The underdogs Rise upset the favorites 100 Thieves in the upper bracket final at the North American Last Chance Qualifier to earn their place in the Grand Finals. 100 Thieves will face the winner of the match between XSET and Cloud9 Blue in the losers bracket to fill the final Grand Final slot. On the line is the final North American slot at the VCT Championship in December.

The match ended up being as close as can be, ending in a very close 2-1 with Rise just slipping by on Haven. Check out some of the highlights from the match via the Rise and the NA VCT Twitter accounts.

Rise Esports has been looking strong in VALORANT all year, but they truly rose to the challenge, pun intended, at this Last Chance Qualifier. They kicked off their tournament by sending FaZe Clan to the losers bracket 2-1, followed by victory over Cloud9 Blue also in a 2-1 result in the upper bracket semifinals.

All of their players have been executing, but it was Supamen and Neptune who stood out as the key players for Rise throughout most of the tournament, and it was Poised' calls that secured the win over 100 Thieves on Saturday.

The NA LCQ has been a rough journey for all the teams involved. The event started as an in-person event, but after a series of COVID-related issues they were forced to postpone the event and cancel the in-person portion entirely. The tournament resumed online this week, and other than Rise player Supamen losing power, it has gone relatively smoothly since.

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The final matches of the NA LCQ will take place tomorrow, after which we will finally know all the teams competing at VCT Champions, whether it be 100 Thieves, Rise, or Cloud9 Blue.