Latin American roster Leviatán pulled off a huge upset against North American favorite Cloud9 at the Americas LCQ, taking away their only hope of competing at the Champions event this year.
In a reverse Bo5 match in the bottom final, underdog Leviatán defeated the event favorites in the America’s Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). C9 enjoyed convincing victories in Lotus and Pearl, the first two maps of the series. In Split as the third map, the Chileans began to make a comeback, taking six rounds off Cloud9’s side of the offense, then closing it out 13-11, keeping themselves afloat in the series.
It’s not over yet @LeviathanGG fight back and take Split! The series score is now 2-1 in @C9VAL‘s favor and it’s Haven next. #VALORANTLCQ pic.twitter.com/rfIQHCIovt
— VALORANT Sports NA (@valesports_na) July 22, 2023
Haven, as the fourth map, looked like the end of the journey for the Latin Americans as they faced a 9-3 split as Cloud9 put on a more dominant display. However, the infamous “9-3” curse that plagued 100 thieves struck again and this time favored Leviatán as Cloud9 couldn’t score more than a single round in the rest.
THE CURSE MAY BE REAL@LeviathanGG have fought their way and tied the score at 9-9! #VALORANTLCQ pic.twitter.com/y1NYox3s2j
— VALORANT Sports NA (@valesports_na) July 22, 2023
The final map, Bind, was the “last chance” for one of the teams to keep their champion hopes alive – and on that map, the Latin American crew found more confidence and power as Cloud9 repeated their classic late-event choke streak.
A 3K FOR @Mazinofps AND @LeviathanGG THERE ARE TWO ROUNDS TO CLOSE! #VALORANTLCQ pic.twitter.com/K9eVpwg0E8
— VALORANT Sports NA (@valesports_na) July 23, 2023
Credit: Riot Games
