Update Dec. 3 9:08pm CT: Hours after the conclusion of the match, Riot ruled that Vivo Keyd’s Jonathan “JhoW” Glória used an exploit involving Cypher’s camera during the third map of the series, which Keyd initially won 13-8. Due to this, the six rounds in which JhoW used the exploit, as well as an additional round, have been awarded to Acend, meaning Acend have retroactively won the third map of the series by a score of 13-9.
The original article is below.
Vivo Keyd beat Acend in an intense three-game series today in Group A of VALORANT Champions, proving they shouldn’t be overlooked and can beat the dominant regions.
Many considered Vivo Keyd the underdogs against Acend, but they made it clear EU and NA won’t exclusively dominate this event. The Brazilian team started the series on Icebox with four round wins, which included an impressive 4K from murizzz in the pistol round. Heat also showed how talented he is with the Operator, hitting a beautiful shot in round four.
Acend did pull it together in the second part of the first half, winning six rounds to secure a 6-6 scoreline going into the second half. They also won the first two rounds in the second half, but Vivo Keyd were just as dominant on offense and won the next six rounds. It was mwerza’s turn to secure a 4K for his team in round 18, defending the planted Spike with an impressive spray through Viper’s smoke.
Acend attempted to stop the bleeding in round 21 and managed to defuse the Spike, but this only postponed the inevitable. Vivo Keyd closed the game in round 22 when heat defended the Spike in an incredible one-vs-two situation. Vivo Keyd took Icebox 13-9.
Bind was a different story for Acend. They dominated their map pick and only dropped three rounds in the first half on offense. Zeek pulled off a 4K in round seven and the entire Acend roster showed why Bind was their map pick. Vivo Keyd won the final two rounds in the first half, securing a 9-3 scoreline. But this time, the 9-3 curse didn’t play out. Acend were a stonewall on defense and didn’t drop a single round in the second half, closing the map 13-3.
The series came down to map three on Breeze and both teams fought tooth and nail to secure the win. Vivo Keyd won the first two rounds in the first half, but Acend immediately answered back with three round victories. Acend were about to win round six until Vivo Keyd’s mwerza pulled off a one-vs-three clutch to protect the Spike. This was the beginning of a five-round winning streak for Vivo Keyd and Acend only won one more round in the first half.
Vivo Keyd kept the momentum going in the second half by winning the first two rounds and Acend struggled to find their footing on offense. Acend managed to bring the game to an 8-12 scoreline by winning three rounds in a row, but Vivo Keyd closed out the series in round 21.
Vivo Keyd will face either Envy or X10 CRIT in the Group A winners match tomorrow at 11am CT. Acend will face the loser of the same match on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 8am CT.
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