NAOS Esports escapes Oasis Gaming for Valorant Ascensions berth

MANILA, Philippines — In the first LAN event for Valorant in the Philippines, NAOS Esports outlasted Oasis Gaming, 3-2, in the grand finals of the Valorant Challengers Philippines at the SMX Convention Center.

In the second split of the tournament, NAOS Esports topped the regular season with a perfect 7-0 standing. Their close competitor, Oasis Gaming, was hot on their heels at 6-1.

With the playoffs finally an offline event during the CONQuest Festival — a first for the Valorant scene in the country — it would be NAOS against Oasis in the upper bracket finals.

The Sibol representatives avenged their regular season defeat with a 2-1 reverse sweep to send NAOS to the lower brackets. Not bowing out of the tournament that easily, NAOS disposed of ZOL Esports, 3-1, to set up a rematch with their rivals.

In front of the large crowd at CONQuest, Oasis Gaming dominated Map One with a 13-6 round, but NAOS Esports showed why they remained undefeated during the regular season. The latter bounced back to take two maps consecutively and propel themselves to match point.

A very close Map 4 at Bind saw Oasis Gaming shift into gear after an even 6-6 score at the half, taking seven consecutive maps to bring the series to a deciding Map 5.

It was once again a close fight at the half in the decider, with both teams tied at 6-6. But the momentum shifted to NAOS, which eventually closed out the series with a 13-10 win.

With the win, NAOS Esports will represent the Philippines in the coming Valorant Challengers Ascension tournament happening in Bangkok, Thailand at the end of this month. The winner of the tournament will be promoted to the Valorant Challengers Tour Pacific League starting next season.