Esportz Premier Series LAN exceeds expectations | Issue #8
Is 2023 full of surprises? This time we cover the Esportz LAN Valorant results & Valorant map updates. Also, there is an important note at the end for our readers
Esportz LAN exceeded expectations
We and many others we talked to had low expectations from the Esportz LAN, but it delivered and exceeded everyone’s expectations. The Esportz staff was quite friendly too.
Crowd cheering
The crowd at the LAN was insane, especially in the last game and the last few maps.
We saw a lot of trash talking between the supporters(and creators) of LE and supporters of Revenant (including Paradox's friends from the Mumbai cafe esports scene).
Now some might say that trash talking is disrespectful and what not. But we believe the trashtalking made the Grand Finals super enjoyable and memorable.
Borivali, is quite far from central Mumbai, still, the event managed to have excellent footfall. Of course, a lot of it has to do with the event being FREE.
The people at Esportz have definitely set a new bar this year, for themselves and other organizers. And from what we hear, they plan to do more physical events in gaming in 2023.
Esportz LAN Valorant results
GodFall
The Gods fell, and they fell hard.
Gods Reign looked poised to reach the Grand Finals of the Esportz LAN as they had an easier path to in the bracket. But they fell at the very first hurdle. The very first game of 2023's first Esports LAN ended with an upset as the underdogs in ROG Academy took down Gods Reign with a 2-0 score. It was a shocker for everyone.
Other teams
Ohh Bey performed as expected. RGE showed some good fight, we're sure they'll take a lot of learnings with them from this event. ROG Academy did surprise us by taking down Gods Reign. Lethal Esports performed extremely well, in both their games. And Revenant did Revenant things.
Revenant Esports vs Lethal Esports Bo5 Grand Finals
Since the Grand Finals was a bo5, it was totally within the realm of possibilities for Lethal to get a map win over Revenant. But the individuals on Lethal stepped up big time and somehow managed to shock the best team coming into the tournament and kept fighting till the last map of the series.
Kheltuzad from Lethal Esports played on another level. Same with JoshS on Revenant, who helped Revenant to open and close multiple rounds in their favour.
In the last map it was evident that Rossi Kiran from LE had run out of steam being at the bottom of the scoreboard despite being on Jett. On the other hand, Paradox was on his A game.
As a result, Revenant managed to win the last map of the series to win the Esportz Premier Series Grand Finale LAN.
This was the last time the team played with their IGL Whimp, who now has been replaced by rite2ace. Finally winning a trophy, must be a nice farewell for their longtime IGL. Riot Games has big plans for SA Valorant esports scene in 2023, and Revenant looks poised to be a top team, if not THE top team of 2023.
With the recent change in the Revenant Esports Valorant roster, coming into the LAN tournament, Revenant’s team had nothing to lose and everything to gain(just like ROG Academy 🤪), and ofc they won it all.
Whimp is still LFT(restricted free agent)
Valorant Map Updates
1] Split Rework
Split has now been officially been reworked. Nothing gamechanging, just a few changes. Have a look at the below mentioned tweets by ValorLeaks Mike.
The A main chokepoint and Tower/Heaven have had significant changes, while Mid and B site have had some smaller ones. Overall, it seems that the angles are less uneven now, making it easier for the attackers to fight the defenders who are marking angles(usually with a sniper) on A site.
2] Lotus - Indian Valorant map with 3 sites
Yes, Lotus, the next map in Valorant is a map with 3 sites, which makes it the second such map. The map is set in India’s western ghats, as per the map trailer and the EP06 Cinematic trailer.
Things you should know about Lotus,
Lotus is a map with 3 sites.
The map has doors that open and close like the switch door on Breeze, except these ones work like a circular sliding door and are much more fancier.
Source: Riot Games It also has a small breakable door similar to vents in CSGO maps.
Source: Riot Games Plant spots are on grounds with uneven elevations(seems like an experiment by Riot).
That’s it for the past week’s updates. We will be back soon with this week’s VALORANT news.