The ESPN eSports Valorant invitational tournament has just finished Day 1. As expected, Team Mirage dominated today’s round for Group A.
April 20 marked the first day of the “most ambitious crossover in history” of eSports brought to us by ESPN. There were a lot of unexpected turns and surprises from the pro players of the different teams.
As predicted by many, Hiko and the others representing Team Mirage swept the whole floor with a whopping 3-0 standing on opening day.
Groups and schedule
Today, Group A kicked off the first round of the invitational event. Along with Team Mirage were Team Heroes, Team Rift, and Team Six.
Group B will battle it up next on tomorrow’s round-robin. The teams to compete are Team Dev, Team Battleground, Team Llama, and Team Canyon.
Day 1 is complete here at the ESPN Esports @PlayVALORANT invitational, and Team Mirage and Team Heroes have advanced to Day 3.
Join us tomorrow as Group B kicks off.
3:30 p.m. ET | 12:30 p.m. PT | https://t.co/tkRMYxQlY0 pic.twitter.com/pM72XQSP0I
— ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) April 21, 2020
Whichever team ranks first tomorrow will go face-to-face against Team Mirage on the semifinals this Wednesday.
For Day 2 and Day 3, here are the schedules per ESPN:
Tuesday, April 21 Schedule: Group B round-robin
- 3:30 p.m.: ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational preshow
- 4:10 p.m.: Team Dev vs. Team Canyon
- 5:30 p.m.: Team Llama vs. Team Battlegrounds
- 6:55 p.m.: Team Dev vs. Team Llama
- 8:15 p.m.: Team Dev vs. Team Battlegrounds
- 9:35 p.m.: Team Battlegrounds vs. Team Canyon
- 10:50 p.m.: Team Llama vs. Team Canyon
Wednesday, April 22 Schedule for semifinals and finals
- 3:30 p.m.: ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational preshow
- 4:10 p.m.: Semifinals, first matchup
- 5:30 p.m.: Semifinals, second matchup
- 6:55 p.m.: Finals, Game 1
- 8:15 p.m.: Finals, Game 2
- 9:35 p.m.: Finals, Game 3 (if needed)
Day 1 results and analysis
As mentioned, Team Mirage ranked first in today’s round. Both Hiko’s team and Team Heroes of Overwatch are going to the next round of the ESPN eSports Valorant invitational tournament.
Unfortunately, Team Rift forfeited on Match 5, after losing to Team Mirage with zero points, and with only 1 point against Team Heroes.
https://twitter.com/ESPN_Esports/status/1252389023504461829
The League of Legends representatives might have had a hard time managing the game. The Twitterverse’s power ranking predictions have always place Team Rift last.
Twitch viewers continue to comment that LoL players are mouse users which may have been one of their difficulties.
As for Day 1’s MVP, ESPN expert, Emily Rand expresses that any of the members from Team Mirage can be picked off as today’s best player, but Spencer “Hiko” Martin stood out the most for her.
Day 2 predictions
For Day 2, Team Dev has been tagged as the Group B favorite. It looks like the Rank predictions are on their favor, and fans can’t wait to see if they will pull through.
Tyler Erzberger stands on Team Dev bagging the win on Day 2:
“Then you have Team Dev, the shadowy final boss of this tournament, who were the ones who handcrafted these maps and know every corner of this game like it was the back of their hands. My bold prediction is that Team Dev will drop one of their games in Group B, either to Team Battlegrounds or Team Canyon. I’m ready for a major upset.
Will there be a Team Mirage vs. Team Dev finale standoff? Let’s find out tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET, exclusively streamed on Twitch.
Image courtesy of ESPN Esports / Twitter