After the first day of the North American VCT Playoffs for Stage Two was over, we saw Evil Geniuses surprising once more by achieving their first VALORANT playoff match win 2-0 over Ghost Gaming.
Map one was the most incredible of the series as it took the teams to Ghost Gaming’s pick “Breeze”, where the team had an outstanding 18 game undefeated streak prior to this series. Sadly for Ghost Gaming, EG continuously managed to break their momentum and they were never able to come back and execute their game plan setups on attack.
Something to note is the absence of NiSMO from the first half of the map, who has been one of the top performing and growing VALORANT stars in NA so far this stage.
With EG leading 7-5 at the half, Ghost made the tactical decision to switch for an aggressive approach to the pistol round, which thankfully paid off as they took round 13. Things were looking up as usual, until EG robbed three of their attack rounds in a row and Ghost were forced to take a timeout. Eventually Ghost would lose their map pick after not being able to adjust to EG’s picks, with a final score line of 13-8.
Both organizations then headed to EG’s map choice in “Icebox”, which the casters reminded viewers was certainly not a guaranteed win for the team. After a heavy struggle in Stage One, many fans had really low expectations for EG leading into the middle section of the year. The team has approached most of their matches in Stage Two as definite underdogs, and this game was no different. However on Icebox, C0M and Boostio simply went nuts like something we have never seen before from them.
The coordination and teamwork within their executes was clear as water, with masterful positioning and rotations that would make EG take six rounds before Ghost could even get one on their score line. Thankfully for Ghost, they were able to come back with six quick and efficient rounds of their own to make the scoreline 6-6 at the half.
Nevertheless on defense everything went to shambles, EG showed up yet again, starting with one of their now staple pistol round wins. C0M, with his excellent ability usage, was able to stand in control on defense while avoiding overly aggressive play.
As the second half went into larger buy rounds, Boostio showed why he is one of the best Chamber masters in NA right now, not only using the adaptable agent’s ultimate ability with incredible aim work but also showcasing his game sense with the Operator, as his teleport usage was magnificent. Despite missing some earlier shots, Boostio hit others that left everyone losing their minds. C0M also continued to excel in the later rounds of the map. EG took Icebox 13-9, sweeping Ghost in a definite upset.
EG later clarified in an interview:
“We’re a different team now, we have a different morale” “There’s just a different vibe.”
Hopefully they can keep this momentum going, to really show their true potential.
