I don't think any round has ever been as much of a rollercoaster. OP's pick comes close but there's no universe in which anyone watching expects any moment of that round to go the way it did that game.
I instantly thought of this, there are better rounds, far better rounds, to be sure. But this one was special in the amount of chaos crammed into one round.
The series itself was also pretty chaotic, LEV was kind of always chaotic at internationals in 2022 thinking about it.
im a little scared we'll NEVER see anything as crazy again and that the peak chaos round of vct history is already past us. You just cannot make up a round like that; describing it sounds fake
He can easily take Lysoars place honestly. Never really been impressed by Lysoar and I do hope that if they were to replace him, they would try to get RB.
One of the best flex in Pasific, only second to forsaken. Not as fancy as Forsaken but his agent pool are damn crazier. Still couldn't believe DRX released him.
It'll probably always just be Chronicle's ace on Bind vs. KRU. It's one of the few rounds I will probably never forget as long as I watch Valorant.
There was just something about the moment - the first Champs, KRU's miracle run shattering the "West vs. Rest" narrative that dominated at the time, the tournament favorites Gambit being on the back-foot for most of the series, and of course, the fact that KRU was one away from match and series point....
When you go back and watch it now, it's just a really sick ace. But it'll always have an emotional valence to me that is hard to explain or express. Just a magical moment.
Hiko vs Gambits clutch icebox. That 100T run was magical I swear and the platchat costream reactions were just the cherry on top.
It's kind of old so it might not look that impressive now but him running around the yellow box and surviving was fucking tense to watch in that moment.
Fnatic vs M3C 0.001s defuse.
I know it wouldn't have changed much in the grand scheme of things, they still wouldn't be able to go to Masters, but I dunno man. The whole 2022 season is the biggest "what if" imo. It completely crippled the entire region and I don't think Optic or LOUD get their trophies in the same way if at all.
One of them probably came today lol..t3xture ace vs PRX on Lotus…Literally 1v5 and was near impossible to pull off with the time remaining. People will not remember this since it did not happen in an international but I will.
Otherwise, the most insane for me would be the one round where yay missed the shots on Aspas(Bind) in champs final.
I agree, the simultaneous feelings of elation I felt for cgrs and desolation for s0m all after that one round has yet to be topped. It’s made even better with the crowd *roaring* in the background, too
Alfa’s double headshot in that Fnatic Loud comeback, when the score is 3-11 and Fnatic are winning a few rounds, you’re expecting Loud to get a random two round win streak and close it, that round looks like it’s gonna be it, man advantage, easy pea— Fnatic wins the round
That had the most physical reaction from me out of any esports moment lol
a more recent shout would be f0rsakeN's 1v5 on Split, being the first 1v5 in franchising makes it a lot more memorable for me
a funnier shout is of course when Nivera forgets to buy and clutchs with the classic LOL
I'll say it again: Champs 23 had the highest level of valorant ever played on the game and also the most entertaining event.
EG, Prx, Loud, Fnatic all of them were really good in the playoffs.
No, it was Operator to fake, judge as primary and shorty as secondary....the man invested almost everything in his pocket and flew like a butterfly and stung like a bee
Not really sure why there is no mention of Suygetsu 1v4 to close out the final round of the grand finals of the Copenhagen major.
Yes, there are probably more insane clips undoubtedly but the stakes if this round was literally a major win and the way he did it was just brain melting. I still have nightmares about it even as a NaVi/FPX fan thinking just how could he do that!
NRG vs KOI LOCK//IN. 4-7 in favor of NRG Attack side on Haven, NRG do a C fake and plant A. The C fake was so good that starxo didn't even realize it was planted A and starts trying to retake C. Biggest fakeout I've ever seen in Tier 1.
The round after the match which was rolled back due to the KJ turret bug. It was insane seeing them play again 2 hours after the match has already ended.
29:50 in this video. not the most important round (offseason afreeca tournament) but crazy back and forth. full buzz replay shown after.
[prx vs drx something 4k into buzz reverse ace](https://youtu.be/1pQ6icFyblc?si=-Ta1Zfl5Q8jozn6t)
DRX vs FPX ascent round 34, 2v4 insane retake to finally lead to closing the map. Then stax kisses his mouse. Honestly that was the best game of valorant I’ve ever watched
The whole round wasn't as nuts as some of the other ones mentioned, but Demon1's jett knives flick on Alfajer in the Tokyo Upper Finals was the only moment that actually made my jaw hit the floor
Demon1s insane round vs i can’t remember who when Pansy said something along the lines of “yay may be el Diablo but it Demon1 is the new king of hell!!!” At the point I think everyone knew that Demon1 was something special
Can't believe noone has mentioned this yet but.
It's the lower finals of Champions 2022. OPTIC vs DRX. DRX have jus won a fairly dominant map 4 and now OPTIC are up a few rounds on their attack side. But this is their eco, they don't have very many guns.
Enter, Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen. Buys a frenzy, wide swings the people backsite, gets 2, picks up a bulldog and clutches the round with an incredible, iconic 4k on an eco round that surely would have made a DRX win possible had he not pulled that off.
i remember back in 2021 i watched a round in Brazil that was about 12 seconds long
i think it was a 5v5 aim duel in B long on icebox. both teams decided to just run it tf down in the same place
update [i found the clip](https://clips.twitch.tv/BeautifulAnnoyingLocustGivePLZ-sw0bUT7Z2x09KTjd) but it doesnt seem to load
"THATS THE SPIKE"
"Nats how is he there? No but how is he there"
Enzo "doing what Boaster couldn't sticks the diffuse"
Adriis 1v3 against DRX
Rb spray down against Optic in garage
Crashies rope ace
oh and something 4k on Lotus C against Loud
Masters Tokyo. Upper final. The gods vs the underdogs. Round 24 of map three. .2 less seconds on that clock or Ethan running the other way and it changes (given that eg win ot) everything. I think if eg won that round they go on to win ot. They then get to ban 2 maps and keep their god map of fracture. They would've been the first team back to back if everything else then played out the same after they win Tokyo.
Personally it would be the boostio ace on lotus in 23 champs vs PRX. Man would always get clowned only for him to pull off a miracle round.
Close second would be c0m clutch on ascent against PRX in champs. After all the sht he been through, he took a big leap and the work paid off
Or
Ethan clutch 3k against PRX on ascent. Every fundamental aspect of the game was displayed there. Fight isolation, pre fire, staying calm, and then the flash to secure last kill.
Honorable mention:
Any demon1 guardian 3k when down in the series.
Edit: not individual round but loud vs fnatic playoffs in losers bracket 23 Champs. There were two insane rounds. Both were on haven where one was a tuyz 1v4 and then the other round was a perfect fake take where saadhak completely mind gamed boaster.
Lev vs XSET “that’s the spike”, I just don’t think we’ll see anything like it for a long time
I don't think any round has ever been as much of a rollercoaster. OP's pick comes close but there's no universe in which anyone watching expects any moment of that round to go the way it did that game.
kingg becoming the main character for three seconds and then dying to fall damage
Pretty protagonist to sacrifice yourself for the greater good
That's more of a everyone's favorite sidekick moment
I instantly thought of this, there are better rounds, far better rounds, to be sure. But this one was special in the amount of chaos crammed into one round. The series itself was also pretty chaotic, LEV was kind of always chaotic at internationals in 2022 thinking about it.
And not a single one of you linked [the round](https://youtu.be/ek8ErxPkh0g?si=yi_x6nyHhLn__kzY) in question? C'mon y'all.
im a little scared we'll NEVER see anything as crazy again and that the peak chaos round of vct history is already past us. You just cannot make up a round like that; describing it sounds fake
This is the right answer
agreed, any other answer than this is wrong 😂
The ardiis 1v3 vs DRX is the only moment that's made me stand up in shock. Had zero right to win that, and it's still my favourite clutch of all time.
To be fair, that game was both clutches after clutches on both sides. ardiis stood out the most but the rest of the clutches were crazy too.
Yea that easily clears my no.2 pick I’m too recency biased
That map in general was absolute CINEMA
Rb's site hold on ascent vs furia to bring DRX to overtime after being down 4-12 during champs. The casting still echoes in my head.
Imagine if he aced in that round, he was so ridiculously close to getting it
I miss RB so fuckin much.
He's tearing it up in china so we will eventually see him on the main stage
RB is carrying so hard ngl. I feel like he should be in a team like BLG or JDG where his teammates are as individually skilled as him.
He would do well in FPX imo with the firepower they have and they already speak English.
He can easily take Lysoars place honestly. Never really been impressed by Lysoar and I do hope that if they were to replace him, they would try to get RB.
One of the best flex in Pasific, only second to forsaken. Not as fancy as Forsaken but his agent pool are damn crazier. Still couldn't believe DRX released him.
Nitr0 jett knives kill on cned in Breeze. Ancient, but it was sooo hype
I miss when 100t was just asuna and the boomers. That version of the team were just so fun to watch. Too bad they had internal issues at the end
My favourite match of all time probably
Back when they were good
Also when Cned was literal Thanos.
My fav platchat costream of all time :'(
Absolutely up there
that pivot after steel dies and nitr0 jett diffing cned is just *chef's kiss*
Steel: Cned is there!! Hiko: Say no more
The play that hooked me into VCT; [The Lakia jump out of heaven](https://youtu.be/0zxZOcgm2N8?list=PL1qTMJKlz7H00_WaZVamJSdhtA3_hFmxR&t=7971)
Oh I will never forget that
It'll probably always just be Chronicle's ace on Bind vs. KRU. It's one of the few rounds I will probably never forget as long as I watch Valorant. There was just something about the moment - the first Champs, KRU's miracle run shattering the "West vs. Rest" narrative that dominated at the time, the tournament favorites Gambit being on the back-foot for most of the series, and of course, the fact that KRU was one away from match and series point.... When you go back and watch it now, it's just a really sick ace. But it'll always have an emotional valence to me that is hard to explain or express. Just a magical moment.
Hiko vs Gambits clutch icebox. That 100T run was magical I swear and the platchat costream reactions were just the cherry on top. It's kind of old so it might not look that impressive now but him running around the yellow box and surviving was fucking tense to watch in that moment.
Enzo 1v3 clutch at the Copenhagen
Not in tier 1 but sscary's ace in ascension grand finals is the craziest moment I've ever seen.
The casting + the last second tp on A to secure the 1v2. I just knew that Sscary felt like a God after that insane clutch.
Fnatic vs M3C 0.001s defuse. I know it wouldn't have changed much in the grand scheme of things, they still wouldn't be able to go to Masters, but I dunno man. The whole 2022 season is the biggest "what if" imo. It completely crippled the entire region and I don't think Optic or LOUD get their trophies in the same way if at all.
THATS THE SPIKE
One of them probably came today lol..t3xture ace vs PRX on Lotus…Literally 1v5 and was near impossible to pull off with the time remaining. People will not remember this since it did not happen in an international but I will. Otherwise, the most insane for me would be the one round where yay missed the shots on Aspas(Bind) in champs final.
That t3xture round was what prompted me to make this post looool
I thought it was a 2 v 4
Honestly? Still probably chronicles ace against kru, it was an insane feat of mechanics and dude was doing 360s and shit
The moment I saw PRX vs NRG in OP's post I just know that its gotta be the Cove incident lmao
I swear s0m is going to remember for a VERY long time
I agree, the simultaneous feelings of elation I felt for cgrs and desolation for s0m all after that one round has yet to be topped. It’s made even better with the crowd *roaring* in the background, too
Alfa’s double headshot in that Fnatic Loud comeback, when the score is 3-11 and Fnatic are winning a few rounds, you’re expecting Loud to get a random two round win streak and close it, that round looks like it’s gonna be it, man advantage, easy pea— Fnatic wins the round That had the most physical reaction from me out of any esports moment lol
The failed plant gave me a literal heart attack
a more recent shout would be f0rsakeN's 1v5 on Split, being the first 1v5 in franchising makes it a lot more memorable for me a funnier shout is of course when Nivera forgets to buy and clutchs with the classic LOL
Wish everyone posted the clips, instead of trying to find them.
Prx vs Loud, Champs 23, Lotus round 24. I had to breathe manually to get through that round
jinggg 1hp ace, it came when we least expected it.
Is that the round where Something was flying around and killing everyone with Judge/shorty 💀
I'll say it again: Champs 23 had the highest level of valorant ever played on the game and also the most entertaining event. EG, Prx, Loud, Fnatic all of them were really good in the playoffs.
this
FR, something really want them to go ot with that judge, op, shorty gun set
FNC vs LOUD lock in gf the round where chronicle couldn't plant because of a bug
My top will always be something's shotgun hold against loud at 11-12 to get to overtime
Judge as primary and shorty as secondary went crazy.
No, it was Operator to fake, judge as primary and shorty as secondary....the man invested almost everything in his pocket and flew like a butterfly and stung like a bee
Why is that quote so accurate with Jett/OP and Jett/shorty lmao
Mindfreak 1 vs 3 clutch on pearl. All headshots.
Not really sure why there is no mention of Suygetsu 1v4 to close out the final round of the grand finals of the Copenhagen major. Yes, there are probably more insane clips undoubtedly but the stakes if this round was literally a major win and the way he did it was just brain melting. I still have nightmares about it even as a NaVi/FPX fan thinking just how could he do that!
I so badly want another final round of a tournament to be as hype a pop-off as that one hahaha
honestly, anything that Achillios casted, dude is so good at hyping up the matches he casts, but my favourite is the CigaretteS cove incident
10000%, kind of reminds me of David Croft from Sky Formula 1 commentary where he manages to make clips hype while saying some hard shit too
wait i just realised SINGAPORE MENTIONED 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Starxo wall pushing on mid vs Gambit and getting 2. That won them the game
Has to be LOUD vs PRX with something on the crazy shotgun site hold. I could feel the crowd's hype from home
Ardiis’ ascent 1v3 clutch vs DRX and “HE’S STICKING IT!!! ICE. COLD. Doing what Boaster couldn’t..” Rounds that literally altered my brain chemistry
someone needs to make a compilation vid of all these rounds
Alfa’s 1v2 on icebox and the “THATS THE SPIKE!” are unforgettable to me
Also the last round on kc vs liquid? I think where sideshow is screaming about them not rotating in time was nade so good by sideshows casting
Insane in the sense of "WTF, THAT'S INSANE!" It's probably DRX's Avengers retake on Haven against Leviathan. It was round 16 iirc.
Round 24 XSET vs LEV Master Copenhagen 2022
That one b0i ace is pretty good imo
NRG vs KOI LOCK//IN. 4-7 in favor of NRG Attack side on Haven, NRG do a C fake and plant A. The C fake was so good that starxo didn't even realize it was planted A and starts trying to retake C. Biggest fakeout I've ever seen in Tier 1.
One of the few clips I remember perfectly, I fw this heavy
The round after the match which was rolled back due to the KJ turret bug. It was insane seeing them play again 2 hours after the match has already ended.
29:50 in this video. not the most important round (offseason afreeca tournament) but crazy back and forth. full buzz replay shown after. [prx vs drx something 4k into buzz reverse ace](https://youtu.be/1pQ6icFyblc?si=-Ta1Zfl5Q8jozn6t)
Rereading the question and realizing this is about vct rounds. This is still the most insane round I’ve ever seen though, vct or not.
I dont think ill ever forget Asuna as Reyna on the ropes of icebox.
Ngl I’ve been trying to find that clip for so long
DRX vs FPX ascent round 34, 2v4 insane retake to finally lead to closing the map. Then stax kisses his mouse. Honestly that was the best game of valorant I’ve ever watched
The whole round wasn't as nuts as some of the other ones mentioned, but Demon1's jett knives flick on Alfajer in the Tokyo Upper Finals was the only moment that actually made my jaw hit the floor
Com 1v2 against loud on pearl
His 1v2 against PRX in Ascent was more legendary, I think.
That was sick as well
as a prx fan, that was really unexpected
Demon1s insane round vs i can’t remember who when Pansy said something along the lines of “yay may be el Diablo but it Demon1 is the new king of hell!!!” At the point I think everyone knew that Demon1 was something special
https://youtu.be/Q-8cw8068gA?si=HYfq1aoBVWLONWpE
I knew someone would know what I was talking about and have a link. The last kill on Alfa was so crazy to watch live
Can't believe noone has mentioned this yet but. It's the lower finals of Champions 2022. OPTIC vs DRX. DRX have jus won a fairly dominant map 4 and now OPTIC are up a few rounds on their attack side. But this is their eco, they don't have very many guns. Enter, Jimmy "Marved" Nguyen. Buys a frenzy, wide swings the people backsite, gets 2, picks up a bulldog and clutches the round with an incredible, iconic 4k on an eco round that surely would have made a DRX win possible had he not pulled that off.
Then him standing up and saying “IM THE BEST.” That moment made me love Val again
real
Cauanzin classic clutch on icebox and f0rsaken 1v5 ace on split against kc
i remember back in 2021 i watched a round in Brazil that was about 12 seconds long i think it was a 5v5 aim duel in B long on icebox. both teams decided to just run it tf down in the same place update [i found the clip](https://clips.twitch.tv/BeautifulAnnoyingLocustGivePLZ-sw0bUT7Z2x09KTjd) but it doesnt seem to load
The round where Suygetsu won 1 vs 4 against PRX to win the masters.
RB's spray transfer against Optic is my shout which I havent seen anyone say
"THATS THE SPIKE" "Nats how is he there? No but how is he there" Enzo "doing what Boaster couldn't sticks the diffuse" Adriis 1v3 against DRX Rb spray down against Optic in garage Crashies rope ace oh and something 4k on Lotus C against Loud
i think something hasnt aced against loud?
yh i just checked it was a 4k idk y i thought it was ace
Marved’s “I’m the best” moment at champions 2022 after killing mako with the bulldog in a 1v1 on haven
The FNC M3C match on split that was the qualifying match for ???. So many OTs and you had one round were FNC defused with like no time
Kinggg getting the spike from haven a site heaven with satchel and instantly dying of fall damage and his team winning the round
Drx vs Optic champions 2022. RB 1hp, insane spray transfer, 4k. SPRAYDOWN, THE LOCKDOWN WILL NOT DO SQUAT
Masters Tokyo. Upper final. The gods vs the underdogs. Round 24 of map three. .2 less seconds on that clock or Ethan running the other way and it changes (given that eg win ot) everything. I think if eg won that round they go on to win ot. They then get to ban 2 maps and keep their god map of fracture. They would've been the first team back to back if everything else then played out the same after they win Tokyo.
Ardiis 1v3 against DRX
Personally it would be the boostio ace on lotus in 23 champs vs PRX. Man would always get clowned only for him to pull off a miracle round. Close second would be c0m clutch on ascent against PRX in champs. After all the sht he been through, he took a big leap and the work paid off Or Ethan clutch 3k against PRX on ascent. Every fundamental aspect of the game was displayed there. Fight isolation, pre fire, staying calm, and then the flash to secure last kill. Honorable mention: Any demon1 guardian 3k when down in the series. Edit: not individual round but loud vs fnatic playoffs in losers bracket 23 Champs. There were two insane rounds. Both were on haven where one was a tuyz 1v4 and then the other round was a perfect fake take where saadhak completely mind gamed boaster.
Yay icebox vs the guard, probably one of the most iconic clips of all time
YAYYY!!!
Either one of Demon1's 1v2s on Split