NAOS Books Return Trip to VCT Ascension
By Niklas Arriola
The wings of victory will soar towards the international stage once again.
Filipino Valorant team NAOS Esports reigned supreme in the 2024 VALORANT Challengers Philippines Split 2, taking down rivals ZOL Esports in a thrilling 3-2 Finals series last July 31 at High Grounds Café, Quezon City.
Along with their third Challengers title, the blue and gold secured the final slot in the 2024 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT): Ascension Pacific happening in Tokyo this September.
Opening the series in Icebox, NAOS found momentum late in the first half to storm back from a 2-7 deficit, with a 1v2 clutch from sentinel Johnty “JA” Arone tying things up at 8-8.
The nip-and-tuck situation found both teams exchanging leads at the latter half of regulation, with the champions snatching the first map win in double overtime.
A more dominant showing for NAOS followed at Haven with a 13-3 trouncing led by Emmanuel “EmmanFPS” Morales lifting them to a 2-0 map lead.
In the brink of elimination, ZOL Esports retaliated back-to-back wins at Bind and Lotus, respectively, dragging the series to a decider.
Down 12-8 at Ascent, ZOL connected five consecutive round wins, pushing the game into extended play.
Despite the herculean efforts of their opposition, NAOS retained their composition to close out the contest in a 14-12 fashion.
NAOS duelist Jerome “Mojer” Literal had a remarkable performance as Jett, dropping a game-high 31 kills in Ascent and an Average Combat Score (ACS) of 208 in Icebox that led him to bag Match MVP plums for both maps.
EmmanFPS was hailed the MVP in Haven, topping the statistical race with a whopping 294 ACS from his 17/9/11 KDA.
Whilst in the threat of comebacks and even a reverse sweep, sticking to the plan was one of the crucial aspects NAOS banked on as the series went on.
“Okay lang kung humabol sila, basta magawa namin yung mga bagay na napagusapan naming at napag-practican namin.” NAOS JA shared during the post-match interview.
(“It’s okay if they catch up, what matters is that we will execute the things we’ve practiced and talked about.”)
On the other side, ZOL’s Christian “ZYND” Lopez registered a 294 ACS as Cypher in Bind while Patrick “PatMen” Mendoza came up big in Lotus with a 260 ACS with Killjoy.
Within a month from now, NAOS sets its sights on Tokyo, where it will battle 9 other Challengers champions from Asia and Oceania at the 2024 VCT Ascension Pacific.
The winner of the tournament will receive a lone bye towards VCT Pacific League 2025, the region’s highest VALORANT stage.
In last year’s edition, NAOS’ journey was cut short after being clipped by Japan’s SCARZ in a heartbreaking 1-2 semifinal bout.
“Siguro kasi yung laro namin before sa Ascension, parang medyo takot kami nung time the yon,” JA shared as one of the players present from last year’s roster.
(“Maybe our plays during [last year’s] Ascension, we were afraid [to make plays] during that time.”)
But this time, the sentinel believes that they gained the confidence to go farther in this time around. “This time, kayang-kaya na namin. Alam kong kayang-kaya naming kasi sobrang laking tiwala ko sa mga teammates ko ngayon eh, na kahit may sakit kaming tatlo (Mojer & Emman) [,naglaro kami ngayon]”
(“This time, we can do it. I know that we can do it because I really trust my teammates a lot right now, that even if the three of us (Mojer & Emman) are sick, we played today.”)
Meanwhile, ZOL Esports will be one of the country’s two representatives for the upcoming VALORANT Challengers 2024 Southeast Asia: Split 3.
