Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks has made what may be the clutch of the season in a Champions 2022 playoffs match against DRX. Ardiis, who plays for FunPlus Phoenix, demolished the Korean side in a massive 1v3 clutch that sent the Turkish fans out of their seats.
Left by himself on the attacking side of Ascent in Overtime 1, ardiis made magic happen. The 24-year-old Latvian was able to get the bomb plant on A Site. In response, three members of DRX closed in for the re-take. In quick succession, ardiis decapitated all three, electrifying the crowd with one of the best clutches of 2022.
"THE MAN CAN DO NO WRONG" @ardiis | #VALORANTChampions pic.twitter.com/NDFKsN3qm2
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) September 9, 2022
In spite of the round win, FPX weren’t able to close out the map on their defense. The game continued into overtime after overtime. Both teams struggled to find an advantage, typically on their attack side.
Ardiis’s clutch wasn’t the only one in the slew of overtimes. DRX’s Kim “stax” Gu-taek found an impressive 1v2 to keep his team alive in Overtime 5, also on the A Site. Stax went nuclear again on the defense side of Overtime 6, leaping from Heaven to mow down FPX. The Korean star even stood up and kissed his mouse, playing it up for the crowd.
The momentum carried into DRX’s defense side and the marathon of a map finally came to a close. Although FPX had the play of the game, DRX took the map.
FPX are the defending champs from Masters Copenhagen. At Champions, the European team looked poised to go out in the group stage before they turned things around. Now, in the playoffs, they look to replicate their Copenhagen success with another first place finish.
DRX are the best team from Korea and one of the most consistent rosters in pro VALORANT. The team has struggled in the past during playoffs, but are looking to re-write that narrative at Champions.
