With both of the semifinals matchups concluded in VCT China Ascension, the teams have been set for the Grand Finals. It will be Rare Atom versus Dragon Ranger Gaming for a lucrative two-year spot in the VCT China League.
Coming from the Upper Bracket is Rare Atom. The #1 seed headed into this tournament has lived up to the high expectations, not dropping a map so far in this tournament. Over the past few months, they accumulated 1095 circuit points and were a clear favorite coming into the event.
Their journey in VCT China Ascension started with a matchup against KeepBest Gaming, who only qualified to this tournament with a mere 85 circuit points. KeepBest had a valiant first map, only losing 11–13 after a close game. However, Rare Atom stepped up their performance big time in the second half, winning the game 13–3 and taking the clean 2–0 series sweep. They then advanced to the next matchup, where they would be playing Night Wings Gaming, who had former SCARZ player Kr1stal among their players. However, it wasn’t much of a battle, as Rare Atom won 2–0.
With the win, they advanced into the Playoffs of Ascension. Their first matchup was against Dragon Ranger Gaming, who would ultimately be the other team in the Grand Finals. Rare Atom won the first map easily, with a score of 13–2. The second one was a bit closer, but RA came out on top with a 13–10 victory to win the series 2–0. They now advanced to the Upper Finals, where they played against Attacking Soul Esports, who were considered the #2 team heading into this tournament. However, they looked extremely off in this matchup, only winning eight rounds through both maps. Rare Atom easily got the sweep with a 2–0 victory and advanced to the Grand Finals.
As mentioned before, the other team in the Grand Finals is Dragon Ranger Gaming. This team has had an up and down performance in VCT China Ascension so far, but they managed to pull through and qualify through the Lower Bracket for the big matchup.
Their journey in this tournament started with an opening matchup against 17 Gaming, who they won 2–1 against. The win advanced them to a matchup against #2 seeded team Attacking Soul Esports. In this series, they couldn’t seem to get anything going and lost 0–2. This sent sent them down into the Decider matchup. If they won, they would advance to the Playoffs, but if they lost, that would be it. After a few close maps against Four Angry Men, they managed to win 2–1 and advance to the Playoffs.
DRG’s first matchup in the Playoffs was against #1 seed Rare Atom. The first map was a huge blowout, as Rare Atom took the victory with a score of 13–2. Dragon Ranger Gaming tried coming back in the second map, but the deficit was too much and Rare Atom won the series 2–0. With the loss, DRG dropped down to the Lower Bracket. There, they played against Ninjas In Pajamas and took a convincing 2–0 victory to stay alive in the tournament.
Their next matchup, the Lower Finals, was the most crucial one yet. It was a best of five series against Attacking Soul Esports, who they lost to earlier in the tournament. ASE got off to a good start, winning the first map 13–7. DRG then put their foot on the gas and won 15–13 in an extremely close game which went into overtime. The series was now tied at 1–1. The third map, Bind, was another close one, but DRG ultimately got the win. The final score was 13–10. With the series now being 2–1 in favor of DRG, they just needed one more win to qualify for the Grand Finals. Attacking Soul Esports, however, wanted to put a dent into DRG’s plans by winning the next map. They did so and won 13–11 to tie the series up at 2–2. It all came down to the fifth map, which was Ascent. This was another extremely close game, with it going into overtime, but DRG was the one to come out on top, winning 15–13 and advancing to the Grand Finals.
Rare Atom and Dragon Ranger Gaming will meet once again in the Grand Finals, which is set to start at 4am EST / 10am CET on December 30th. A lot is on the line, as the winner will earn a two-year spot in the VCT China League.
