Talon Esports defeated Evil Geniuses 2-0 at VCT LOCK//IN. The Pacific team joked afterward in a post-match press conference that North America isn’t one of the best Valorant regions, because it doesn’t have Talon.
North America had a poor showing in the second round of VCT LOCK//IN as both Cloud9 and Evil Geniuses were eliminated from the tournament. Talon Esports, who beat Evil Geniuses 2-0, were asked about the region’s recent eliminations and said North America is not one of the best regions in Valorant.
“To be honest I think NA is not one of the best regions that has the best teams, so if you want NA to be one of the best regions, you should have Talon in that region,” Talon’s Itthirit ‘foxz’ Ngamsaard said in a post-match press conference with a laugh from him and his teammates.
Talon continues to impress in first Valorant Champions Tour event of 2023
Talon have reached beyond expectations at VCT LOCK//IN. The partnered team swept MIBR in the first round and did the same to EG. The team is also competing without, arguably, its most important player Patiphan ‘Patiphan’ Chaiwong who did not travel with the team due to health reasons.
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Playing in Patiphan’s place is Apiwat ‘GarnetS’ Apiraksukumal who was one of the best players in the match against EG. He put up 41 kills across both maps as a Duelist for the team.
In 2022 the core of Talon, competing under Xerxia, made two major international VCT tournaments and failed to make it out of the group stage at both. In 2021 that same core, then competing as X10 CRIT, finished top eight at Valorant Champions.
Talon will go on to play fellow Pacific team DRX in the third round of the tournament on February 18. The winner will qualify for the playoff stage of VCT LOCK//IN.