VALORANT observer catches amazing Sova/Omen pro play on Breeze

With the changes to Breeze, pro VALORANT teams are already looking to get a leg up on the competition with new tricks and strats to catch their opponents off guard. With months before the VCT 2024 season kicks off in full, a tier two team has come up with something incredible, and an observer caught it perfectly.

As part of the OFF//SEASON 2023 program, the Challengers DACH League is hosting a unique offseason event called Arcade, where the teams pick their opponents in the group stage and have a limited number of lives. It’s also one of the first pro events to feature the revamped Breeze in the active map pool.

The players on the VALORANT team for Ovation eSports, a small Swiss organization that’s competed in the DACH system for two years, have seemingly already cooked up something pretty fun and special on Breeze, using Sova’s Shock Dart, the chute that drops from tunnel to mid, and Omen’s teleport.

The Shock Dart lineup from the A site side of the mid connector ends up opening the chute hatch, which lets Omen, who ran out into mid from the same connector, teleport up and into the tunnel. Seeing as the tunnel has now been cut off in the new Breeze, this looks like it could be a really cool play.

Sadly, it didn’t catch the attackers off guard, as the attackers were close enough to the chute drop that they could hear the chute opening and hear the Omen teleport. Still, it prevents the attackers from taking either A Cave or Mid control quickly, allowing the defenders on Ovation to bleed time during the round. Ovation would go on to win the map.

As impressive as the play was on its own, the observer also deserves a tip of the cap for catching it. Observers, who do the in-game camera work for matches, are tasked with ensuring the action is always on screen, and are constantly monitoring where all 10 players are. The observer admittedly didn’t even know about the lineup but followed it on instinct, allowing the viewers to see the trick play in full.

Will this play make it into the eventual Breeze pro meta? Maybe, but more observers will be aware now and should catch it on screen if it does.