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LVL Clash 2 – Group Stage Recap

In a day filled to the brink with matches, 16 VALORANT teams were able to test their abilities against... Fabio | 29. August 2020

In a day filled to the brink with matches, 16 VALORANT teams were able to test their abilities against each other. The last European IGNITION Series event pushed through the Group Stage in an insane pace. The results showed some top teams performing as usual, but some spicy upsets sat in between.

THE FAVORITES PROCEED (ALL BUT ONE)

In our preview for the event, we had already discussed G2 Esports, FunPlus Phoenix and the Ninjas in Pyjamas as our favorites for the event. Judging from their performance at Allied Esports Odyssey, one could hardly argue differently. G2 have been playing above and beyond to this point. In the Group Stage of LVL Clash 2, however, they didn’t show as much dominance. Their 13-9 and 13-7 victories were not as clear-cut as they should have been against such weak opposition. The Ninjas had to fight hard for their playoffs spot, and their matches were so close that one moment could have drastically changed the outcome and flipped the winning side entirely. That’s not what we call a dominant performance!

FunPlus Phoenix showed them how it’s done in Group D. A 13-2 against Wave Esports sent them to the Winners’ Match, where they won on a 13-3 scoreline. With incredible speed, they booked their ticket to the playoffs. Another team was also able to advance in quick fashion. No, we’re not talking about Team Liquid, we’re talking about Bonk.

THE BIG UPSET

We have purposefully left out Team Liquid up to this point. The third-placed team of Allied Esports Odyssey lost in the Winners’ Match against Bonk and had to face SKADE next. They should have absolutely secured a victory in this affair. However, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and his colleagues collapsed, the Belgian player in particular was unable to get into the match at all. The mix-team, lead by Linus “Limpone” Wecksell (who is Jesper “JW” Wecksell’s younger brother), managed to upset Team Liquid. With a 13-11 victory, they booked their tickets to the playoffs.

A QUICK RECAP OF THE QUARTER FINALS

FPX and G2 played to perfection in their matches against SKADE and Rix, respectively. Bonk, led by Aron “xajdish” Fredriksson, were successful in their game against Angry Titans. BIG, who had really delivered in their last two matches, fell in two decisive map losses against the Ninjas in Pyjamas. On Bind, the latter team even managed to win on a 13-0 scoreline.

Fatih “gob b” Dayik and Co. have certainly not hit their peak and there is much more to achieve for this roster. The team is young and at this event, the players were able to get experience in against these top teams for the first time. Given more time, they can grow into a leading VALORANT organization in the European space.

After the tournament has rushed through its Group Stage and Quarter Finals in the quickest way imaginable, the remaining matches will now be played out with a slower pace. G2 will have to watch out against FPX, considering that the Phoenixes were able to dominate so much in Group D. NiP are bound to face a young and unknown mix-team. But as Bonk were able to throw Liquid off the server with a convincing 13-7 map, NiP will certainly not have an easy time. In a Best-of-Three, however, they should still have the upper hand. As they make their way to the Grand Finals, will they face G2 Esports or FunPlus Phoenix?