VCT Champions 2022 has finally entered the much-awaited bracket stage (playoffs). The event opened its door to a live audience at Istanbul's Volkswagen Arena on August 9, 2022. Eight remaining teams will clash against one another in a double-elimination format for a chance to be a contender for the grand finals.
Fans can expect a fiery competitive environment today as two intense matchups of VCT Champions are slated to start in a few hours. The first series of VCT Champions Istanbul Day 10 will pitch Team Liquid against OpTiC Gaming in a best-of-three format, while the second series will feature XSET against Fnatic.
OpTiC and Team Liquid's matchup will undoubtedly be an interesting one to witness live. ScreaM's iconic "one-tap" accuracy against Yay's tremendous recent form will be a treat for every fan's eyes. This article will predict the odds for the aforementioned competition between two of the most popular Valorant rosters.
OpTiC Gaming vs. Team Liquid: Who will win today's Upper Bracket Quarterfinals in VCT Champions 2022?
Both rosters have fought through immense competition to be at this stage. OpTiC and Liquid are extremely deserving teams and are expected to put up their best fights against one another. After all, remaining in the upper bracket is always a relief.
OpTiC Gaming qualified for the VCT Champions 2022 through circuit points after a dominating performance in the Challengers and Masters stages. On the contrary, Team Liquid fought through the immense EMEA LCQ competition to garner a slot for themselves at the Champions.
Both rosters are skillful enough to crack the code and remain undefeated in the ongoing bracket stage.
Predictions
All things considered, OpTiC Gaming has showcased dominating performances in their recent matchups. yay is a one-man army capable of leading his team to victory in the toughest of situations. The roster also features some of the top players in North America, namely Crashies, FNS, marved, and Victor.
Team Liquid is also not lagging behind OpTiC in terms of firepower and strategies. ScreaM is one of the best in-game leaders on the EMEA circuit and ushers his team to follow an extremely powerful discipline. Unsung talents like Nivera, soulcas, Jamppi, and dimasick are fully capable of giving OpTiC a hard time.
That said, OpTiC Gaming is at their peak and has been one of the hardest teams to defeat in VCT Champions 2022. The North American powerhouse definitely displays a noticeable edge over Team Liquid and is expected to dominate today's series over the latter.
Head-to-head
OpTiC Gaming and Team Liquid have not encountered each other in a series before.
Recent results
OpTiC Gaming has showcased their best in the erstwhile group play of VCT Champions 2022. They won both of their matchups against LOUD and BOOM Esports back-to-back to secure a spot in the playoffs.
On the other hand, Team Liquid lost their opening group-play matchup against Leviatán but stood strong against EDward Gaming and Paper Rex to enter the playoffs.
Considering their recent form, OpTiC Gaming may have a better chance at defeating Team Liquid. Then again, they have never faced each other before. Hence, both teams will encounter new perspectives in today's series.
Potential lineups
OpTiC Gaming:
- Pujan “FNS” Mehta (IGL)
- Jaccob “Yay” Whiteaker
- Victor “Victor” Wong
- Austin “Crashies” Roberts
- Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen
Team Liquid
- Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom
- Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom
- Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen
- Dmitriy “dimasick” Matvienko
- Dom “soulcas” Sulcas
Where to watch
Fans from all around the world can watch OpTiC Gaming take on Team Liquid live on YouTube, Twitch, and valorantesports.com. In addition, one can also buy tickets to the live event. The series starts at 7:00 A.M PDT / 4:00 PM CEST / 7:30 PM IST.