Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Fnatic take on Chinese rising stars BLG in this showdown for Champions 2023 Playoffs spot

Last night we saw perhaps the upset of the tournament (Champions 2023) occur when Chinese 2nd seed Bilibili Gaming (BLG) took down NRG Esports (2nd seed from Americas). Many fans and pundits came into this matchup with the expectation that this would be easy first match for NRG. Initially, NRG looked very much in their element and were quickly up with a strong lead against BLG. However, the confidence was short-lived as BLG began waking up, proving that EDG was not the only team that could deliver internationally. After a long battle on Lotus, filled with incredible moments and heart-pounding clutches, BLG took the first map. Heading into Split, NRG looked far more tilted after the close loss on the previous map. BLG’s unorthodox and aggressive playstyle ended up allowing them to win the series 2 nil against NRG.

On the other side of the bracket, we saw Valorant royalty, Fnatic, finally descend on Los Angeles for their first series. Against them stood persistent challengers ZETA Division, who perhaps had the hardest first round matchup. ZETA showed plenty of promise and interesting plays, however, were not able to fully capitalize on all the advantages they created against Fnatic, ending in a 2-0 victory for the EMEA powerhouse.

New Stars Rising

Before Champions 2023, EDG was considered the one true threat from China. FPX’s loss to EG the day before also seemed to cement this sentiment. However, the narrative has now shifted with BLG’s victory over NRG. Now, China was no longer a one-team region narratively. Internationally, other teams have proven they can contend with the other region’s representatives.

“On the biggest tournament stage, I can still prove to myself that I am not weaker than anyone else.”

At the post-game interview, Wang “whz” Haozhe spoke on his personal struggles and doubts before their win over NRG. ‘I must say, today’s win really boosted my confidence by a lot. Because previously, maybe in the domestic tournaments, sometimes I didn’t manage to show a very good performance, and sometimes my momentum and mentality went up and down. So, after today’s game, it feels like for me, I can still have a gorgeous performance on this kind of international stage. On the biggest tournament stage, I can still prove to myself that I am not weaker than anyone else,’ he said.

“They didn’t think we could win the game; they had no expectations of us; but we proved them wrong.”

Haozhe also addressed the aura in the arena, stating that, ‘I believe before today’s game, most of the audience, they just looked down on us and underestimated us. They didn’t think we could win the game; they had no expectations of us; but we proved them wrong. We proved that we could win the game. He also thanked the fans, stating: ‘I would really like to give my appreciation to all the people, all the audience, all the fans that kept supporting us and cheering us up. I would like to give my thanks to all of them.’

As a follow-up to a recent controversial statement by Evil Geniuses Kelden “Boostio” Pupello that ‘China will never be better than NA for one in Valorant,’ Strafe Esports asked BLG on their thoughts of the statement. According to Kelden, China was too far behind the rest of the world to feasibly catch up in terms of experience. Despite that, both FPX and BLG have now proven that they can contend. EG vs FPX was a closer series than the scoreline may indicate, while as mentioned, BLG managed to take down NRG 2-0.

(Strafe Esports) After EDG’s run at Masters Tokyo, a lot of eyes were turned on to the Chinese scene and the exciting talent that was growing in the region. However, there were doubts from players such as Evil Geniuses Boostio for example, who most recently said that he thought the Chinese scene would never catch up to the rest of the world. What do you have to say to that?

“Maybe if Boaster was on EG, EG would have won first place.”

Liu “Knight” Yuxiang’s response was swift and brutal. ‘It takes time, we will get better slowly. But after all, the skepticism came from the second-place finisher not the first. Perhaps if his name was Boaster and not Boostio, it would mean more. Maybe if Boaster was on EG, EG would have won first place,’ he said calmly.

Run it Back

If yesterday’s match was any indication, Fnatic have little issues in dealing with less experienced teams. ZETA was by no means a weak team and Fnatic still dispatched them in record time, making a statement to the rest of the world that they had arrived. BLG will now face them in their second ever international series.

Despite the towering difference in experience, BLG were not shying away. “Knight” spoke on his feelings at Champions so far. ‘Definitely this is our first international event, but it feels like maybe the competition…we still haven’t felt very high competitiveness on the Champions stage. Because even in our domestic tournaments, we were able to face a lot of pressure, but it feels like we would just like to try our best. Hopefully the whole BLG, we can evolve and do even better in the future,’ he stated.

“They want to play us. I want to play them. It’s going to be a banger, so let’s get it.”

Fnatic for their part, displayed no compunction and were open on the fact that they were not pulling any punches. Jake “Boaster” Howlett spoke on his preparations and thoughts on BLG, stating: ‘Actually we have been scrimming EDG this event, so we got a little taste of that firepower, some of that heavy-duty swinging. So, I think, yeah, we’re ready. It’s going to be fun though. First time playing a Chinese team, and BLG are no pushovers, so it’s cool. I like it.’ He also displayed absolute glee at the upcoming series, saying, ‘I know for a fact they definitely want to play us. So yeah, they want to play us. I want to play them. It’s going to be a banger, so let’s get it.’

People’s Champion

The last portion of this article will include pieces of the press conference where both IGLs, Koji “Laz” Ushida and “Boaster” shared a heart-warming story. As it goes, “Laz” had earlier reached out to “Boaster” for tips on IGL-ing, to which the latter had offered tips and constructive criticism. The two also had nothing but praise for one another after the series.

‘It wasn’t like a normal match, of course. But I was more happy and excited to be facing the best team in the world,’ Koji responded. Jake for his part, pointed out how despite what the scoreline indicated, ZETA’s performance was praiseworthy. ‘The scoreline says 2 nil and 13…I can’t remember the actual scoreline, but it was a closer game than the scoreline shows, I’d say,’ he said. Jake also went on to praise their gameplay, stating that: ‘I think they had some nice stuff. I think the thing that was holding them back, I think they were a bit scared to play us a little bit at the start. They were doing pushes, but they weren’t fully committing with it. I think if they had tried to abuse that and went in full headstrong, I think it could have been even closer of a game. So I think, yeah, they’re definitely good. I think they just need…umm, I’m not really sure what they need to be fair.’ ‘Confidence,’ Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder chimed in. ‘Yeah,’ Jake responded. ‘They’re good.’

Fnatic will take on BLG on the 10th of August at 0200 BST. Follow Strafe Esports for all the latest coverage on Valorant Champions 2023 and all other esports related news.

Credit: Liu YiCun/Riot Games