Cloud9 Blue bested Rise Nation at the VCT 2021- North American Last Chance Qualifier grand finals on Sunday. The team is awarded the lion’s share of the event’s $100,000 prize pool, $40,000. Additionally, C9B secured themselves a coveted spot at VALORANT Champions Berlin 2021.
On October 28, Rise Nation defeated Cloud9 2-1 in a best-of-three match. The first two maps of the series were competitive. On map one, Rise fought hard for a 15-13 win on C9B’s map choice, Breeze. Then, C9B answered back with a 14-12 win on Ascent. However, C9B was shut out on map three, losing 4-13 on Haven. Rise moved on to the upper bracket final and trumped 100 Thieves for a grand final’s spot. After being relegated to the lower bracket, Cloud9 performed well. The squad swept the remaining lower bracket matches, leaving Gen.G Esports, XSET, and 100 Thieves in their wake.
Cloud9 Blue sweeps the grand finals
The grand finals brought the teams together for a new best-of-five match-up. While Rise Nation qualified through the upper bracket, the squad was not awarded a map advantage. Community predictions on Spike.GG indicated fans were confident C9B would come out on top, with 73% of votes in their favor.
Similar to their initial match on Oct.28, C9B picked Breeze. While Rise Nation were able to pick up the win on Breeze at their first meeting, C9B came prepared to win this time. C9B had a confident performance and ended the map 13-8 over Rise. Next, Rise were demolished on their map choice, Split. The upper bracket winners were handed a 0-13 loss by C9B. Lastly, the squads went head-to-head on Bind. While map three was significantly more competitive than the first two maps, C9B finished the series with a 13-11 win.
Throughout the series, not a single C9B member failed to perform. Notably, Erick “Xeppaa” Bach finished the series +23 in kills, 1.66 K/D, and 190 ADR. Coming in second was Nathan “leaf” Orf, with an impactful 151.7 ADR and 1.31 K/D.
As VCT 2021- North American Last Chance Qualifier champs, C9B will move to the highly anticipated VALORANT Champions 2021 in Berlin, Germany. Sixteen teams across all VCT tour regions will compete beginning December 1.
