Apeks and SAW will meet in the second semi-final of the VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: EMEA top draw. The Portuguese squad has played cool in the group, but you can't really go up against Apeks.
And the European side are rightfully called the main championship favourite and a contender for a slot in the league. And in the group stage, Apeks proved that epithet with four confident victories.
In general, although SAW have managed to open up, there are many questions on the Portuguese team so far, especially against such an opponent. Therefore, I would lean on the Apeks team's resounding victory here.
Apeks form
The second team in the European rankings won the VALORANT Challengers 2023 Northern Europe: Polaris Split 1 without a chance, confidently shutting down their opponents.
Furthermore, the Apeks also won the VALORANT Challengers Northern Europe 2023: Polaris Split 2 at the end of the regional season, finishing the championship without a single defeat.
As for their performance in the group stage of the VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: EMEA, the European side claimed four clear victories over Case Esports, FOKUS, Gentle Mates and Team Falcons.
The latest Apeks results:
- A 3-1 win over FOKUS.
- 2-0 win over Case Esports.
- 2-1 win over FOKUS.
- Beat Gentle Mates 2-0.
- 2-0 win over Team Falcons.
Apeks top scorers:
- Lotus - 100% wins.
- Haven - 91% wins.
- Ascent - 88% wins.
- Pearl - 83% wins.
- Split - 60% wins.
- Bind - 50% wins.
- Fracture - 50% wins.
It's worth remembering that the European squad tries not to appear on the Fracture map.
SAW form
The third team in the European rankings has won the Long Cogneg VALORANT Challengers 2023 Portugal: Tempest Split 1, with only one defeat in the process.
The Portuguese side also recently won the VALORANT Challengers 2023 Portugal: Tempest Split 2, qualifying for Ascension.
As for their performance in the group stage of the VALORANT Challengers Ascension 2023: EMEA, SAW quickly defeated Digital Athletics, CGN Esports and Dsyre but fell to Acend in the last round.
SAW's latest results:
- A 3-0 win over GTZ Esports.
- A 2-1 win over Digital Athletics.
- 2-1 win over CGN Esports.
- Beat Dsyre 2-1.
- A 0-2 defeat to Acend.
SAW top scorers:
- Ascent - 100% wins.
- Lotus - 89% wins.
- Haven - 89% wins.
- Pearl - 67% wins.
- Fracture - 50% wins.
- Split - 50% wins.
In turn, the Portuguese team does not usually appear on the Pearl map.
Apeks - SAW encounter statistics
The teams have not met before.
Outlook for the match Apeks - SAW
I don't think the Portuguese team will be able to create any problems for the favorite, especially if you take into account the last defeat from Acend.
In turn, Apeks continues to shower us with a cool and confident game, for which there is no question. All in all, SAW is going to be very tough, which is no surprise.
Therefore, in this case, I would recommend betting on Apeks team's 2-0 win.
