Team Liquid have survived their elimination match against EDward Gaming at VALORANT Champions 2022. Liquid sent EDG home and advance to face Paper Rex at 10 a.m. ET on Sept. 7 for the final Group A playoffs slot.
EDG are the second team to be eliminated at Champions, right after BOOM Esports. Both EDG and BOOM are the two debut teams at Champions, both never having played at a Masters or Champions event prior to Istanbul.
“We definitely learned something,” EDG’s coach Lo “AfteR” Wen-hsin said in the post-match press conference. “You’ll see maybe the next time we compete.”
Prior to the East Asia Last Chance Qualifier, EDG had never competed in a VALORANT Champions Tour event. They came to Champions with high hopes and a lot of buzz surrounding them. Despite playing with a substitute, EDG put in an impressive performance against top teams like Liquid and Paper Rex.
“If anybody wants to flame someone from our team, please just flame me instead of my teammates,” Yongkang “ZmjjKK” Zheng said. “Thanks for all your support. We will come back stronger next time.”
Liquid overcome EDG in a close battle
Although Liquid lost their opening match of Champions 0-2 to Leviatán, there was no signs of weakness in their play against EDG. They played with supreme confidence, taking Bind convincingly. Breeze was closer, but Liquid secured it in overtime.
“The difference between this game and the other was more about energy,” Liquid’s coach Emil “eMIL” Sandgren said. “This game we really came in with 110 percent of maximum shouting, giving it our all.”
Team Liquid’s Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom had another fantastic series. He even brought out a Phoenix pick on Breeze. According to ScreaM, the recent buffs the agent received have made him viable in professional play.
ScreaM also shouted out EDG for putting up a solid showing at Champions.
“I believe they’re a really good team,” ScreaM said. “They’re very young though, and they still have to learn a lot … We didn’t underestimate them. We take them very seriously.”
Liquid now have some time to prepare for their match against Paper Rex. As the grand finalist from Masters Copenhagen, many will see Paper Rex as favorites to advance to the playoffs.
“It’s gonna be a fun match for sure,” Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen said. “They have a really fun play style. You know how to counter their aggression; I just stay in one corner with the AWP— with Operator. Excuse me, guys. Just kill one and TP back … I hope they play Yoru, my idol. It’s a very nice agent and I have huge respect for them for playing it. I wish I became a Yoru main at one point.”
“EDG and Paper Rex are kind of similar,” ScreaM said. “They’re very aggressive.”
