Velocity Gaming has been knocked out of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) APAC Stage-1 Challengers after a disappointing loss against the Philippines' South Built Esports today. The Filipino side made their way through to the Playoffs, becoming the last team to qualify by eliminating the South Asian champions.
After making a dominating start to the campaign by defeating Hong Kong side Oblivion Force, Velocity Gaming made its mark on the global stage once again. However, they lost their momentum after that and conceded back-to-back games against Thailand's Full Sense and Philippines' South Built Esports and are now out of the competition.
Velocity Gaming was defeated on straight maps against South Built Esports, which led to their immediate defeat. With their elimination, it is the end of South Asia's journey in the VCT APAC Stage-1 Challengers.
Velocity Gaming eliminated from the VCT APAC Stage-1 Challengers:
Velocity Gaming went up against South Built Esports in the final game of Group-D. In their last game, the Indian side dropped into the lower bracket after losing against Full Sense. On the other hand, South Built Esports won against Oblivion Force in their last game after the defeat against Full Sense in their first match of the competition.
The two teams faced each other in a best-of-three series with Playoff qualification at stake in this match. With matchups on Ascent (13-11) and Haven (13-6) concluding with disappointing losses, Velocity Gaming missed the opportunity to perform in the Playoffs.
Velocity Gaming gained the advantage at the start of the match on Ascent and was in the driving seat for most of the map. However, they failed to close out the map, and South Built Esports took advantage of their mistakes. The Filipino side also dominated the second map and finished in style to secure a flawless victory against their opposition.
With this loss, South Asia's journey in the VCT APAC Stage-1 Challengers came to a close. However, Velocity Gaming was not the only representative from the region in the competition. Global Esports also represented the region in the tournament but were eliminated from the competition from the play-ins without winning a single game.
These exits have proven to be an eye-opener for the South Asian teams. It will be interesting to see how they polish themselves in the next few months and get themselves ready for the VCT APAC Stage-2 Challengers.