The Kititkawin “PTC” Rattanasukol-led side clawed their way back from the lower bracket en route to a first-place finish in the ZOTAC Cup.
FULL SENSE emerged victorious from the first ZOTAC Cup on Wednesday after defeating Kingsmen in the grand final (Ascent 13-7, Bind 13-4, and Haven 13-10). Aside from that, Nigma Galaxy’s Sha “ZesBeeW” Mohtar was awarded the tournament’s MVP with 5 MVPs up to his name, taking home the grand prize of a ZOTAC RTX 3060 graphics card.
ZOTAC Cup featured eight teams from both South Asia and Southeast Asia in an inter-regional tournament with US$15,000 on the line. Velocity Gaming, Enigma Gaming, Team Exploit, and the newly-acquired roster of Reckoning Esports qualified via the South Asia qualifier. At the same time, FULL SENSE, Nigma Galaxy, Kingsmen, and Action PH came out on top in the Southeast Asia qualifier.
After falling to Kingsmen in the first round of the double-elimination bracket, FULL SENSE managed to recover, besting Team Exploit, Velocity Gaming, Nigma Galaxy, Action PH to set up a rematch with Kingsmenin the grand final. Despite a fantastic run throughout the tournament, including a win against FULL SENSE in the first round, the Malaysian side could not contest FULL SENSE in the title decider.
The Grand Final – FULL SENSE vs. Kingsmen – ZOTAC Cup
The series kickstarted on Ascent, Kingsmen’s map pick, with them grabbing an early lead after winning the pistol rounds, but after that, it was FULL SENSE who seized the initiative and broke past the defenses to take an 8-4 lead. The Thai side then continued to widen the distance in the second half, with Kingsmen only managing to cross three rounds before being taken down 13-7.
FULL SENSE were able to maintain their momentum to the second map of Bind in a somewhat more one-sided fashion. Elamrahim “LAMMYSNAX” Khanpathan and co. began Bind by comfortably winning the pistol rounds without much trouble to post a 9-3 lead. The curse was about to happen after Kingsmen won the second pistol half, but an eco round win by Chanawin “JohnOlsen” Nakchain on round 14 altered the situation. From there, FULL SENSE racked up the remaining rounds before Kingsmen could even get on board, closing things out 13-4.
ALSO READ: VCT Indonesia Stage 1 Challengers groups and opening matchups announced
It was on Haven where things really began to heat up. There, Mathanraj “theDoctorr” Munisparan’s side had regained their footing with a 4-0 lead. However, FULL SENSE were able to tally back on the attack, ensuring a lead into half-time with seven rounds in a row. Things soon began to deteriorate for FULL SENSE to quickly shut the map, however, as Kingsmen found a lifeline with an eco round win on round 14, putting them back into contention once again to push the series to the distance. But FULL SENSE only needed a couple of rounds to secure the title, with Kingsmen falling at the final hurdle, concluding the map 13-10 for FULL SENSE, 3-0.
JohnOlsen exhibited his mastery of each and every weapon and ability available in his hand. Despite being knocked out of the lower bracket in the first round by Kingsmen, the Jett player’s combination with PTC in a number of multi-kill rounds proved to be the key factor in FULL SENSE’s ZOTAC Cup triumph.
Place | Team | Prize |
1st | 🇹🇭 FULL SENSE | US$8,000 |
2nd | 🇲🇾 Kingsmen | US$4,000 |
3rd | 🇵🇭 Action PH | US$2,000 |
4th | 🇵🇭 Nigma Galaxy | US$1,000 |
5th-6th | 🇮🇳 Velocity Gaming | – |
5th-6th | 🇮🇳 Enigma Gaming | – |
7th-8th | 🇵🇰 Team Exploit | – |
7th-8th | 🇮🇳 Reckoning Esports | – |
MVP | 🇸🇬 Sha “ZesBeeW” Mohtar (NGX) | ZOTAC RTX 3060 |
For more insights on the Asian VALORANT scene and upcoming content like this, be sure to like and follow VALO2ASIA on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Cover photo courtesy of FULL SENSE