The third and coincidentally last stage of the Chinese qualifiers in the Valorant China Evolution Series Act 3 is approaching its logical conclusion. Today, the upper bracket final concluded, and the outcome of the clash turned out to be very unexpected.

Recall that the Valorant China Evolution Series Act 3 is the Chinese equivalent of the contenders' league in other regions. Teams compete for EVO points, which can lead to direct partnership with Riot, or entry into the Challengers series. In the upper bracket final, we anticipated a meeting between the unanimous favorites of all three stages, EDward Gaming, and the less promising club Rare Atom. However, the result surprised not only the Chinese fans but the entire Valorant community. The underdogs of the match secured an easy 2-0 victory, sending the top seeds into the lower bracket.

The first confrontation took place on Lotus, and it was very tense. The teams finished the first half of the match with a score of 6-6, which they repeated after switching sides. As a result, the score became 12-12, and everything was decided in the extra rounds, when the Rare Atom players confidently took two consecutive rounds, claiming a 14-12 victory. On the second map, Sunset, the situation was completely different, as the map masters and favorites, EDward Gaming, almost without a fight, conceded the match with a score of 6-13. It can be assumed that the players' morale fell after the defeat on the first tense map, but the fact remains.

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As a result of the match, Rare Atom advance to the grand final, where they will compete for the title on November 26. EDward Gaming, in turn, fall into the lower bracket final, where they will meet the winner of FunPlus Phoenix versus Trace Esports tomorrow, for a chance to take revenge. The Valorant China Evolution Series Act 3 runs from November 16 to 26, 2023. The top 12 teams from the Chinese region are competing for a total prize pool of $42,000, as well as EVO points necessary for qualification to the VCT 2023 China Ascension and direct partnership with Riot Games.