Madalyn Godfrey/Fourth Estate
Mason Valorant won in a 2-0 series to qualify for Last Chance Qualifiers
BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Editor’s Note: Players will be referred to by their gamer tags. Additionally, on Oct. 26, Mason Valorant won the MACS Championship and lost their LCQ match in a 2-0 series against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Oct. 28.
On Oct. 16, Mason’s Valorant team qualified for Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) after winning against Converse Purple (CVU) in a 2-0 series. Mason won 13-5 on Sunset and 13-7 on Icebox.
The attacking side’s goal was to get the spike down onto any map sites while the defending side’s goal was preventing the spike from being planted on any of the sites. Agents are characters that the players pick to play in the game. The agents’ abilities are used for planting the spike, stopping the spike from being planted or taking down the opponents.
Mason won the first round but CVU put Mason at a disadvantage in the next round creating a 2 v. 5 opportunity. With Mason’s Maxvince and Coco working together, Maxvince would get four kills as Coco got one.
Mason’s Soji got three kills using Neon’s ultimate overdrive with a setup from Mason’s substitute Tekkh using Breach’s Fault line, concussing the enemy team. With the chance to break a 5-5 tie, Mason initiated a retake on Sunset’s A site by bringing the fight to CVU.
After switching to the attacking side, Maxvince almost received an ace before Tekkh took the final kill. Mason would continue their dominant performance on the attack, taking the series 1-0.
To start Icebox, Soji gained three kills with a sheriff. In round eight, CVU tried to take the fight to Mason but Mason outshot CVU to win the round.
Mason’s Blaze clutched a 1 v. 3 through outsmarting CVU players by faking his Sova’s ultimate hunter fury, pretending to use his ultimate before putting it back.
With the chance to close out the series, CVU used Viper’s Pit on B site, causing health decay whenever the enemy team stepped in the pit. Additionally, CVU used Killjoy Ultimate Lockdown, causing players inside the circle to be unable to use abilities or weapons. Tekkh received an ace but CVU won the round as Mason was left with no time to defuse the spike.
To close out the series, Coco used Gekko Ultimate, Thrash. By using Thrash, it prevented the enemy team from using their abilities or weapons for six seconds. Coco detained two CVU players helping Mason retake B site and winning the series 2-0.
From Mason’s Valorant dominance in retaking sites, working together as a team using their agent abilities and playing to their style, the team earned third place in their division.