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Each round of the ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational in one sentence

Provided by Riot Games

The ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational kicked off Monday with some surprises (Team Heroes making it to the semifinal round), some predictable outcomes (Team Mirage completely stomping their Group A opponents) and an interesting look at the state of competitive VALORANT in its infancy.

More: How to watch the ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational | What we learned on Day 1 of the ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational | An early look at the VALORANT meta

Here is a sentence for every round in Day 1 of the online-only ESPN Esports VALORANT Invitational:

Team Mirage 13, Team Six 6

Map: Bind

Round 1, Team Mirage offense: This comes down to a 1v1 between Hiko and Rampy, with Hiko using the teleporter to plant on A site and Rampy winning the gunfight and defusing.

Round 2, Team Mirage offense: Rampy again gets the final kill, this time on n0thing for a Team Six 2-0 lead.

Round 3, Team Mirage offense: AZK gets the opening frag to open up and plant on B site, giving Mirage their first round win.

Round 4, Team Mirage offense: Team Six go for a buy but are wiped by Mirage.

Round 5, Team Mirage offense: Hiko opens up with a 4K, and it's a quick round for Mirage, who take the lead 3-2.

Round 6, Team Mirage offense: Smart repositioning sets up Team Mirage for an A plant and it ends with a 4K for skadoodle.

Round 7, Team Mirage offense: Ska opens up for a B push and another wipe for Mirage.

Round 8, Team Mirage offense: Rampy holds on to his guns, but it's another dominant Team Mirage performance.

Round 9, Team Mirage offense: Team Six win their first round since a 2-0 start off of an opening kill from nvK's Raze.

Round 10, Team Mirage offense: Another strong round for Six as Canadian gets a 2K.

Round 11, Team Mirage offense: nvK gets two with a Raze Showstopper, but AZK comes up clutch on Sage for another Mirage win.

Round 12, Team Mirage offense: A flawless round closes out the half for a Team Mirage 8-4 lead.

Round 13, Team Six offense: Team Mirage open up with a strong pistol round and a defuse.

Round 14, Team Six offense: Six plants on B site but Mirage again get the defuse.

Round 15, Team Six offense: B site is again the choice for Six as nvK racks up a few more kills.

Round 16, Team Six offense: Mirage stack on B site leading to a quick rotation and A site plant for Six, and both teams decide to save in the end.

Round 17, Team Six offense: Opening frags for Mirage leave the spike down in A short, and Mirage are easily able to camp it for another round win.

Round 18, Team Six offense: Hiko's Breach sets up AZK to mow down Team Six for match point.

Round 19, Team Six offense: Mirage take the match 13-6.


Team Heroes 13, Team Rift 1

Map: Bind

Round 1, Team Heroes offense: Team Rift are a bit aggressive on defense, and it ends in a team wipe for Heroes.

Round 2, Team Heroes offense: Heroes plant on A site, and Dyrus, the lone remaining member of Rift, saves for this round.

Round 3, Team Heroes offense: Heroes go for a B push through hookah, and while the gunfights go back and forth, Heroes come out on top.

Round 4, Team Heroes offense: It's a Bucky round for Rift that ends in Heroes' Boostio clutching for another successful A site plant.

Round 5, Team Heroes offense: A rotation through the teleporter to B site for Heroes ends in a 1v1 that Kephrii's Jett wins.

Round 6, Team Heroes offense: Heroes push onto A site for another win, 6-0.

Round 7, Team Heroes offense: Dyrus is the last man standing for Rift again and manages to take out Kephrii before he dies.

Round 8, Team Heroes offense: Rift finally gets on the board thanks to another Dyrus effort.

Round 9, Team Heroes offense: Heroes have no problem buying despite the loss and come back from an initial kill on to Gale for an 8-1 advantage.

Round 10, Team Heroes offense: A flawless round for Team Heroes in their push onto B site.

Round 11, Team Heroes offense: This is a slaughter.

Round 12, Team Heroes offense: Xmithie goes for the hero defuse but is unable to pull it off.

Round 13, Team Rift offense: Rift stack B site on their first offensive round but Heroes get the defuse.

Round 14, Team Rift offense: Kephrii comes up clutch to hold Team Rift to only one round won and a 13-1 finish.


Team Mirage 13, Team Heroes 2

Map: Haven

Round 1, Team Heroes offense: Mirage play so patiently compared to Team Rift and Team Heroes in the last match.

Round 2, Team Heroes offense: AZK gets a 4K as Heroes are wiped by Team Mirage in a flawless round.

Round 3, Team Heroes offense: Mirage again takes this patiently and goes up 3-0.

Round 4, Team Heroes offense: Mirage catch out Heroes on a mid-map rotation.

Round 5, Team Heroes offense: Heroes are flanked on B site by Team Mirage, and it's another round for the CS:GO pros.

Round 6, Team Heroes offense: Brax grabs the opening frag in this round and once again Heroes are routed near B site.

Round 7, Team Heroes offense: Ska gets the frag on Kephrii through the smoke and ends the round with a 3K.

Round 8, Team Heroes offense: Mirage win, rinse, repeat.

Round 9, Team Heroes offense: Heroes manage to plant on A, but Ska and Brax break onto the site and get the defuse.

Round 10, Team Heroes offense: Heroes try for a C push but are stopped by AZK, who gets another 4K.

Round 11, Team Heroes offense: Even if AZK is taken out, another member of Mirage steps up.

Round 12, Team Heroes offense: Yikes. This is looking like a sweep.

Round 13, Team Mirage offense: Boostio saves his team from being shut out.

Round 14, Team Mirage offense: Mirage plant on B but Heroes manage to get the defuse.

Round 15, Team Mirage offense: At least Heroes managed to do one better against Mirage than Rift did against Heroes.

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Team Mirage 13, Team Rift 0

Map: Haven

Round 1, Team Rift offense: This is not going to be close, is it?

Round 2, Team Rift offense: No, it is not.

Round 3, Team Rift offense: Emergency substitute Rivington makes it close, but Mirage go up 3-0.

Round 4, Team Rift offense: n0thing mows down three in a row to end the round.

Round 5, Team Rift offense: This comes down to a 1v1 between AZK and imaqtpie, which AZK wins.

Round 6, Team Rift offense: Remind me why Team Rift don't have a Sage again?

Round 7, Team Rift offense: Brax opens up with two, and Dyrus responds, but it's another round loss for Rift.

Round 8, Team Rift offense: The last man standing, Dyrus, saves this round by hiding in C cubby.

Round 9, Team Rift offense: Team Rift have only 20 total kills as a team, while Brax has 13 alone after this round.

Round 10, Team Rift offense: Will Rift be able to take a single round?

Round 11, Team Rift offense: AZK opens with a 2K before Xmithie takes him out with a Sova ultimate, and this ultimately ends in a n0thing 3K and another round for Mirage.

Round 12, Team Rift offense: Brax and AZK have been insane in this match.

Round 13, Team Mirage offense: Mirage plant on C site and eliminate Rift completely.


Team Six WIN, Team Rift FORFEIT

As much as I'd like to dunk on Team Rift for forfeiting this, you know what, they've been beaten up enough today.


Team Heroes 13, Team Six 9

Map: Bind

Round 1, Team Heroes offense: Gale almost pulls it out for Team Heroes on an opening A site push, but Team Six take it.

Round 2, Team Heroes offense: Rampy opens up with a 3K on a Bulldog, and Heroes are quickly stopped on another A push in a Six flawless round.

Round 3, Team Heroes offense: Heroes rush onto B and win their first round.

Round 4, Team Heroes offense: Heroes push onto A and plant, while Canadian, the lone Six survivor, backs off and saves.

Round 5, Team Heroes offense: Team Six pull off a win in an eco round to take the lead.

Round 6, Team Heroes offense: Heroes go for an A plant but are stopped by Six and nvK's Brimstone.

Round 7, Team Heroes offense: After looking at a B plant, Heroes rotate to A instead through the mid teleporter, where they're flanked by Team Six.

Round 8, Team Heroes offense: Kephrii gets the entry frag on A site, but Heroes are flanked by Canadian and quickly wiped.

Round 9, Team Heroes offense: Team Heroes go for another A site push and end up with a successful plant.

Round 10, Team Heroes offense: Is this where Team Six ends up pulling away with this match?

Round 11, Team Heroes offense: These are definitely the two most evenly matched teams we've seen in this group.

Round 12, Team Heroes offense: Rampy gets a 4K and Six go up 9-3.

Round 13, Team Six offense: I want to give a shoutout to Gale for being somewhat of a standout on Team Heroes.

Round 14, Team Six offense: Kills are traded back and forth on B site and Heroes come out ahead.

Round 15, Team Six offense: It's the third straight round for Heroes as they wait for Six to come to them.

Round 16, Team Six offense: Team Six scout and then rotate to rush A site, where they're quickly mowed down by Heroes.

Round 17, Team Six offense: Boostio gets a 4K and Heroes stop Six again.

Round 18, Team Six offense: Boostio gets another multikill, a 3K this time, and Team Heroes are looking to be in a stronger position than previously thought.

Round 19, Team Six offense: Team Heroes take the lead, and are three points away from taking this away due to their stronger defense.

Round 20, Team Six offense: Another round to Team Heroes, who get the defuse on A.

Round 21, Team Six offense: Thinkingnade nearly wins a 1v2 to take a round for Six, but Heroes end up at match point.

Round 22, Team Six offense: Heroes make the comeback with a last-minute defuse and take it.