LVL Clash 2 – Event Preview

The last European IGNITION Series event kicks off tomorrow. G2 Esports, Team Liquid, FunPlus Pheonix and 13 more teams will fight for the trophy and a share of $15,000.

WHO ARE THE NEWCOMERS?

The biggest name on the on the board of newcomers is BIG Clan. In July, the German organisation announced the creation of a VALORANT squad featuring Fatih “gob b” Dayik and Alex “alexRr” Frisch. Over the course of the last month, they have slowly filled their roster up. Now, they’re ready to attack. But we haven’t seen them perform so far at all – especially not against top teams. There is no way to determine how well they’re prepared to go up against G2 Esports in Group C. But we know how thorough and dedicated gob b is, so we will probably be in for a treat!

VALORANDO are another interesting German squad. Led by Marcel “rAx” Klenner, the team used to feature notable PUBG players like René “Braexco” Rehling, Christian “ItzzChrizZ” Blank, and Alexander “Caint” Syukrin. Most of them have made their way back to PUBG, but rAx has stuck with VALORANT. He is joined by Simon “pAn” Schumacher, a former CS:GO pro and observer for ESL. While VALORANDO did make waves in the Germans scene, the complete roster overhaul makes it difficult to judge their abilities against top teams. With BIG and G2 in their group, they will surely be in for a hard time.

NIP AND GIANTS LOOKING TO ATTACK

Due to a blunder by Giants Gaming in their last match of Allied Esports Odyssey, the Ninjas in Pyjamas narrowly made it to the playoffs. However, they were easily bested by Team Liquid and FunPlus Phoenix. At LVL Clash 2, they will meet Giants again in Group A. They are definitely the favorites of the bunch, but NiP’s outlook against the top teams of the event still looks bleak.

Giants themselves have a lot to learn. They could have surpassed NiP in the standings if only they had managed to close out their games properly. Against Liquid and BBL, they led in tense matches and ultimately let both teams come back and win them. Their choke against BBL in their last Group Stage match may have helped NiP into the playoffs, but it also exposed Giants’ lack of resilience under pressure. What’s worse is that there is actually a very competent team somewhere underneath. Their matches against top teams have gone to show that the players certainly know how to compete. If they were able to work on their issues in the meantime, they should definitely be able to make it to the playoffs.

LVL Clash 2 is filled to the brink with interesting rosters. There are so many new faces and mix-teams and so many esports veterans. To finish off our preview, we want to take a look at the very best squads of the bunch.

ALL EYES ON LIQUID, G2, FPX

At Allied Esports Odyssey, G2, FPX and Liquid divided the top spots up amongst each other. The latter two teams in particular are bitter rivals, which showed in the last match at the event. G2 Esports still hold the top spot, though. In their last Grand Finals, they demolished FPX in 13-5 and 13-9 wins for the trophy. Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks and Oscar “mixwell” Cañellas dominate European VALORANT and should they play to their usual level, their tournament victory is all but guaranteed.

Tomorrow, the event commences its Group Stage. In the evening, the playoffs pairings will already be decided and the Quarter Finals will follow along on the same day. On Saturday, we will see the Semi Finals and Grand Finals play out. Who will snatch the trophy at the last IGNITION Series event?