XERXIA Esports lost to FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) 2-1 in their opening match for Group B at the VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 2: Masters Copenhagen 2022.
Almost Secures Bind
XERXIA almost secured the first game of the series on Bind as they lost against FPX in overtime 12-14.
XERXIA wasted no time as they quickly challenged FPX and took the opening pistol round of the series. From there, XERXIA finished the first half 7-5 in their favor thanks to the mastery of lineups by Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut (Brimstone) and Nutchaphon “sScary” Matarat (Viper) with their respective agents.
In the second half, Thanachart “Surf” Rungapajaratkul’s put on a sniper masterclass with Chamber. Despite that, XERXIA still lost multiple rounds against FPX. It was their precarious site gambles, one on Round 21 and one on overtime, that backfired and caused their demise.
Claiming FPX’s Map Pick
With their backs against the wall, XERXIA took FPX’s map pick, Ascent, to equalize the series.
For this game, XERXIA opted to stick with their usual picks as they chose to let SScary run Astra over Omen (which was FPX’s Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov’s choice). They also paired KAY/O (Crws) with Fade (Itthirit “foxz” Ngamsaard), put Surf on Jett, and Panyawat “sushiboys” Subsiriroj on Killjoy.
XERXIA stumbled for a bit on the first two rounds of the game. It was thanks to Foxz’s brilliant Odin play on B Site at Round 3 that put them on the board which led to a 3-round rally. Eventually, they closed the first half with a 7-5 scoreline yet again.
For the second half, Surf’s immaculate accuracy shined as his Jett’s Bladestorm provided much value whenever it was up. They eventually closed the game 13-9 to guarantee themselves a bout on the third and final map of the series.
Loses Close Game at Haven
Unfortunately, XERXIA lost the close game and series against FPX at Haven 10-13.
Crws opened the finale of the series with a clutch 4K on a Frenzy in the opening pistol round. However, XERXIA immediately lost the next 4 rounds as they got rigorously decimated by FPX. Unlike the previous two games of the series, XERXIA only managed to secure five rounds in the first half this time around.
XERXIA then had a pretty optimistic start in the second half. The Thai representatives managed to secure the first two rounds of the second half, with the game pretty much in a back-and-forth situation from thereon. However, XERXIA wasn’t able to catch up in the end as FPX closed the series without mercy.
With this loss, XERXIA drops down to the lower bracket where they will meet NORTHEPTION in the elimination match of Group B.
