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UK Valorant caster gottmoxi, who shared the stage with fellow caster Twiggy at the i68 Insomnia Valorant BYOC Open grand finals last weekend, provides a guest write-up for Esports News UK on Temperate’s 3-1 win over M4LIK.
Rosters:
- Temperate: CH1NCH, Shyfty, Cahm, SteMpy, pr0phet
- M4LIK: la1KA, Leare, kingHaS, roX, eleo
Last weekend’s BYOC Valorant Grand Finals at Insomnia 68 saw a grudge rematch between the UK-circuited Temperate and amalgamation of European talent, M4LIK.
In the weighted bo5, Temperate started off one map up already and, after their earlier 2-1 success vs M4LIK, were surely feeling confident going into the game.
A talk with M4LIK pre-game, however, soon revealed their troubles in the previous matchup: of the five players behind PCs, three were coaches and when in game, three acted as IGLs. This made communication in a game where coordination is key vastly more difficult.
Adaptation from the previous series became apparent quickly, with M4LIK opting into Breeze as their first pick, a map Temperate had, in their last encounter, been speedy to spurn. Unsurprisingly, the youngest and least loved Fracture was thrown out first, with M4LIK then tossing Split for the team to still efficiently run Eleo’s Sova. This left only Haven, Breeze, Bind and a decider, if needed in Ascent.
M4LIK’s defence of Haven’s three sites relied on a heavy dose of post-plant space denial in the form of KingHas’ (former coach of Patchwork) Killjoy Nanoswarms, while la1KA’s (previous analyst for Acend and Rix.GG) Astra enforced near entire map control, burning Temperate’s attacking tag team of Cahm’s Jett and Shyfty’s Chamber out of the momentum they desired. It proved mostly effective, and the half ended at a close 5-7.
Temperate seemed far more comfortable on defence, however, with two clutch rounds from CH1NCH’s Sova and a phenomenal pistol play from their Omen Pr0phet turning the tide; a Sheriff collateral from the pushed-up Omen with the score set at 9-9 allowed the defence to hit double digits and paved the way into a fast 13-9 finish.
M4LIK’S compositional concerns proved unfounded on their map pick as La1KA flexed onto meta-pick Viper, leaving the teams constantly brawling for control of the map’s longer, more punishing sightlines.
“Temperate took the title and the first place prize of £1,500, celebrating with the cheque held aloft, while in the background the audience boomed with appreciation. M4LIK settled for second place’s offered £900 and are now surely looking to even the score at August’s already announced Insomnia69.”
La1KA’s Viper quickly became invaluable, with early Toxin Screen activation through the mid map conditioning Temperate into spending precious seconds waiting to catch aggressive pushes through it.
Early contact in the form of flanks from KingHas’ Chamber and mid pushes off Leare’s Jett, enabled by the Toxin Screen and guarded by roX’s Skye became the norm, with M4LIK mixing the timings to avoid punishment for predictability. The mind games paid off and they swapped sides eight points up to Temperate’s four.
Now attacking, Eleo came in as map MVP, with recon bolts and well-timed Owl Drone angle surveys allowing the team to bypass any potential problems posed by pr0phet’s Viper. When rounds started they hit sites fast, springboarding off of Skye Trailblazer checks before slicing up the space with Toxin Screen.
KingHas moved forward to sniff out potential early challenges knowing Rendezvous was in place to provide an early exit or play back site alongside Eleo when equipped with Tour de Force. It was brutal and effective and before we knew it, the map ended 13-7.
Bind became a Chamber highlight reel, with round-winning early frags and Temperate’s Shyfty pulling off one Showstopper into Rendezvous escape act that would have made Houdini proud.
The score was an even 6-6 going into side change, but once more Temperate showed an affinity for the defensive and started to pull ahead. A double Shock Dart play from CH1NCH picked up pistol and cemented the second round and their economy moving forward.
M4LIK fell into the gruelling cycle of eco-into-full-into-eco buy and, against the already defensively favoured Bind, were unable to bat back. A double Showstopper driveby from Temperate Raze Cahm out of Showers on M4LIK’s last proper rifle round pushed the point and their economy six feet under – and they lost the series on a force buy.
Temperate took the title and the first place prize of £1,500, celebrating with the cheque held aloft, while in the background the audience boomed with appreciation. M4LIK settled for second place’s offered £900 and are now surely looking to even the score at August’s already announced Insomnia69.
We also have an interview with gottmoxi and Twiggy coming soon.
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