AUTHOR: CHRIS "BEARLIGHT" LEE / @BEARLIGHTGAMING
We hope you've polished your Vandals, Valorant squad. It's post-season GAME DAY! In case you missed it, the top eight teams have been announced, and will be competing in today's Road to Radiant Summer Series Invitational presented by Coca-Cola. They are as follows:
Iron Head Tappers - 544 Points
Bald Babies - 320 Points
CHS Esports - 230 Points
Claremont High School - 220 Points
Spartans - 210 Points
Bad Aimers - 180 Points
Eclectiq Academy - 171 Points
1996 Chicago Bulls - 171 Points
We are set to kick off tonight's first round of action at 7 pm ET tonight on the Stay Plugged In main Twitch channel. You can also follow the results in real time on our Stay Plugged In Bracket page. The teams will be battling for a little more than just bragging rights and college eyes (which is also important). There will be a $1000 prize pool in play too, broken down as follows:
1st Place - $500
2nd Place - $300
3rd Place - $100
4th Place - $100
I've already given my thoughts on the teams above in my previous Road to Radiant article found here. Now, I figure the best way to go over some of the key players to watch in the Invitational is to announce our 2022 end-of-season player award nominees.
2022 SUMMER SERIES PLAYER AWARD NOMINEES
Time to weed out some of the players who showed up with one big week, and award Top Fragger, Utilitarian, and Survivalist of the Summer Series to the recruits who were able to perform on a more consistent basis. Based on the numbers over the course of the season, these are the nominees that will be on the ballot.
TOP FRAGGER
This award will be given to the player who instilled fear into the hearts of the opposing team. The player who received the trust of his or her team to win a majority of gun fights, even when the odds were stacked against them. Which player carries the title of this season's Top Fragger?
1. SMRTY - Iron Head Tappers
Average Kills = 19.47
KDA Ratio = 2.449
Avg First Bloods = 3.24
Maps Played = 17
2. WAMM - Bald Babies
Average Kills = 17.00
KDA Ratio = 1.583
Avg First Bloods = 3.20
Maps Played = 10
3. REFLEX - Iron Head Tappers
Average Kills = 18.06
KDA Ratio = 2.000
Avg First Bloods = 3.29
Maps Played = 17
UTILITARIAN
Utilitarian is awarded to the player best capable of shifting games in the favor of his or her team using their agent's abilities. In addition, the Utilitarian displays skills in other areas, including timely trades and outnumbered clutches. Who utilized their abilities best among the rest?
1. KOOG - CHS Esports
Deaths per Map = 5.58
Total Defuses = 2
Total Plants = 27
KDA Ratio = 1.376
Maps Played = 12
2. SMRTY - Iron Head Tappers
Average Assists = 9.06
Total Defuses = 16
Total Plants = 6
KDA Ratio = 2.449
Maps Played = 17
3. SINBAD - Bald Babies
Average Assists = 8.15
Total Defuses = 7
Total Plants = 32
KDA Ratio = 1.762
Maps Played = 13
SURVIVALIST
Our Summer Series Survivalists will go to the player doing their teams the biggest favor, staying in rounds until they're over. Rather than dying on site, the Survivalist remained in battle, keeping his or her opponents always worrying about an inevitable attack, even in the later stages of the round. Our Survivalist nominees are as follows:
1. REFLEX - Iron Head Tappers
Total Deaths = 184
Deaths per Map = 10.82
KDA Ratio = 2.000
Maps Played = 17
2. FILLUP - Spartans
Total Deaths = 93
Deaths per Map = 11.63
KDA Ratio = 1.452
Maps Played = 8
3. WAVES - Iron Head Tappers
Total Deaths = 195
Deaths per Map = 11.47
KDA Ratio = 1.626
Maps Played = 17
More details on how you can vote will be announced on our social media outlets, as well as our discord server this week.