The ESPN Valorant Invitational concluded last night with a result few predicted ahead of the tournament. Team Canyon, formed of Apex Legends pros and former stars, outplayed CS:GO’s Team Mirage to take home the title in a best of three grand final.
Prior to the event, most expected the finals to be another showdown between the Valorant developers on Team Dev and the formidable CS:GO stars of Brax, Hiko, AZK, n0thing and Skadoodle, the latter side being the firm favorites after winning the previous T1 invitational.
A massive clutch from @Mendo secures a Game 2 victory for Team Canyon.
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) April 23, 2020
We're headed into our last match of the ESPN Esports @PlayVALORANT Invitational Grand Finals now!
: https://t.co/tkRMYxQlY0 pic.twitter.com/fLGIaHsZCT
Team Canyon, however, was not to be underestimated, and after upsetting the devs to top their pool, fought a close semifinal to secure their place against the Mirage boys. After a tough defeat on the first map, Canyon fought back to eke out a win on the second map, before a commanding lead on Split saw them overthrow the CS:GO threat.
ESPN Valorant Invitational Winners
Team Canyon
- Justin "Kellar" Kellar
- Timothy “Syncdez” Putrow
- Brandon "Aceu" Winn
- Coby "dizzy" Meadows
- Lucas "Mendo" Håkansson
THEY DID IT! Team Canyon are your ESPN Esports @playVALORANT Invitational winners after upsetting Team Mirage and Team Dev!@dizzy@Mendo@sYnceDez @justKellar @acesu pic.twitter.com/ku6pNzB1qN
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) April 23, 2020
Has the era of CS:GO success ended already for Valorant? Unlikely, especially given several of Team Canyon’s stars were Counter-Strike professionals before they made the jump to Apex Legends. Still, it makes for exciting times for the burgeoning esports scene of Valorant.
Missed the final? You can catch all three games over on the ESPN Twitch channel. We’ve embedded the grand finals stream below, so you can catch all three maps of the closest game of the tournament.
Other sides in the ESPN Valorant invitational included the Overwatch pros of Team Heroes and League of Legends stars in Team Rift. You can catch up on the teams and everything else to do with the event by clicking here.
Did you see Team Canyon’s surprise victory coming? Were you hoping for another side to come out on top? Let us know your thoughts on the early tournaments for Valorant in the comments down below.
