second round, 2-6. Even with Ateneo finding another win on the attacker side, the game’s momentum stayed on the side of VA, as the Taft-based squad regularly found angles to retake sites, 9-3.
The Blue and White showed better composure after changing sides, with the team becoming more capable in taking more rounds against La Salle. In the first two rounds after the switch, Ateneo defeated VA with two successful retakes thanks to Rosales’ crucial picks in each round, 5-9.
Unwilling to allow Ateneo to ride a comeback, DLSU accelerated the tempo of their rushes to win two out of three succeeding rounds, 12-6. With match point looming, the Katipunan-based squad tried to push off La Salle using their utilities but were ultimately wiped out, 6-13, marking a 0-2 loss at the night’s end.
Eager to regroup after a disappointing season opener, Ateneo will play the Adamson Falcons for the digital rendition of the Battle of the Birds later today, 2:00 PM, at the same venue.
Group A Standings (Points Overall):
- DLSU Viridis Arcus Esports: 1-0 (3)
- AdU Falcons: 1-0 (3)
- Ateneo Blue Eagles: 0-1 (0)
- FEU Tamaraws Esports: 0-1 (o)
Group B Standings (Points Overall):
- UP Fighting Maroons: 1-0 (3)
- UST Teletigers Esports Club: 1-0 (3)
- UE Zenith Warriors: 0-1 (0)
- NU Bulldogs: 0-1 (0)
Ateneo Blue Eagles lineup:
Joaquin Stuart De Guia
Juancho Manuel Garcia
John Michael Amador
Christian Emmanuel Owen
Joaquin Angelo Antonio
Juan Antonio Rosales
