Photo: VCT
Cheer juliano, Petra, cute, Glance and Mary ! G2 Gozen head and shoulders dominated the first Women’s World Championships in Valorant history (Game Changers Championship). The team finished undefeated and didn’t even need to go through the lower bracket. But in the final, she still got scared against the Americans of Shopify Rebellion. Our representatives in the EMEA region have indeed been led 0-2losing their map pick of Pearl. But in an incredible scenario worthy of the best series, they managed an irresistible comeback to win 3-2 and lift the cup.
G2 Gozen perfectly represents the greater region EMEA which includes Europe but not only. We find in the team Western Europeans but also a Russian and an Bahraini.
A Bo5 that kept all its promises
Before the grand final began, some were afraid of a one-sided game. G2 Gozen wore the favorite costume for several reasons:
- the team came from the winner-bracket
- the team dominates the EMEA region and has already won a lot this year (2 wins and a final in the 3 Game Changers tournaments)
- the team has a great experience in the past of its players who have worn the colors of XSET on the female CS:GO scene (Mimi, Juliana, Petra and Glance).
But the start of the match was very complicated… Shopify Rebellion hit a big blow while flying Pearl (13-9), map pick from G2 Gozen, before confirming on bind (13-9). Back to the wall, the EMEA players no longer had the right to make mistakes and we showed remarkable mental strength to avoid collapsing. The rebellion was immediate on rise (13-3) and a terrifying side attack (11-1). Bolder but also more successful, we will remember the 1v3 won by Petra in a post-plant position at 3-0 which must have taken a big toll on the morale of his opponents. A few rounds later, it’s Mary who won a 1v2 by finishing with 9 HP for the 9-0… It was enough to tip the momentum and the rest was a formality for G2 Gozen: 13-2 on ice box then 13-5 on Breeze.
Oh Mary, if you only knew…
Impossible not to give the title of MVP of the match to Maryam “Mary“Maher. On the pitch, she was demonic and finished the Bo5 with a surplus of 22 kills, the best total of the match. Despite her young age (16 years old), she led by example. Even during the maps lost by her team, she kept the collective afloat, taking kill after kill. Through her regularity and resilience, she ended up gaining the confidence of her teammates who took a little longer to warm up. Let’s also highlight the precision of this player who was intractable with her Sniper. Chambers with flowerful was beautiful, but Mary ended up torturing the American who lost her mind in addition to losing her line.
But Mary also impressed during her post-match speech. She thanked the fans and wanted to dedicate her victory to the Bahrain. She hopes to serve as an example and inspire her compatriots, women and men alike. The EMEA region is too often reduced to Europe, but there is also talent in Middle East !