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LOUD win VALORANT Champions 2022 with 3-1 rout over OpTic

Brazilian VALORANT juggernauts LOUD were crowned as this year's VALORANT world champions after they routed rivals OpTic Gaming, 3-1, in the grand finals. (Photo: VALORANT Esports)
Brazilian VALORANT juggernauts LOUD were crowned as this year's VALORANT world champions after they routed rivals OpTic Gaming, 3-1, in the grand finals. (Photo: VALORANT Esports)

Brazilian VALORANT juggernauts LOUD have been crowned as this year's VALORANT world champions after they completed a near-perfect run at VALORANT Champions 2022, finishing the tournament with a 3-1 rout over North American rivals OpTic Gaming in the grand finals on Monday (19 September).

LOUD and OpTic have been nursing an intense rivalry all year, starting with OpTic's 3-0 sweep over LOUD to win Masters Reykjavík 2022 back in April.

The two rivals clashed a total of three times in Champions. Both teams started the tournament's Group Stage in Group B, with OpTic claiming the top seed after beating LOUD, 2-1, in the Winners' Match. The Brazilians settled for second place after sweeping Japan's ZETA DIVISION in the Decider Match.

In the Playoffs, the two clashed for the second time in the upper bracket finals. LOUD scored back-to-back 2-0 sweeps over LATAM's Leviatán and South Korea's DRX in the first two rounds to get there, while OpTic had to defeat Europe's Team Liquid and fellow North Americans XSET in hard-fought 2-1 slugfests.

LOUD soundly swept OpTic, 2-0, to claim the first spot in the grand finals. It was a sign of things to come, as the Brazilian squad notably closed out the series with a dominant 13-3 game two victory.

OpTic narrowly avoided getting reverse swept by DRX in the best-of-five lower bracket finals. The North Americans prevailed after a grueling 3-2 slugfest to earn a rematch with LOUD in the best-of-five grand finals for the right to be called VALORANT world champions.

The grand finals kicked off with a 28-round overtime thriller at Ascent. OpTic led 7-5 after the first half of regulation before LOUD went on a 7-5 run of their own in the second half to force overtime.

The Brazilians then claimed three of the four overtime rounds to take their first win of the finals at 15-13.

OpTic then struck back in game two at Bind. The North Americans dominated the first half, 10-2, before taking the 13-6 map victory and tying up the finals at 1-1.

The pivotal third game at Breeze was yet another overtime thriller, lasting a total of 30 rounds.

Both teams ended scored six rounds apiece in every half, forcing the map to be decided in extra rounds. LOUD then claimed four of the six overtime rounds to take the 16-14 game three victory.

With their backs against the wall in game four at Haven, OpTic were narrowly down 5-7 after the second half. However, LOUD caught fire after the side switch, bulldozing through their rivals in six-straight rounds to claim the 13-5 game four win and the mantle of VALORANT world champions.

Erick "aspas" Santos notably took the Finals MVP award.

With their victory, LOUD claimed the grand prize of US$300,000 while OpTic settled for second place and US$150,000 in consolation.

The future is looking very bright for Brazil in the VALORANT esports scene. Not only have their hometown heroes in LOUD claimed the world championship, the country will also be hosting the 2023 season's kick-off tournament in Sau Paulo next February.

LOUD roster:

  • Erick "aspas" Santos

  • Felipe "Less" Basso

  • Bryan "pANcada" Luna

  • Matias "saadhak" Delipetro

  • Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi

OpTic Gaming roster:

  • Pujan "FNS" Mehta

  • Victor "Victor" Wong

  • Austin "crashies" Roberts

  • Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker

  • Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen

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