NAOS Esports sweeps Rapid Lofi, ZOL Esports tripped by Alter Ego in VCL SEA Split 3 playoffs

NAOS Esports sweeps Rapid Lofi, ZOL Esports tripped by Alter Ego in VCL SEA Split 3 playoffs

Two Filipino teams start their Valorant Challengers 2024 Southeast Asia Split 3 as the tournament’s Stage 3 playoffs commence.

Six teams across SEA received direct invites and two more teams will qualify after two qualification stages, with NAOS Esports getting the direct invite and ZOL Esports qualifying after a successful Stage 2 campaign.

NAOS extends Rapid Lofi’s losing skid

Filipino side NAOS Esports started their VCL SEA 2024 Split 3 campaign on a high note after grabbing a 2-0 win over Vietnam’s Rapid Lofi last Wednesday.

It was a good start for the Filipino side as they entered the first match with an 8-4 lead before the break, but the Vietnamese quintet answered back to tie the series 12-12 including a five-straight round win.

Both teams scored three rounds more to extend the game to a 15-15 standoff before NAOS grabbed two straight rounds to win the match with Johnty “JA” Arone’s Omen leading the way with 27 kills.

NAOS stepped up a notch in the second game and limited Rapid Lofi to just three rounds before the break while getting nine of their own, before closing the series with a 13-6 win in Haven with Jerome “Mojer” Literal who led NAOS this time with 17 kills using Neon.

The team will next face Thailand’s Made in Thailand on November 20 while Rapid Lofi, on their third straight loss, will face another Thai team in FULL SENSE in the lower bracket.

Not the ideal start for ZOL

ZOL Esports’ campaign in Stage 3 didn’t came out as planned as they were hammered by Indonesia’s Alter Ego Esports last Thursday.

The Indonesians quickly established their dominance inside Split as they grab a 9-3 lead over the Stage 2 winners, including four straight rounds before the break.

ZOL fought back with winning four rounds but AE answered with four of their own including two straight wins to take a 1-0 lead, 13 rounds to 7, with Patrick “Patmen” Mendoza leading the Filipinos with 19 kills including six first kills.

It was a much closer affair for the two sides with them splitting the rounds 6-6 even at the break.

The two teams went head-to-head until round 20 where AE took off and secure a commanding 12-10 lead before sealing the deal in round 24, ending the series 13-11.

Davin “gotten” led the Indonesians with 23 kills with Omen, while Patmen’s Neon led the Filipinos with 17 kills.

ZOL will face Hong Kong-based side Oblivion Force in the lower bracket on November 19.