Eight promising contenders from across the world have convened in Hyderabad, India to compete for the Valorant India Invitational organized by Galaxy Racer. This VCT//OFF SEASON 2022 event is the biggest off-season event in the Asia-Pacific region, featuring six international rosters competing alongside two of India's top teams for a lion's share of the $100,000 prize pool.
The tournament kicked off with its Group Stage fixtures on November 18. With the eight participating teams split into two round-robin groups of four, they will be competing in best-of-one matchups. The top two teams from each group will then advance to the tournament's playoffs stage.
Team Heretics vs Team Secret: Who will win this Group Stage matchup of Valorant India Invitational by Galaxy Racer?
On Day 1 of the Valorant India Invitational in Hyderabad, the only European team at the event, Team Heretics, will compete against the Philippines' most reputed Valorant squad, Team Secret, in a best-of-one matchup.
Predictions
The Valorant India Invitational by Galaxy Racer will be the very first instance of Team Heretics and Team Secret testing out their new and updated VCT rosters in an official match.
Both organizations have secured a VCT partnership slot and, as a result, will compete in the VCT franchise leagues in 2023. That being said, both of these rosters have been built to compete for the title of Valorant Champions in 2023, and are expected to be among the top 10 teams within their regions.
Team Heretics has a roster of experienced talent in the form of former G2 Esports players, Mixwell, keloqz, and Avova, a tier-one in-game leader (IGL) like Boo, and zeek, a former world champion. While this roster is yet to showcase their capabilities together as a team, they have the individual skills and experience required to best any of the top-tier contenders in the VCT 2023 season.
Team Secret is also an experienced roster featuring some of the Philippines' most proven talents. Players like JessieVash, DubsteP, and BORKUM have been playing together since late 2021, whereas recent additions like Jremy and invy have brought balance to the team.
Team Heretics has the upper hand over Team Secret ahead of this best-of-one matchup. Although Team Secret has a reliable squad, they lack the firepower that Heretics is equipped with. As a result, Team Heretics can be considered the favorites to win this match.
Head-to-head
Team Heretics has never played against Team Secret's Valorant roster in an official matchup. That being said, fans of both teams will be excited to see the sides face off in a VCT//OFF SEASON matchup ahead of VCT 2023.
Recent results
The current roster of Team Heretics played their first official match as a team earlier today, when they won against the Indonesian team, Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ), in a best-of-one matchup. They will play against Enigma Gaming on the same day, ahead of facing Team Secret.
Team Secret's current roster lost their inaugural match of the tournament against RRQ. Just like Heretics, Team Secret will also be up against Enigma Gaming in their second matchup, ahead of facing Team Heretics.
Potential lineups
Team Heretics
- Wassim "keloqz" Cista
- Óscar "mixwell" Colocho
- Aleksander "zeek" Zygmunt
- Ričardas "Boo" Lukaševičius (IGL)
- Auni "AvovA" Chahade
- Neil "neilzinho" Finlay (Head Coach)
- Brandon "weber" Weber (Coach)
Team Secret
- Jessie "JessieVash" Cristy
- Jayvee "DubsteP" Paguirigan
- Jim "BORKUM" Timbreza
- Jeremy "Jremy" Cabrera
- Adrian "invy" Reyes
- Chong "Fayde" Hoc Wah (Coach)
When and where to watch
Fans can enjoy the Valorant India Invitational live by tuning into Galaxy Racer India's official YouTube channel. Team Heretics will take on Team Secret in a best-of-one matchup on November 18, 2022 at 3.00pm CEST / 7.30 pm IST.