100 Thieves have been crowned Champions at the Red Bull Home Ground event in Manchester, England. The achievement makes them the first North American team to win the Home Ground title since the tournament’s inception. It also marks the squad’s first title since the roster’s formation. Here’s how it all went down:
100 Thieves “Prove everybody wrong” with first title together.
When the teams were announced for the Red Bull Home Ground all eyes were on 100 Thieves and Cloud9. Many had tipped Cloud9 as clear favorites for the Home Ground title prior to the start of the tournament.
Yet despite the initial odds, it was 100 Thieves that ended up being the ones to dazzle the crowd with their incredible performances on their way to lifting the Red Bull Home Ground trophy. Proving to everyone that will truly be a force to be reckoned with when it comes time for the start of the 2023 VCT season. Sentiments seemingly shared by the 100 Thieves roster as evident in Cryocells’ post-match interview.
“When people rated all of the teams in the VCT, 100 Thieves definitely was not on top. So, being able to prove everyone wrong is a great feeling.”
100 Thieves’ Cryocells after their win over Cloud9 at the Red Bull Home Ground Grand Final
While this was not Cloud9’s finest performance they showed themselves to be a great team in the making throughout the tournament. With various members of their squad managing to pop off at times. But while 100 Thieves will be celebrating into the night, Cloud9 will already be looking towards Sao Paulo in February.
100Thieves vs Cloud9 Red Bull Home Ground Grand Final Recap:
The match saw the teams heading to Bind, where Cloud9 had been a dominant force throughout the Home Ground. Yet, it was 100 Thieves who kickstarted proceedings as they managed to snatch the map away from Cloud9 13-10. Sean “Bang” Bezerra was particularly impressive for 100 Thieves as he finished Bind with a total of 31 kills and a 41% Headshot Rate.
Fracture to be a much tougher test for Cloud9 in Map 2. Although they managed to win both pistol rounds on the map, 100 Thieves’ mid-round aggression was making life very difficult for Cloud9. And thanks to the combined efforts of Derrek “Derrek” Ha and Matthew “Cryocells” Panganabin, 100 Thieves managed to close out Fracture 13-9. Extending their lead in the series to 2-0. With Derrek joining Bang on the headshot train in this series as he put up a whopping 40% HSR on Fracture.
It was do or die time for Cloud9 as the teams loaded into Icebox for the third map. Though they had, had their moments throughout the series they didn’t seem to have an answer for 100 Thieves in the previous two maps. Cloud9 needed to conjure up something special. What they got, unfortunately, was a stomping at the hands of 100 Thieves.
With Cryocells proving to be a menace with his mid-round flanks alongside Peter “Asuna” Mazuryk’s fragging. And unfortunately for Cloud9 there was to be no “9-3 curse” level miracle. Leaving 100 Thieves to race away with a 13-3 win on Icebox and seal a dominant 3-0 championship victory.
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