Day 13 had the two most important matches of the knockout stages of the VCT 2023, as the winner of both matches would qualify for the Top 4 teams of the tournament, matches away from being crowned the Champions. The matches for the day were between LOUD vs EDward Gaming and FNATIC vs DRX.
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VCT 2023: Valorant Champions Tour Day 13 Match Recap
Starting with Edward Gaming vs LOUD, the first map was Bind. The map scores went pretty close, with 6-6 in the first half, eventually won by EDward Gaming with the score of 13-11. ZmjjKK had an ACS of 300 on Reyna, with 26 kills, including 7 first bloods. The second map was Ascent, which was LOUD's pick, and they led the first half 8-4, even after losing the pistol and anti-eco. In the second half, LOUD finished the map with a score of 13-5, dropping only one round on their attack side. The third map was Haven with the first half ending at 6-6. LOUD took a huge lead in the opening moments of the second half, as they won 5 rounds in a row, leading 11-6. EDward Gaming put up a valiant effort to claw back some of the ground they lost but eventually, they could not take control of the series as LOUD took away the map at 13-11, winning 2-1 over EDG, knocking them out of the tournament.
The second match between FNATIC and DRX was highly anticipated as it gave a Deja vu of the 2022 Champions matchup between the teams where DRX won over FNATIC, knocking them out of the losers' quarterfinals. The first map was Bind, the usual pick of FNATIC, but things didn't turn out well as DRX won 13-1. The only round that FNC won was DRX's bonus round in the first half. Even after a sub-optimal map pick, Haven started on a positive note for them as they won the pistol and anti-eco, with the first half concluding at 6-6. FNC managed to avenge the first map's defeat as they completed the map at 13-9. The last map was Winner Take All where DRX took the lead early with a 3-0 round difference. But FNC returned with the lead at 7-5 for the first half. And finally, FNC defeated DRX, by dropping only one round in the second half of Split, winning 13-6, and avenging their 2022 defeat by taking away the series 2-1.
The next matches will take place on 25th August, with Paper Rex vs Evil Geniuses in the upper Finals bracket and a rematch between FNATIC and LOUD in lower round 3. All matches are streamed live on the official Valorant Twitch and YouTube channels.