Student Champs 2022-23 – Valorant Week 6 Recap

On the 23rd November, we welcomed Valorant back to the British Esports Student
Champs stream, where four teams went head to head to gain points in the Winter
Group Stages.

Tommy looks back at all of the action between Wilmington Academy and Luxinate, and
Tameside Devastators and Newcastle Tigers.

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Broadcast Talent:

EkoCasts – Caster

Kairo – Caster

Vlad ‘WaXeN’ Catusanu – Host

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Game One – Wilmington Academy Vs Luxinate on Breeze:

Wilmington:

Mslimak – KAY/O
Lucas – Sova
Prime – Chamber
Souhl – Jett
JD – Viper

Luxinate:

Tricky – Viper
Bea – Sova
Osmosis – Neon
Daddy ion – KAY/O
Ripper – Chamber

The British Esports Federation welcomes back Valorant to the Student Champs live
circuit with a match-up between Wilmington Academy and Northgate Sixth-form
(Luxinate). Luxinate were the favourites coming into this game, performing strongly in
both their previous games, but underdog stories are prolific in Valorant so hopes were
set high upon the side of Wilmington.

Luxinate began on the attacking side and didn’t waste the opportunity to dictate the
pace of the game. They cracked open Wilmington’s defence on B with immense speed
and fell upon the rest of the team like a sledgehammer. The subsequent rounds followed suit with unceasing aggression and speed courtesy of Neon’s(Osmosis’) unpredictability. Luxinate made
excellent use of Mid, often splitting the team down A or B to compliment such aggressiveness.

Over-peaks from Wilmington allowed the attackers to secure consistent player
advantages and Northgate were always there to capitalise. In a blink of the eye it was
round four and the money was flowing for the attackers whilst no points were on the
board for Wilmington. Once again, Luxinate flooded the map and like crashing rapids
they barreled towards B. The attacking Chamber(Ripper) opened things up with a first
blood on Viper(JD) but Souhl on Jett smacked down this brazen confidence with an
effortless 4 kills in 4 seconds, refusing Luxinate entry on to his site. Ripper snapped
back with a crushing ace and sealed the half at 9-3 in favour of Luxinate.

Wilmington, now on the attacking side, managed to secure a round with impressive
positioning, catching players off guard with surprising gun battles, but couldn’t seem to
translate this capital into any momentum. Luxinate refused to give any space to
Wilmington – by fully utilising Neon’s capacity for speed to conquer space at the start of
each round, Mid control was unequivocally Northgate’s. Breeze is a map that replies on
Mid control and it was clear Luxinate knew this. Little breathing room was left for
Wilmingtonand this boa-constrictor strategy led to a dominant second half and ultimately
a 13-4 win. Another match win for Luxinate solidifies them as a formidable force within
the Student Champs, and this inevitably comes with more and more attentive eyes
looking to take them down.

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Game two – Tameside Devastators vs Newcastle Tigers on Icebox:

Tameside:

Darkraven – Viper
Kketza – Chamber
S2Cspicy – Fade
Lannox – Jett
EnvvyEU – Sage

Tigers:

Swerf – Reyna
Rolfe – Fade
Kirua – Chamber
Kraynz – KAY/O
Emi – Viper

Our second game of the day between Tameside Devastators and the NSCG Tigers
promised fireworks, with both teams eager to put on a show.

Straight out of the starting gate both teams were going kill for kill, each round coming
down to 1v1 gun battles – when one team gained momentum the other would steal it out
of their possession. Tigers on the attacking side led their aggression down A, B and Mid
but when the score line hit 4-3, with Tameside in the lead, the Devastators really came
into their own on the defence. Lannox proved he belonged on Jett by consistently
drawing first bloods for Tameside, taking aggressive positions, and proving the best
defence is a good offence. A stellar performance from Lannox set the mood for the
Tameside team. Each player was radiating a controlled type of confidence, only ego
peaking when they could afford to and it paid dividends. This seemed to slow down the
NSCG Tigers’ pace and introduce a sense of doubt into their decisions. It was
unfortunate for the Tigers, confronted with a defensive offensive they couldn’t seem to
reset. The half ended 8-4 to the Devastators – Lannox on cleaning up nicely.

With Tameside now on the attacking side, we saw an immediate change in
temperament. Instead of maintaining that energetic play style that became typical of
them on defence, they slowed everything down, swinging between A and B and not
allowing any information to be garnered by the Tigers. This mental game left NSCG
unsure if they were coming or going. Down 10-4 the Tigers managed to shut down the
attackers’ bonus round and convert that into another win. Huge potential was present at
this point for NSCG but the rapidly changing strategies of Tameside left them
whip-lashed. With such a cash advantage Tameside stole the final round and in turn the
match. The Tameside players were firing on all cylinders in this game but Lannox
appeared to have something to prove. The rounds were closer than the score line
implied but it came down to an MVP Jett getting highly creative and catching a good
vibe. Tameside is going to be one to watch going forward.

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Looking for more Student Champs action? We will be streaming matches live on the British Esports Twitch channel every Wednesday at 4pm during the academic year – so stay tuned for more action!

As well as this, we will also be streaming matches from the Overwatch 2 Women in Esports division live every week on the WIE Twitch channel.