Draft:VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo

Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo
Tournament information
GameValorant
LocationSão Paulo, Brazil
DateFebruary 13 - March 4, 2023
AdministratorRiot Games
VenueGinásio do Ibirapuera (Sao Paulo)
Teams32
Purse$500,000 USD
Final positions
ChampionsFNATIC
Runner-upLOUD
Finals MVPLeo "Leo" Jannesson (FNATIC)

VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, also known as VCT LOCK//IN, was an international tournament hosted by Riot Games for the first-person shooter game Valorant, as the opening event of the Valorant Champions Tour's (VCT) 2023 competitive season, the first of the partnership era of Valorant esports.[1] All 30 partnered teams from 3 regions (Americas, EMEA and Pacific) as well as two teams from China, were invited.[2] The event ran from February 13 to March 4, 2023, in São Paulo, Brazil[3], the home country of the 2022 Valorant Champions winners, LOUD.

Before the finals, a best-of-one exhibition match was played between Team FRTTT and Team tarik showcasing the new agent, Gekko. Team FRTTT won 13-10.[4]

FNATIC from the EMEA region defeated defending world champions LOUD from Americas in a best-of-five grand final, 3-2, narrowly avoiding a reverse sweep from the Brazilian squad. This is the first international title won by FNATIC since the organization's entrance to competitive Valorant in 2021[5].

Venue

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São Paulo was announced as the host city of the competition. All matches were played at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera with a live audience[6].

Format

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Invited teams

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The 30 teams from the new international league were invited, with 10 teams each coming from the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific leagues. Additionally, two teams from China were invited, following the official release of Valorant in China.[7] Due to the large number of teams invited, the tournament was decided to be played out single-elimination, with the 32 teams split into two 16-team Alpha and Omega brackets.[8] The remaining two teams from each bracket would advance to a single-elimination playoff stage.

Alpha Bracket
League Team ID
Americas NRG Esports NRG
LOUD LOUD
Cloud9 C9
Evil Geniuses EG
Made in Brazil MIBR
EMEA KOI KOI
Giants Gaming GIA
Karmine Corp KC
BBL Esports BBL
Team Heretics TH
Pacific DetonatioN FocusMe DFM
Gen.G GEN
DRX DRX
Paper Rex PRX
Talon Esports TLN
China FunPlus Phoenix FPX
Omega Bracket
League Team ID
Americas KRÜ Esports KRU
Leviatán LEV
100 Thieves 100T
Sentinels SEN
FURIA FUR
EMEA Team Liquid TL
Natus Vincere NAVI
Team Vitality VIT
FUT Esports FUT
FNATIC FNC
Pacific Team Secret TS
ZETA DIVISION ZETA
Global Esports GE
Rex Regum Qeon RRQ
T1 T1
China Edward Gaming EDG

Map pool and agents

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The updated map pool for this tournament was:

  • Ascent
  • Split
  • Fracture
  • Haven
  • Icebox
  • Pearl
  • Lotus

Additionally, this was the first tournament to include Harbor in official VCT play.

Bracket stage

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All matches in the Bracket Stage were played out in best-of-3 series. No regional matchups in the first round were allowed.

Alpha Bracket

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Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Qualified to Playoffs
KOI 0
NRG 2 NRG 2
DFM 0 GIA 1
GIA 2 NRG 1
GEN 0 LOUD 2
LOUD 2 LOUD 2
FPX 1 KC 1
KC 2 LOUD
BBL 1 DRX
DRX 2 DRX 2
C9 2 C9 1
PRX 0 DRX 2
TH 0 TLN 1
EG 2 EG 0
MIBR 0 TLN 2
TLN 2

Omega Bracket

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Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Qualified to Playoffs
TL 0
TS 2 TS 0
NAVI 2 NAVI 2
KRU 0 NAVI 2
ZETA 0 LEV 0
LEV 2 LEV 2
VIT 2 VIT 0
GE 1 NAVI
FUT 2 FNC
RRQ 0 FUT 1
100T 2 100T 2
EDG 1 100T 0
SEN 0 FNC 2
FNC 2 FNC 2
T1 0 FUR 0
FUR 2

Playoffs

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All playoff matches consisted of best-of-five series. The playoffs semifinals were played between the two qualified teams from each bracket.

Semifinals Grand Final
    
LOUD 3
DRX 2
LOUD 2
FNC 3
NAVI 0
FNC 3
March 2 LOUD 3 2 DRX Sao Paolo, Brazil
   https://www.vlr.gg/167391/loud-vs-drx-champions-tour-2023-lock-in-s-o-paulo-sf
13 Pearl 5
13 Icebox 8
7 Split 13
7 Fracture 13
13 Ascent 8

References

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  1. ^ "VALORANT Esports". valorantesports.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  2. ^ "EDG and FPX look to proudly represent China at VCT LOCK//IN". www.thespike.gg. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  3. ^ "VALORANT Esports". valorantesports.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  4. ^ "VCT LOCK//IN Showmatch: Final results, teams, and VALORANT Agent 22". esports.gg. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  5. ^ "Fnatic move into Valorant esports, sign UK-heavy team SUMN FC - Esports News UK". esports-news.co.uk. 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  6. ^ "VCT LOCK//IN to feature massive crowd on all game days". Dexerto. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  7. ^ "Valorant officially set for launch in China after government approval". Dexerto. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  8. ^ Robertson, Scott (2023-01-17). "A low-stakes single-elimination bracket at VCT LOCK//IN São Paulo is not the 2023 debut VALORANT deserves". Dot Esports. Retrieved 2023-05-15.