NAVI vs Kru VCT LOCK//IN: NAVI stamps their authority in the Omega Bracket with win over Kru.

Natus Vincere (NAVI) takes on Kru Esports (Kru) in their first match in the Omega Bracket at the VCT LOCK//IN tournament in Sao Paulo.

The former FPX roster has been the talk of the town since joining NAVI in the off-season. They were one of the strongest teams in the VCT last season, winning Masters 2 in Copenhagen and finishing in the Top 4 at Champions. And now that they have added former World Champion cNed to their ranks in-place of Ardiis, who now plays for NRG, the question surrounding this team will be if they can continue to be a powerhouse within the VCT this season.

Kru Esports have gone through a huge transformation of their own following on from their early exit at Champions 2022. With long time members Keznit and Mazino moving over to Leviatán, and Delz1k seeking pastures anew. But like with LOUD, it seems that Kru have taken a dive into the deep pool of LATAM players to fill that hole as they picked up young guns Daveey and Axeddy alongside Melser from Leviatán and Xand from Ninjas In Pyjamas. New man Axeddy has been picked ahead of Klaus for this match, meaning that Melser will be acting as IGL for the team.

The match began with a trip to Ascent for Map 1. NAVI came out swinging to take the first two rounds of the map. Kru managed to answer back with a round of their own. But the EMEA side took complete control of the map from that point on, with all of their players having pop off moments at one point or another. The duo of Ange1 and Zyppan were having a strong influence on the map alongside newcomer cNed who looked revitalized with his Jett play. All of which enabled NAVI to take a 9 - 3 lead into halftime.

Kru opened up the second half with two round win of their own as they attempted to mount a comeback. But their efforts were in vain as NAVI managed to regain control of proceedings very quickly in round 14 and from then on continued to act as an iron wall on their defense. And sure enough, NAVI managed to close out Ascent 13 - 5 to take a well-deserved 1 - 0 lead in the series.

NAVI opens proceedings on Lotus with a comfortable pistol round win. They follow it up with an equally dominant second round win before Kru manage to trade it out with two of their own. Kru continue to build off this swing in momentum as they amass a 4 - 2 lead. Thanks in part to a much more disciplined approach from the Americas League team as well as some very aggressive plays from Xand on the Neon. Whereas NAVI look far from the team that bullied Kru on Ascent. And as the lead continued to build for Kru, NAVI seemed to become more sporadic with their play calling. Allowing Kru to take a 9 - 3 lead into halftime.

NAVI manage to win the second pistol round as they attempt to claw their way back into Lotus. NAVI attempted to build off this early pressure once more, but were briefly interrupted by an unbelievable defuse play out of dAveeys in round 15. NAVI IGL Ange1 was having a monster of half, alongside Zyppan, to keep his side in the hunt. And they continued to pill the pressure onto Kru, who had seemingly disappeared after the first half.

All of the matches at the VCT LOCK//IN tournament are being livestreamed from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera venue in Sao Paulo. This single-elimination, bracket-style tournament features all 30 of the Franchise Teams competing in the VCT this season, alongside two Chinese teams who were invited to participate. Fans who wish to watch this NAVI vs Kru Omega Bracket matchup may do so by heading to the VALORANT Twitch channel.

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