VCT Americas Kickoff is reaching a critical point, as Leviatán and Cloud9 find themselves in a do-or-die Lower Bracket elimination match. The loser will be sent home, while the winner keeps their VCT Masters Santiago hopes alive.
This won’t be the first time these two teams have met, but the circumstances in this second meeting are very different.
Leviatán had a relatively slow start to the season, though these early stumbles are forgivable. The team was forced to play with a stand-in for their first few matches, as the team’s young star, Bruno “Neon” Rodríguez, was busy sorting out travel.
The team faced early losses to 100 Thieves and Cloud9, which sent them down to the Lower Bracket. However, since Neon rejoined the team, LEV have been steadily ramping up with their full five intact.
The team recently took down Sentinels, eliminating the fan favorites from the event. In that series, LEV found themselves at a numbers disadvantage multiple times, but they were able to claw back from multiple 3v5 situations and also pulled off thrifties. They were finding good ways to claw back difficult rounds, showing resilience and good protocols.
Image via Riot Games
In-game issues weren’t the only problems Cloud9 were facing, as the team’s star player, Francis “OXY” Hoang, was forced to temporarily step away due to family reasons. As a result, Cloud9 had to give Maximilian “Demon1” Mazanov a call to stand-in for the team.
Demon1 did wonders, helping the team secure two victories. However, since OXY’s return, Cloud9 suffered another series loss, this time against G2.
So far, Cloud9 have shown that they sit comfortably in the middle of the pack. They can beat teams in the lower half of the league, but struggle to face the region’s top competition. And if they want to qualify for Santiago, this performance is not sustainable enough.
Cloud9 have taken down Leviatán in Kickoff just last week, but that win came under very different conditions. Demon1 was in the lineup and Leviatán was playing with a substitute. This time around, the situation has flipped. LEV have looked far more convincing with their full five.
Still, this is a Lower Bracket elimination series, so both teams are likely to pull out pocket strategies on their map picks. We believe neither team will give up their map picks so easily.
We expect a scrappy and contested series, so over 2.5 maps looks appetizing. However, if we were to predict which team would come out on top, we would lean towards Leviatán.
Our picks:
Odds courtesy of GG.Bet Esports. Odds are subject to change.
Featured image via Riot Games.
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