NRG VS SEN CONTINUES TO DELIVER
In a long-awaited return to the VCT stage, NRG VALORANT came up just short in one of the most highly anticipated matches of the season Sunday against Sentinels.
With a raucous crowd in person at the Riot Arena, an NRG VCT Watch Party live from the NRG Spectrum Castle, and nearly 350,000 viewers, all eyes were on NRG as we began a Summer stretch to close out the VCT Americas League regular season.
Beginning play on Lotus, the team got off to a slower start on the defensive side, registering a 4-8 half before claiming four of the next five rounds to bring things nearly level at 8-9. Unfortunately, a series of site shutdowns by the opposition saw SEN earn the last four rounds of Map 1, closing out 13-8 and gaining the series advantage.
Looking to bounce back on Sunset, the team once again was unable to shake a slow defensive start, falling into a 3-9 deficit at the half and needing the “3-9 curse” to become true now more than ever. Switching to attack, the fresh returning in-game leader FNS shot-called his way to winning eight of the final nine rounds, forcing overtime in a match that felt all but over as Sentinels stood at match point for five consecutive rounds.
In overtime, it was a pair of pop-off plays from members of Sentinels that sealed the match, 14-12 and a 2-0 in favor of the opponent. Still, NRG forcing overtime and regaining crucial momentum in a high stakes match showed optimism for the all important upcoming Super Week.
With only three matches remaining in the VCT regular season, NRG VALORANT finds themselves on the outside looking in for the VCT Americas Playoffs, which determine the three teams who will qualify to VALORANT Champions as representatives of North America.
After a short bye weekend, next week proves to be a true do-or-die crunch time for the team, with games on July 1st against G2 Esports, July 3rd versus KRU, and July 7th against Cloud9 rounding out our guaranteed slate of VCT action. By winning all three matches, NRG VALORANT stands to be in a very strong spot to continue play in the postseason. Anything less, and we’ll be at the mercy of teams surrounding us.
Now more than ever, we need you to #BringTheNRG and cheer us on next Monday at 2 PM as we look to finish the regular season strong! As always, catch our match on the VALORANT Esports Twitch channel, or by tuning in to the official NRG Watch Party hosted by Demon1!
NRG Kia SUMMER SPLIT ROLLS ON
Back on the rift and looking to improve from Week 1’s matchup, NRG Kia League of Legends pushed a top opponent to the edge on Sunday, but ultimately fell in a 2-1 series loss against FlyQuest.
Starting the series off with a disadvantage on red side, NRG Kia struggled heavily in Game 1, knocking down only a singular tower en-route to a sub-27 minute defeat to fall behind in the series 0-1.
However, the blue side buff proved to be real in Game 2, with the team leading the match in elims, gold and objectives claimed across the board. A crucial team fight at the 37 minute mark of the game saw top laner Contractz pick up a triple kill with his teammate Palafox providing even more damage dealt, securing the final team fight and the Nexus falling in just under 40 minutes.
In the decider Game 3, things found themselves to be relatively even through the first 25 minutes of the match. However, a costly team fight loss at the 26 minute mark saw FlyQuest secure baron buff and crucial map positioning. Pushing NRG Kia back into their own base, a last stand was unable to take place, with FlyQuest closing Game 3 and the series in just under 30 minutes total.
At 0-2 in the overall standings, NRG Kia will be looking to close off this first part of the Summer Split strong today when they face off against Immortals at 4 PM PT! Stay tuned by following NRG Kia on Twitter for all match updates!
PLAYOFFS TO REMEMBER FOR NRG SHOCK
In a heart-stopping thriller of a series against Timeless, NRG Shock came up just one game short in their quest for Esports World Cup qualification by a 3-2 series defeat.
With only the top-3 teams in North America qualifying to the EWC, NRG Shock found themselves in the lower bracket quarterfinals after another Game 5 heartbreak against M80 in the first weekend of play. A quick series sweep of Citrus Nation on Friday set up the ultimate rematch against Timeless, who NRG Shock defeated in the opening round of the OW FACEIT League Playoffs, as the foe that stood in-between a trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The meme needed posting after Game 1, falling in Control as well as in Game 2 on Midtown as NRG Shock looked down the barrel of a 0-2 series deficit. Taking it one game at a time, the team was able to level the series off some strong play by both PGE and Infekted to force a Game 5 on Rialto with LAN hanging in the balance. Despite their strongest efforts off the back of 44 eliminations by scissors, NRG Shock lost the Game 5 Escort and the series 3-2.
After a short World Cup break, we look forward to having the team come back for more OWCS action later this Summer. Be sure to stay tapped into NRG Shock socials for all the latest updates and all things Overwatch 2, including some upcoming community nights where you can play with members of the team!
NRG APEX: READY FOR FINAL STRETCH
It was an ALGS matchday to forget for NRG Apex, as the team finished near the bottom of the lobby during play over the weekend on Sunday.
The trio of Nocturnal, Reptar and FunFPS failed to register an elimination in the series, with a second-place finish in Game 1 being the series highlight for the trio en-route to a total of just 12 Points.
Despite this small setback, the team finds themselves in a strong spot to make the Stage 2 NA Finals as a result of their consistent placements throughout the regular season. With the top-12 teams earning a bid to the Stage 2 Playoffs LAN held later this Summer, NRG Apex sits in 8th Place overall and 14 points above the all important cutoff line.
After a short Fourth of July holiday break, the NRG Apex team will be back in action on July 6th at 3 PM PT to conclude our regular season play. Fans can watch by tuning into the official Play Apex Twitch stream to catch all the action!
BUY THE NEW NRG CORE JERSEY TODAY!
Support your favorite NRG team with an all new jersey – The NRG 2024 Core Jersey is live in the NRG Shop!
Customize the back with your favorite player’s gamertag, or add your own for a personalized touch that you can wear for any and all #NRGWIN moments.
Fans can #BringTheNRG as NRG VALORANT battles in some of the biggest matches of the year, PLUS every order comes with FREE SHIPPING on all U.S. orders over $100+ from now until 7.8. This is the perfect chance to pair your new jersey with an NRG Fundamentals t-shirt, hoodie, or crew neck as the best dressed duo in esports. Please be sure to tag NRG on Twitter or IG with whatever you may decide to pick up for a shoutout across our channels!
As always, thank you so much for your support as we have seen a very high order volume since our jersey’s unveiling. We can’t wait for you to see what we have cooking next!
NRG CALENDAR - THE WEEK AHEAD
Here are some of our upcoming match dates for our teams in action over the next week. We’re deep in the Summer heat of competition, so be sure to follow NRG Current and all NRG socials for up-to-date match coverage and more! #BringTheNRG
NRG VALORANT
July 1st: NRG VALORANT | NRG VCT Super Week vs G2
July 3rd: NRG VALORANT | NRG VCT Super Week vs KRU
July 7th: NRG VALORANT | NRG VCT Super Week vs C9
NRG Kia League of Legends
June 27th: NRG Kia | LCS Summer Split Week 3 vs. IMT