We’ve all had our panic moments in VALORANT, and the reason that pro players reach the level that they do isn’t just because of their pure mechanical skill but how they respond to those panic moments. And in a pivotal moment where panic would set in, Moist Moguls player Brady “thief” Dever kept his composure to help deliver a major victory.
Moist Moguls have been on a hot streak since the start of the second split of the NA VALORANT Challengers season, having won seven straight matches. On Friday, they faced their biggest test yet, a rematch against a highly capable roster on The Guard whom Moist Moguls narrowly defeated in a close, marathon three-map series a month prior.
Related: All five former Ghost VALORANT players will face off in Americas Ascension decider
As is the case with these teams, the maps were close again, with Moist Moguls barely squeaking by on Haven 13-10 to start the series. Bind was just as close, with Moist holding onto a close 11-10 lead late in the second half on offense. Moist was at risk of throwing a half-buy round to The Guard, with only thief alive in a 1v3 post-plant, with two defenders cornering him on the B site.
But he’s called thief for a reason, and the former member of Ghost Gaming stole the round for Moist. With his Vandal clip empty from spraying down trent, and sitting at only 24 points of health, he smoked valyn with two Shorty taps, but was left with no ammo in either weapon with JonahP sitting right next to him. With his back literally against the wall, all he could do was to pull out Brimstone’s molotov launcher and fire.
It cannot be understated how close this was: there could not be any less time between when thief fired the molotov and when JonahP killed him. But he did get the molotov off, and with the spike timer going down, JonahP cannot afford to wait. He dove on the spike and started defusing just before the molotov expired, but he didn’t have the health to survive the flames.
Over on Ludwig’s co-stream, the Moist co-owner was in disbelief. “How does your brain function at that rate?” he asked with his hands on his head. With the round putting Moist up 12-10, the team executed onto the A site, and brawk clutched the 1v2 as the remaining players on The Guard swung and lined up for him.
The clutches from Moist secured their seventh straight match win, their ninth straight map, and a spot in the upper finals of the NA Challengers playoffs, meaning they just need to win one more match to make it to Ascension. Standing in the way are some very familiar foes in M80.
