VCT EMEA LCQ: Giants brush aside Karmine Corp to reach the upper bracket final

We have an interesting match on our hands to end another action-packed day of VALORANT in the form of Giants versus Karmine Corp in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: EMEA Last Chance Qualifier (VCT EMEA LCQ). You can follow all of the action here.

Karmine Corp players were the surprise victors in their last match at the VCT EMEA LCQ where they took down BBL Esports 2-1. Although they showed some signs of improvement since the conclusion of the regular season back in May, the same old problems lingered across this Karmine Corp roster throughout the match. Today, they find themselves going up against their toughest test of the LCQ in the form of Giants.

The Spanish organization is seen as one of the heavy favorites to secure one of the two remaining slots for Champions 2023 given that they finished fourth in the regular season. They may have missed out on a place at Masters Tokyo, but given that there are only five other teams competing in this tournament, including their opponents today, Giants will likely be feeling confident about getting to Los Angeles — especially if they can show the same level of consistency that they had during the regular season.

This has the makings of a David versus Goliath matchup in the VCT EMEA LCQ, with all signs pointing towards a Giants win. But if we have learned anything throughout this whole season, it is that you can never truly count anybody out of any given match.

We begin with a trip to Pearl, courtesy of Karmine Corp. It's a map which they have not played in a competitive match since LOCK//IN. And they opt to fully commit to this trip into the unknown as they go with a double controller composition with Sh1n on Astra instead of Viper and ScreaM picking Phoenix. Giants, on the other hand, go for a fairly standard double initiator setup.

Giants take the opening pistol round and come up with a flawless performance in their anti-eco to begin their defensive half. Karmine Corp snatch Giants' bonus away from them, but it proves to be a costly affair for them. The half descends into a scrappy affair, but Giants maintain a strong hold over the map with a 6-2 lead. The lead continues to grow for Giants off the back of a couple of blunders from Karmine Corp. And they are rewarded for their efforts as they are able to take a commanding 9-3 lead into halftime.

Karmine Corp secure the second pistol round as well as their anti-eco to get things going in the second half. Things get a little dicey between the two teams as Karmine Corp begins to pile the pressure onto a shaky Giants team. Nevertheless, Giants are able to maintain a slim lead over their French rivals, despite a massive blunder by Rhyme. Giants reach map point at 12-9, but Karmine Corp continues to make it an uneasy affair. The Frenchmen almost manage to force the map into overtime. Despite their best efforts, Giants deny any last minute heroics to close out Pearl 13 - 11 and take a 1 - 0 lead in the series.

After coming out on top of a cagey contest on Pearl, Giants bring us over to Split for the second map of this series. Both sides go into a mirror matchup, with each of them utilizing a double initiator agent composition.

Giants win the opening pistol round and are able to convert on their anti-eco to kickstart their attack half. Karmine Corp answer back immediately to deny Giants' their bonus round. Giants are able to brush it off though, as they are able to establish an early lead at 5-1. ZE1SH comes up clutch for Karmine Corp off of their first timeout to give the French side their second round of the map. But it does little to trouble Giants, who continue to outplay their opponents at every turn — allowing Giants to take an overwhelming 10-2 lead into halftime.

Giants barely come out on top in the second pistol round, but they come up with a much more convincing display in their anti-eco to hit match point at 12-2. A 1v3 clutch from Sh1n gives Karmine Corp their first round of the half as they attempt to mount a late comeback. But just as it looked as though things might be turning around for Karmine Corp in this map, Hoody shows up in time to slam the door in their faces with a clutch defuse, leaving Giants to walk away with a 13-5 win on Split, the series 2-1, as well as a place in the VCT EMEA LCQ upper bracket final.

Three EMEA League teams have already secured their spots at Champions 2023 later this year. And thanks to Fnatic's victory at Masters Tokyo, there are a total of two spots up for grabs amongst the remaining six teams here at the VCT EMEA LCQ. Fans who wish to watch the Giants versus Karmine Corp VCT EMEA LCQ match may do so by heading to the league's Twitch and YouTube channels. You may also tune in via the embed stream link down below in case you don't wish to leave this page.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and VALORANT coverage throughout the VCT 2023 season.