The loss of sacy and pANcada did not seem to faze Brazilian team LOUD as they are still one of the top teams in the world.
Needing only two rounds left to win the Kickoff tournament, Sao Paulo second placers LOUD is at the top of the American VCT league. Pinnacle gives them the most favorable odds at 2.75, a wide gap between them and the rest of the pack with Leviatan at 4.47 coming up next.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 29th, 6:00 A.M. (EST)
Up 3-11 in the final game of the VCT Kickoff tournament in Brazil, LOUD unfortunately could not close out Icebox, allowing the Boaster led Fnatic to mount one of the best comebacks in VCT history. Aspas on his signature agent Jett was not enough to secure the trophy for the home team. Still, no one expected the team to do as well as they did given that sacy and pANcada, two of their heavy hitters who recently left the team to join Sentinels, a rival team within the region, are no longer on the roster.
Their replacements, cauanzin and tuyz have proven themselves to be lethal fraggers during LOUD’s run to the grand finals besting teams like NRG Esports and Team DRX to have a shot for the crown against Fnatic. Tuyz has taken over the controller roles while cauanzin is manning the initiator spot.
Meanwhile, Chilean team Leviatan came out of nowhere last year and showcased tremendous potential. The team has had strong playoff finishes throughout 2022 and is very much deserving of their franchise slot. The team fell to Navi in the quarterfinals during the VCT LOCK IN tournament but has shown great tenacity despite the defeat.
Meanwhile, fan favorite Sentinels will look to redeem themselves after a very early exit in Sao Paulo. However, there is nothing to be ashamed about losing 2-0 to the eventual champions of the event. The unfortunate bracket withheld the team from showcasing the new roster’s firepower and technique. All eyes will be on TenZ as the organization itself proudly boasts of the system being made for the young talent.
Other teams to watch out for are Cloud9 with the addition of yay to the roster together with leaf and Xeppa. It goes without saying that the fragging potential of the Cloud9 squad is one of the best in the scene. NRG has taken the bulk of former Optic Gaming’s core, one of the winningest teams pre-franchising. They also managed to snag ardiis who played as FunPlus Phoenix’s duelist in addition to long-time household name s0m who has played for NRG since 2020.
So many teams with the capacity to make it all the way but only one can take first place. Who will emerge victorious?
