Gen.G vs Talon Esports: Battle for survival for Munchkin and co.

The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific Kickoff event is in full swing, and we have the final few teams vying for the top slot. Today, one of these two teams will play their final match of the kickoff and the other will move ahead to the lower bracket final. Here’s everything you need to know about the Talon Esports vs Gen.G Esports series.

The first map of Bind was a very close affair between the two teams. There was little separating the two as the tussle between the attackers and defenders was a treat to watch.

The sixth round in particular saw Gekko's Thrash and the Orbital Strike put forth an excellent combination for a clean round win.

But it wasn't just cheeky combination plays that saw Gen.G win crucial rounds. Individual performances by Jung "Foxy9" Jae-sung saw Gen.G pick up a crucial round when it mattered the most.

However, towards the end of the map, it appeared that Talon simply did not have an answer to Gen.G's offense. Talon needed the first map of Bind if they wanted to have a shot at the series, and unfortunately, it was simply not to be. Talon had quite a few tricks in the first map, with the double controller, but Gen.G's raw firepower was more than enough to secure Map 1.

Gen.G seemed to have found their groove in the match against Talon. While the initial stages of the tournament might have suggested a lack of synergy for the team, this series against Talon unlocked their full potential. Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom is known to bring forth some excellent reads early in the round and that usually gives his team a massive advantage.

The story was similar in the first half as Gen.G had a great estimation of Talon Esports' game plan and execution.

With a 2-10 deficit, it was not a great situation for Talon esports. They lost the second pistol round as well, which meant they were just two rounds off of victory. It was only a matter of time before Gen.G sealed the series and will now face off against T1 esports in the lower bracket final tomorrow.

Talon will go up against Gen.G Esports in the lower bracket final today. The series will determine the fate of one team whether they move forth in the tournament. 

Talon won their inaugural match against Global Esports before falling to T1 Esports in the subsequent series. Yu "BuZz" Byung-chul had 52 kills in that series with a 1.75 ADR, marking a key difference between the two teams in the competition. But for Talon, the event wasn’t over. They flail down to the lower bracket, where they survived a spirited contest by Nongshim RedForce. 

This puts them against Gen.G in the lower bracket, a team that has had its fair share of struggles in this event. They lost to DRX in the upper bracket before a victory against Detonation FM saw them survive through to the semifinals. The team’s playstyle allows multiple players to shine and it is not dependent on one single player to lift the weight of performance. 

Gen.G has not had any big roster moves in the recent months, however, it did add Foxy9, Munchkin and Chae "yoman" Young-mun in October last year. With the added firepower and experience, it will be interesting to see if Gen.G progresses further in this tournament. 

The series will stream live on Twitch. We have embedded the stream below for your convenience.

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