XERXIA and NAOS Esports will play on day four of the VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: Pacific group stage. Both teams are at the top of the standings so far, but there are more meetings to come.
As for this clash, it seems to me that the Philippine squad has enough stamina. At the very least, Long's win over Fancy United showed that NAOS Esports is doing quite well.
As for XERXIA, the Thai team barely beat ONE Team from a region that is not the strongest in terms of competition. Yes, and for the rest of the names there have their downsides. So here I would lean on the NAOS Esports team to win.
XERXIA uniforms.
The twelfth team in the Asia-Pacific rankings failed at the Long Circuit of the season, not even making it to the play-offs of VALORANT Challengers 2023: Thailand Split 1.
Nevertheless, XERXIA was able to get their act together to become the VALORANT Challengers 2023: Thailand Split 2 champion and make their way to this year's Ascension.
Here it was at the Long Conger of the group stage of VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: Pacific, the Thailand squad picked up an important win over ONE Team, but it was pretty close in terms of play.
XERXIA's latest results:
- A 2-0 win over CRIT Esports.
- A 0-2 loss to FULL SENSE.
- A 2-1 win over Made in Thailand.
- Beat FULL SENSE 3-1.
- Beat ONE Team 2-1.
Top XERXIA scores:
- Fracture - 75% wins.
- Bind - 75% wins.
- Split - 60% wins.
- Lotus - 50% wins.
It is worth recalling that the Thai team usually gives up Pearl maps.
NAOS Esports uniforms
The fifth team in the Asia-Pacific rankings won the long-running VALORANT Challengers 2023: Philippines Split 1 without much trouble, but fell to the Predator Kings of PH 2023 in between splits.
On the other hand, the Philippine team rallied instantly to become the VALORANT Challengers 2023: Philippines Split 2 champion and qualify for Ascension.
As for Long Songpeg in the group stage of VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: Pacific, NAOS Esports was able to post a win over Fancy United after experiencing a bunch of technical issues.
NAOS Esports latest results:
- A 2-0 win over Action PH.
- A 1-2 loss to Oasis Gaming.
- A 3-1 win over ZOL Esports.
- Beat Oasis Gaming 3-2.
- Beat Fancy United 2-1.
NAOS Esports top scorers:
- Ascent - 89% wins.
- Pearl - 86% wins.
- Fracture - 75% wins.
- Bind - 67% wins.
- Lotus - 67% wins.
In turn, the Filipino team has steadily given up on Split.
XERXIA - NAOS Esports meeting statistics
The teams have not met before.
Forecast of the match XERXIA - NAOS Esports
What can we say here? Again, based on Long's games and personal preferences, the Philippine team looks slightly better in terms of fundamentals.
Yes, XERXIA are not the last team in their group, and the Thai team certainly want to fight for a place in the play-offs. But in terms of competitive experience and fight, they're ahead of the game.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on the victory of NAOS Esports.
