King Slayers: EDG faced off against NA’VI for a chance at a rematch and survival

EMEA’s 4th seed representatives Natus Vincere find themselves backs against the walls after an early defeat to NRG sent them to the lower bracket yesterday. Meanwhile, rising Valorant stars EDG seek to stake their first international win on the big stage against one of Valorant’s most decorated roster. The stakes have never been higher for either team; and the passion on stage was electric as they battled for continued survival in the VCT Masters Tokyo Group Stage.  

After two incredible maps, EDG finally closed out NA’VI, sending them home. With interweaving emotions and storylines, here is the narrative breakdown of the series.

There’s not enough room on the door

Thanks to Fnatic’s victory at VCT LOCK//IN earlier this year, EMEA was granted a fourth slot to VCT Masters: Tokyo. The caveat was- it was a one-time ticket. VCT Champions 2023 would only allow the top three from each international league to receive invitations. Any other representatives from the region would have to battle through the little-anticipated Last Chance Qualifier.

Team Liquid, Fnatic, FUT Esports, and Natus Vincere finished in the top 4 of VCT EMEA. However, one of them was not making it to Champions 2023 the easy way. The cruel joke for these 4 EMEA teams was that Tokyo, for them, wasn’t just a battleground against other teams from the other international leagues. It was also a test of endurance amongst the four of them. The one to break first, would face the LCQ.

Thus, after their loss to NRG in their opening bout, NA’VI faced a worrying prospect. Pray FUT didn’t win their elimination match or win their own against a frightening Chinese opposition. Then FUT went and won their match. And now NA’VI had to win theirs to stay in the race.

Self-Introspection

Much like DRX, Fnatic, and LOUD, NA’VI is/was considered one of Valorant’s premier teams, a top contender for any trophy. Part of it is their incredible lineup of talent. Part of it is their eagle-eyed IGL, who specialized in orchestrating series like a practiced conductor. After finishing second in the VCT EMEA regular split, many were already assuring themselves that NA’VI was as good as in Masters and Champions. They’re so good, they’re fantastic, how could they fail?

And then Playoffs happened. Liquid faced off against them. It was predicted to be close. But it was NA’VI. And when the chips were down, NA’VI seldom lost. And then they did. Later on, they faced FUT for third seed. And again, they lost. Something had faltered. They had been an immaculate machine since their formation. LOCK//IN had showed that. And yet, something wasn’t working for them anymore. Games were closer, it looked harder to close out maps and series. Heading into VCT Masters Tokyo, NA’VI still had their fearsome reputation. But they weren’t heavy favorites to make deep runs anymore. There was cautious optimism. There were even logical conclusions. But the certainty. That, was missing.

In the post-match interview, Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren spoke on their performance on Pearl, a map they normally look rock-steady on. He said, ‘I think in moments, in important moments, they outplayed us. I think we lost a lot of 2v1s, a lot of 1v1s that we usually win if we’re on point.’ He went on to admit, ‘but today, we were not on point, a lot of details were missing, and they took advantage of it. So yeah.’

Inner Demons and Finally First Sweet Victory

EDG had faced this demon before. They had attended Champions 2023. They had attended LOCK//IN. A total of three series played internationally. Masters Tokyo thus far, would make four and five. Each time, EDG had fallen at the first hurdle. They’d gotten close, shown promise, made the opponent sweat, but they were missing that something.

Having lost their opening bout once again, this time to Pacific’s 3rd seed, T1, they faced the familiar wall of elimination once more. NA’VI stood between EDG and not only elimination from VCT Masters Tokyo, but also their region’s first series victory at an international event. Star and sniper prodigy Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang faced his toughest opponent yet in Turkish sniper Mehmet "cNed" İpek.

Not only that, but narratively, and perhaps fittingly, the first map of the series against NA’VI was Pearl, a map that EDG has played three times in their three series. Each time, they have lost on Pearl. It was only fitting their first victory would be on Pearl too. In a dream run of a series, EDG swept aside earlier criticisms and failures, to wipe clean the slate. One of the greatest highlights from the series was the sheer amount of clutches and late-round pullbacks that EDG was able to do against NA’VI. Zhang “Smoggy” Zhao in particular, was instrumental in EDG’s performance on Pearl, with multiple jaw-dropping multi-kills and rounds.

When asked their secret behind their great success rate when it comes to being down on numbers and pulling off these insane clutches, “Smoggy” had this to say: ‘I think what counts most is communication. You have to check your teammate’s position and try to make contact with your teammates.’

Trendsetters Perhaps?

The agent Gekko hasn’t received as much love as some of the others on release. Whilst the creature-laden agent is loaded with utility, he’s also difficult to craft compositions and strategies around. This leaves him in an odd position of unbridled potential that is difficult to fulfil. FUT, T1, and now EDG have thus far brought Gekko onto the main stage. Whilst FUT and T1 both lost with Gekko, EDG are the first to deliver victory for the ‘little guy.’ Moreover, it was fan-favorite player of the day, Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang to deliver it.

He even brough out an Attacker sided Gekko OP, the madlad…

When asked in the post-match press conference, EDG head coach Lo “AfteR” wen-hsin had this to say:

Gekko is not a common pick in professional Valorant recently. Can you take me through why Gekko fit for your team composition in this game? And also, why you wanted ZmjjKK on Gekko?

So, I think Gekko, this agent himself, he is very flexible and also very good on this map. He can boost or maximize what ZmjjKK is capable of on this map. Also, he can have a very good effect that can combine when you place your operator on the front site and the back site can combine together. It doesn’t need to or force his teammates to push and create space for him to do the breakthrough. And it would provide a pretty good room for him to use the operator and have a better performance. Also, it could help Smoggy to play on Operator better to have a stronger effect on this map. So, I think it will increase our winrate on Attack side on this map.

EDG live to fight another day and now have to face a rematch against T1. Should they win, they earn a spot in Playoffs, top 8. That would a momentous occasion for the Chinese team and fanbase. NA’VI, meanwhile, exit VCT Masters Tokyo.

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