Acend win Mandatory Cup #3 after Grand Finals victory over CGN Esports
Acend have become the winners of Mandatory Cup #3 after defeating CGN Esports 3-0.
The third place team in the 2023 VCT EMEA Ascension tournament, Acend, were one of the eleven teams invited to the third edition of the Mandatory Cup, hosted by French esports organization Mandatory.GG. The Group Stage, which took place on December 13th, featured a Double Round-Robin with four groups of three teams each. The top team from each group would advance to the playoffs.
Acend was placed in Group C along with GoNext Esports and SAW. They first played SAW and won comfortably with a score of 2-0. The next game against GoNext was even better for the VCL East favorite, as they won 2-0 and only dropped 12 rounds through both maps.
Thanks to their perfect 2 - 0 record, Acend qualified for the playoffs, which took place from December 14th to December 19th. Their first matchup was against UCAM Tokiers, who they managed to beat 2 - 1. Israeli player Gilad “ALIVE” Hakim had a near perfect series for Acend, averaging an ACS of 276 through all three maps. The flashy Duelist player also boasted a KDA of 64-48-14.
The other semifinal matchup took place between CGN Esports and NASR Esports, with the former taking a 2-0 victory.
The Grand Finals, now set to take place on December 19th, was between CGN Esports and Acend. These two teams had previously met back in VCT EMEA Ascension in July, where Acend beat them 2-1. Both teams have made roster changes since then, with the DACH team of CGN adding Portuguese player David “DaviH” Cruz. Additionally, Ovation Esports player aNguiSt is standing in for the team for this tournament. On the other side, Acend have added former EXCEL and NIP player Egor “chiwawa” Stepanyuk in favor of Ondřej “MONSTEERR” Petrů who announced his retirement from competitive Valorant in September.
The first map in this best of five series between the two Ascension-level teams was Haven. Acend got off to a good start, winning the first two rounds. CGN, however, then won the next three rounds to lead with a score of 3–2. Acend, faced with losing three consecutive rounds, had a monstrous end to the first half, winning five out of the next seven rounds to go up with a score of 7–5 at halftime. They continued their dominance into the second half, again claiming the first two rounds. They now led 9–5. CGN then won the next three rounds, to narrow Acend’s lead to only one. However, the East team won the next four rounds to win the game. The final score was 13–8.
The second map was Split. Acend had a super strong first half, winning nine of the first twelve rounds and going up 9–3 at halftime. It was not looking good for CGN, as they had a long road to comeback. Acend continued their hot streak into the second half, winning the first two rounds. They now led 11–3. CGN then won the next round, which was a good start to a potential comeback. However, Acend shut them down and won the next two rounds to win the game. The final score was 13–4.
With Acend now leading the series 2–0, they only needed one more map to be crowned the champions of the tournament. Sunset, the newest map in Valorant, would be the decider for that. Unlike the first two maps, this one was really close, with CGN not giving up. Acend, like usual, started off the first half strong. They won five of the first six rounds to lead 5–1. However, CGN Esports then won the next six straight rounds. They now led going into halftime, with a score of 7–5. The second half was extremely close, with the lead changing more than three times. Acend won the first two round to tie the game up at 7–7. The pressure was now on for both teams and only one would be able to rise up to the challenge. Acend then went on a winning streak, claiming victory in six of the next nine rounds to win the game and series. The final score was 13–10.
With the victory, Acend are crowned champions and take home €15,000.
The first ever Glance Player of the Match is Russian player chiwawa, who was dominating the series. The Sentinel player for Acend boasted a team high rating of 1.32 as well as a KDA of 46–32–16.
