G2 Gozen earned a spot in VCT Game Changers grand finals after displaying absolute dominance against Rix Lightning in the upper bracket final today. Without losing a single game during the main event, G2 will look to add the EMEA Game Changers Series 2 title to their trophy case on Sunday.
In the upper bracket finals, the first map was picked by Rix, who brought the fight on the latest map released: Fracture. Even though G2 were the favorites coming into the match, there were some doubts about their performance on Fracture. They didn’t play at all on the map during this VCT GC Series Two, according to vlr.gg.
However, it was soon clear Fracture was not a problem for G2. The team quickly proved their prowess by winning five consecutive rounds on attack. Rix got some rounds back by pushing sites using almost all of their abilities, but G2 didn’t panic and quickly reached the fateful halftime score of 9-3. Rix nearly mounted a comeback after the second pistol round, but G2 were unstoppable after they mustered up enough resources to arm themselves with more than pistols. The two teams traded rounds, but G2’s lead during the attacking side brought them to a 12-7 score and gave them the map after a crucial one-vs-three play in round 16 from Petra.
Even though Rix chose the first map of the match, G2 looked as if they were one step ahead the entire time. Predicting the enemies’ rotations and retaining map control throughout the game allowed G2 to go to match point in the upper bracket finals. In the post-match interview, zAAz said the map choice doesn’t matter to G2: “every map we play, we do it with confidence.”
The fight moved to colder climates as G2 picked Icebox for the second map of the match. Both teams chose the same lineup of agents, but the question coming into the game was if Rix could handle the aggressive duo of Jett and Chamber early on in rounds. And the answer was yes.
Rix began the game in defense with a dominant pistol round, closing with a flawless rotation on A site. And for the first four rounds, there was no space for G2 to play, as Rix stacked up round wins with clean execution. They built their defense in a way that forced G2 to take risks that, in the end, didn’t pay off. But even after a tough attacking half, G2 got back up and opened the second with a four-kill courtesy of juliano’s Ghost.
If the first half of Icebox was more hard-fought than the previous map, the second half was a display of dominance from G2. With no signs of slowing down, G2 aggressively pushed their defensive lines while keeping map control, closing the second half of the game without losing a round.
Even if Rix put up a fight and put their opponents in a tough spot in some rounds, they were no match for G2, who showed dominance from the start of the series. From zAAz’s map control to mimi’s aggressive picks to Glance’s rotations, all players combined their individual skills to create a perfect synergy that seemed unbeatable, especially on defense.
G2 will face off with Guild X in the grand final, after Guild took down Rix in the lower bracket final. The best-of-five match will begin tomorrow, May 8, at 12pm CT. Viewers can watch the match on the official VALORANT twitch channel.
