The playoff bracket has been set at Red Bull Campus Clutch 2023 following the conclusion of the group stage.
TURKEY – The Red Bull Campus Clutch 2023 playoff bracket has been decided, with 16 teams set to continue the battle in Istanbul, Turkey, for bragging rights and the EUR20,000 winner-takes-all prize pool.
The Round of 16 will take place in a studio setting and can be watched exclusively through available co-streams. This phase will continue until the competition narrows down to the final eight teams that will clash in front of a live audience at the iconic Volkswagen Arena, the same venue that played host to the 2022 VALORANT Champions.
The collegiate event in Turkey has thrown up plenty of surprises so far, some of the most notable of which were Indonesia’s GARUDA to first place in Group D while defending champions Northwood Esports did not live up to their heavy favorite status and failed to advance from the group stage courtesy of losses to Indonesia and France.
Furthermore, Canada’s o7, who were the 2022 runners-up, surprisingly did not qualify for the Istanbul event at all, leading to St. Clair Saints taking up the mantle and impressively emerging from Group G without a single defeat.
Hailing from the APAC region, Indonesia stands out with some of the most experienced players among the 34 teams in the competition, all having a history of competing at the highest levels of Indonesian VALORANT. The trio of Rayvaldo “ray4c” Chandra, Rivaldy “ValdyN” Navian, and Davin “gotten” previously shared the same banner in Dominatus, finishing as runners-up in VCL Indonesia Split 2, narrowly missing the chance to represent their region at VCT Ascension Pacific.
Bryan “Gemma” Setiawan and player-turned-coach Nanda “asteriskk” Rizana also participated in the same competition, securing a third-place finish. Furthermore, Thomas “Cud” Alfiantino contributed to BOOM Esports’ victory, albeit in a sixth-man role.
Meanwhile, Pakistan (Team Snakes) will return to the playoffs of a Red Bull Campus Clutch event for the second time running, although now with only Abdul “k1Ng” Khero and Mustafa “shooterR” Kamal coming back from last year. They made the cut out of Group F with a perfect 3-0 record together with Aussie Underdog (2-1) – an Australian team made up of former players from NerdPunt and The Who.
VAC Kimchi is making a comeback to the collegiate event after missing last year, with only Lee “Kelly” Tae-hyung and Yoon “Rolex” Jae-Ho remaining from the previous roster. This Korean team reached the semi-finals in the first edition of the Red Bull Campus Clutch in 2021, where they were defeated by the eventual finalists, Portugal’s Project S.
You can view all the initial matchups and the playoff bracket below. For a detailed schedule, please visit the tournament’s official page.
🇮🇩 GARUDA:
- Rayvaldo “ray4c” Chandra
- Rivaldy “ValdyN” Navian
- Davin “gotten”
- Thomas “Cud” Alfiantino
- Bryan “Gemma” Setiawan
- Nanda “asteriskk” Rizana (Coach)
🇵🇰 Team Snakes:
- Muhammad “soulM8” Usman
- Mustafa “shooterR” Kamal
- Abdul “k1Ng” Khero
- Hamza “BeasT” Shakir
- Zain “Bloody” Talha
🇦🇺 Aussie Underdog:
- Norshin “Sinaway” Yawanis
- Brock “Defsta” Hudson
- “PeacefulBonobo“
- “Zauqk“
- “VIZSLA“
🇰🇷 VAC Kimchi:
- Lee “Kelly” Tae-hyung
- Kim “Halbae” Jun-young
- Yoon “Rolex” Jae-Ho
- “tenac1ous“
- “delas“
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Cover photo courtesy of Nuri Yilmazer/Red Bull Content Pool
