A score has been settled today, with South America coming out as the victors against their rivals at VCT LOCK//IN, the first international VALORANT tournament of the year.
The match between the titans LOUD and NRG saw two of the best teams in the world come up against each other to settle their differences. Each map was another page in the history books for the iconic rivalry to continue.
LOUD was victorious on the first map, and NRG came back on the second to even the score. But the third map ended with LOUD on top.
The rivalry began last year at VCT Stage 1 Masters in Reykjavík, Iceland. This was the first major tournament that saw the LOUD core come up against the former OpTic core, with yay and Marved at the time.
The second match between the two in the grand final ended with OpTic claiming victory to win the tournament, sending LOUD home in second place. It was the OpTic core’s first VCT LAN championship, as well as NA’s first major VALORANT title since Sentinels won the 2021 edition of Masters Reykjavik.
At VCT Stage 2 Masters in Copenhagen, Denmark, later that year in July, LOUD would be defeated once more by OpTic to be sent home in joint-12th place alongside XERXIA Esports.
At Champions in September last year, the most anticipated event on the VALORANT calendar, LOUD faced off against OpTic a staggering three times. Despite a defeat in their opening bout, LOUD would respond when it mattered.
LOUD managed to take down OpTic in the grand final to be crowned VALORANT Champions.
