Team SMG bow out of 2023 VCT Game Changers Championship in fourth place
The female Southeast Asian VALORANT team with Singaporean and Filipino players had a commendable run that ended in the lower bracket semifinals.
It was a good run, but female Southeast Asian VALORANT squad Team SMG have bowed out of the 2023 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Game Changers Championship in fourth place.
Team SMG were knocked out of the competition after losing to Team Liquid BR, 2-1, in the lower bracket semifinals on Sunday (3 December).
Consisting of Singaporean and Filipino players and led by formidable team captain Abigail "Kohaibi" Kong, the team qualified for the Championship after dominating the VCT Game Changers APAC Elite.
A strong showing for SMG
Despite falling short of the championship, Team SMG had a strong showing throughout the tournament.
In fact, they shocked fans and analysts in their first match against North American team Evil Geniuses. Initially thinking they were on stage for a ping test, the team accidentally locked four duelists for the match.
Despite this bizarre and very off-meta team composition, they still made the most out of the situation and won effortlessly, sweeping EG 2-0. This also marked their 35th straight win since the beginning of the season.
However, they experienced their first loss in the upper bracket, defeated by G2 Gozen 2-1, dropping them to the lower bracket quarterfinals, where they sent KRÜ Blaze packing with a 2-0 sweep.
At the Lower Bracket semi-finals match against Team Liquid, SMG started strong in the first game on Haven, dominating the first and second half of the game, which ended in SMG's favour, 13-9.
During the second game on bind, however, Team Liquid overpowered the Southeast Asian team, especially in the second half, ending with a 13-7 score in favour of the Brazilian team.
Team SMG tried to fight back in the third game decider on Ascent, but Team Liquid showed they were the better team, winning the round,13-10.
SMG bow out of the competition in 4th place, taking home US$50,000 and having proven that Southeast Asia is a force to be reckoned with in VALORANT Esports.
Meanwhile, Team Liquid continue their run after eliminating 2022 World Champions G2 Gozen in a 2-0 sweep at the Lower Bracket Finals.
This allowed them to qualify for the Grand Final, where they will be facing North American team Shopify Rebellion on Monday (4 December) at 1:00 PM Singapore Time.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
