Team SMG made quick work of Evil Geniuses GC in a Game Changers Championship match featuring one of the most unconventional agent compositions ever witnessed in the VCT.
BRAZIL – Team SMG have claimed victory in their opening match of the VCT Game Changers Championship, defeating Evil Geniuses in a one-sided 2-0 series (Lotus 13-3, Haven 13-7). The APAC mixture came into the event having secured an unmatched 34-match winning streak that dates back to earlier this year. Their victory today not only adds another win to their already impressive streak but also raises anticipation about how long they can maintain this undefeated run.
Team SMG began their campaign against North America’s top seed with an unorthodox agent composition on the first map of Lotus, comprising four duelists and one sentinel. However, it was later disclosed in a post-match press conference that this composition was not intentional. The team had mistakenly picked their agents during the selection phase under the assumption that they were doing a ping check.
The only player not running a duelist agent was Odella “enerii” Abraham, who under normal circumstances is the team’s primary duelist. “The four-duelist agent pick was an honest mistake by us,” the Indonesian player said. “We thought it was a ping check [for] rehearsal. Because it was our mistake, we accepted it and then we just followed through and adapted it.”
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On the other side of the table, Evil Geniuses GC had to adjust their roster by utilizing “Nora,” as “keenc” had departed the team prior to the Championship. This change in their lineup, however, could not be a justifiable excuse for their loss to Team SMG’s high-risk and quick adaptation to their four-duelist composition. It appears to be a classic case of “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.
Team SMG began the brighter of the two sides and got off to a commanding 6-0 lead by winning the first pistol round and subsequent gun rounds against Evil Geniuses GC. The Abigail “Kohaibi” Kong-led squad controlled the map effortlessly and capitalized on every mistake their opponents made, ultimately finishing with a 9-3 score advantage. However, any chance of an EG comeback was quickly brushed aside once the teams swapped sides, with Team SMG wasting no time as they posted four rounds on the bounce to take Lotus away, 13-3.
In the end, the wild part is that enerii delivered the most pain on EG, finishing the game as the top performer with 344 ACS, 21 kills, 6 deaths, and seven assists while playing as Cypher.
Their momentum from the first map carried over to Haven, where they had another strong start on the defending side with a normal meta composition, winning the first five rounds. However, the side led by Melisa “Theia” Mundorff showed signs of life by taking the following five rounds, leveling the score before the APAC squad secured two more rounds and switched to the attacking side with a 7-5 lead.
Evil Geniuses GC started their defensive half with a successful pistol round followed by an additional round, but their momentum didn’t last long as Team SMG quickly regained control and didn’t give the struggling North American side any room to breathe, consistently closing out rounds. SMG secured victory without any issues, winning the next six rounds to finish with a score of 13-7.
Team SMG now head into the upper-bracket semi-finals, where they will take on reigning GC champions G2 Gozen, while Evil Geniuses GC will begin their journey in the lower bracket, facing off against Team Liquid Brazil.
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Cover photo courtesy of Adela Sznajder/Riot Games
