With the VALORANT Champions Tour still some time away from resuming, fans of the Esport have a number of regional events to enjoy in the off-season, one of which is the Crossfire Cup.
The event, operated by those behind Spain's VLR League, started with four groups of four teams with the top two progressing to the knockout phase, which began this week.
The first of the four quarter-finals took place on Tuesday with Team Heretics getting the better of KPI Gaming 3-2, thanks to wins on Ascent, Bind and Pearl.
And on Wednesday, Giants Gaming and KOI are set to lock horns in the second quarter-final.
The last two quarter-finals take place on Thursday and Friday and here is a look at how Arroz vs Movistar Riders and Rebels Gaming vs 4Real could unfold, with the tournament winners set to scoop €4,000 in prize money.
| What | Arroz vs Movistar Riders, VALORANT Crossfire Cup |
| Where | Spain, Portugal and Italy |
| When | 11.00 ET, Thursday October 27th 2022 |
| How to watch | Twitch |
| Odds | Arroz -300, Movistar Riders +225 |
It has been a tumultuous year for Movistar Riders, who found themselves in the VRL Demotion Tournament after a poor showing in the Rising Stage One, in which they finished in the bottom four with a 4-5 record.
They then failed to win their opening match in the Demotion Tournament, losing 13-4 to Team Heretics before eventually crashing out in the lower bracket final.
They only made the Rising Stage Two as a result of an invite but regained some credibility with a top-six berth and a 10-8 win-loss record.
Boss Lucas "LRojo" Rojo was named Best Coach of the Season at the event and led them to a spot in the Crossfire Cup, in which they have also looked promising with two wins from their three matches in Group B to progress to the knockout stage.
Their quarter-final opponents Arroz, meanwhile, won both of their matches in Group C pretty comfortably, overpowering KOI 13-8 and UCAM 13-11, and they can be backed at 1/3 to win this contest and progress to the last four.
Given Movistar's inconsistencies this season and the fortune which played a part in them even reaching this tournament, punters will be naturally reluctant to back them and an Arroz win looks likely.
However, the Riders could make this one competitive and a good betting angle could be to split stakes between a 3-1 win for Arroz at +240 and a 3-2 win at +333.
Thinking along the same sort of lines, over 4.5 maps could also appeal at +175.
| What | Rebels Gaming vs 4Real, VALORANT Crossfire Cup |
| Where | Spain, Portugal and Italy |
| When | 11.00 ET, Friday October 28th 2022 |
| How to watch | Twitch |
| Odds | Rebels Gaming -400, 4Real +275 |
Owned by Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea, Rebels Gaming were arguably the standout unit in the group stage of the VALORANT Crossfire Cup.
Qualifying for the VCT Stage One European Challengers did not go well at the very start of the year as they lost both games but they performed well in both the VRL Rising Stage One and Rising Stage Two.
They came out on top of the overall event in the playoffs in Rising Stage One and in the Rising Stage Two, they placed third in the regular standings and made the semi-finals of the playoffs.
And they carried that form into the Crossfire Cup, in which they won both of their matches in Group B and finished with the best differential in the group stage at +16.
Up for them next are a 4Real side who had to battle through both elimination and decider matches to reach this stage of the event after losing their opening group encounter 13-5 to Team Heretics.
They advanced to the knockouts with the lowest differential (+4) of any of the qualified teams and only just scraped through the group.
With that in mind, a comprehensive win could be on the cards for in-form Rebels Gaming, who have stabilised after a tricky start to the year.
Punters should look to back Rebels Gaming at -1.5 on the match handicap at -163 if they fancy them to get the job done, while under 3.5 maps could also make appeal at +162, as could a 3-0 win for Rebels at +200.
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