VCT LOCK//IN is here! Which team will be the first to be eliminated from Sao Paulo?
The first VALORANT international event of the year is finally here! It will be KOI vs NRG Esports to kick off the 32-team event here in Sao Paulo, Brazil. NRG's core, formally OpTic Gaming, will be looking to pick up right where they left off, international dominance. For KOI this is a chance to prove to the world there are new contenders in town.
Here are the live results for KOI vs NRG Esports:
Team 1 | Team 2 | Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOI | NRG Esports | NRG 13-11 (Icebox) | NRG 13-9 (Haven) | N/A | NRG 2-0 |
KOI and NRG are bringing in the firepower
Although they are no longer part of the Greenwall, this is a big opportunity for the NRG squad to put down an early marker to the rest of the competition. OpTic Gaming finished no lower than third place at every international event. With Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker out, Ardis 'ardiis' Svarenieks will now be called upon to do the heavy lifting for the NA squad.
Another team that is filled with international experience is KOI. The EMEA squad boasters Sheydos, formally of Gambit/M3C - Masters Berlin champions. KOI also is bringing in a world champion to bolster their attack in the form of starxo who won Champions in 2021 with Acend. Rounding out the KOI roster is koldamenta, trexx, and Wolfen.
The NA 9-3 curse is back in game one of 2023
The North American 9-3 curse is already in full force in VCT 2023. After a dominant first half for KOI, NRG Esports was able to come out of the gates hot on their attacking side to snatch the first map away from the EMEA side. A player to commend in this half was s0m. The North American player is making his debut on the international stage and put in a respectable performance.
NRG s0m ended up with an incredible scoreline that was worthy of the international stage. s0m had the highest player rating on the server according to VLR.gg at 1.42. s0m also had the second highest ACS in the server at 295, only KOI's trexx had higher (304).
Related articles
NRG progresses to the next round after Haven win
This was an important win for NRG Esports. The expectations for this roster are very high and many may have been worried considering how the first half of Icebox went. Although it would be premature to say they looked like the 'OpTic of old', ardiis looked a lot more settled in game two and put up a very solid performance alongside his teammate crashies.
Ardiis put up the second most kills in the server with 16 on the Jett, an agent he looked far more comfortable on than Sage. The early kills that ardiis was able to get were vital to NRG's performance. On NRG's attack side ardiis picked up six first kills, which to put into context KOI had eight overall first kills the entire game.
Where can I watch KOI vs NRG Esports?
VCT LOCK//IN 2023 will host every team that is competing in the three VALORANT franchised leagues along with two representatives from China. The defending world champions LOUD are looking to make it back-to-back international victories, will the Americas' squad do it?
Fans will be able to watch KOI vs NRG Esports on the official VALORANT Twitch channel. This will be the main broadcast for every game in Sao Paulo.
To keep up to date with all of the action, please head on over to our results page.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest VALORANT esports news and updates.
