VCT LOCK//IN 2023 Semifinals highlights: Fnatic decimate NAVI to make it to the grand final

VCT LOCK//IN 2023, which started on February 13, 2023, in Sao Paulo, is near its end. It has been the largest tournament in Valorant, with the 30 teams from the Americas, EMEA, and Pacific Leagues, as well as two invited teams from China taking part in a grueling single-elimination format for a chance to win $100,000 and an extra seat for their region at Masters Tokyo.

LOUD, DRX, NAVI, and Fnatic defeated many strong opponents in their Bracket-stage run in the tournament to make it to the semifinals held on March 3, 2023. The semifinal matches were expected to be a banger, where both teams were very well matched against one another, with no clear favorites going into them.

The match between LOUD and DRX was close, with the latter almost pulling off a reverse sweep. However, in the second match, it turned out that Fnatic had the better team, ideas, and execution on match day. They managed to roll over NAVI in the Omega bracket semifinals completely. Here are the highlights from the semifinals of VCT LOCK//IN 2023.

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VCT 2023 LOCK//IN semifinals: Results and highlights

The following were the Map Vetos on March 3, 2023:

• LOUD vs. DRX: LOUD ban Haven; DRX ban Lotus; LOUD pick Pearl; DRX pick Icebox; LOUD pick Split; DRX pick Fracture; Ascent remains
• Fnatic vs. NAVI: FNC ban Pearl; NAVI ban Icebox; FNC pick Haven; NAVI pick Lotus; FNC pick Fracture; NAVI pick Split; Ascent remains

The results at the end of the semifinals in VCT LOCK//IN 2023 were:

• LOUD vs. DRX: 3-2 [Pearl 13-5. Icebox 13-8, Split 7-13. Fracture 7-13, Ascent 13-8]
• Fnatic vs. NAVI: 3-0 [Haven 13-11, Lotus 13-4, Fracture 13-11]

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Top highlights from the semifinals of VCT LOCK//IN

1) Absolute domination from Fnatic against NAVI

This round perfectly exemplifies how good Fnatic looked in the match. Their utility use was on point, and there wasn't a single player on the black-and-orange side that was not hitting his shots. Fnatic mixed up calculated bursts of aggression with their slow-burning playstyle to put up a show against their EMEA rivals.

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2) cNed's fantastic clutch on Haven was one of the few things NAVI got right

In a brief moment of brilliance, cNed bought a lifeline for NAVI in the first match as he won the clutch against Alfajer to bring the game to a two-round deficit. Unfortunately, NAVI could not capitalize on this in subsequent rounds, and map 1 of the VCT LOCK//IN matchup favored Fnatic.

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3) DRX stax's 1v3 clutch on Ascent

All stars had aligned for DRX on Round 16 of their Ascent game against LOUD in VCT LOCK//IN, and Stax managed to capitalize on it to get it on the board.

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4) cauanzin wins the bonus round for LOUD on Icebox

The seventeen-year-old from LOUD had so many highlight moments in VCT LOCK//IN, such as when he closed out the bonus round in style to give LOUD a massive economic advantage going forward.

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5) The beginning of LOUD's victory march in the semifinals

LOUD showed a dominant performance in their semifinal match that started with a fantastic pistol round on Pearl, as the team weaved in and out of the multiple Viper and Harbor smokes scattered on the B-Site.

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Upcoming matchups

The final day of VCT LOCK//IN 2023 is today, March 4, 2023. The matches today are as follows:

• Team Tarik vs Team FRTTT: 9:00 am PST/2:00 pm BRT/7:00 pm CEST/10:30 pm IST/2:00 am JST
• LOUD vs. FNATIC: 10:00 am PST/3:00 pm BRT/8:00 pm CEST/11:30 pm IST/3:00 am JST

You can watch the games live on Twitch or YouTube on the official channels of Valorant.