Chrollo, from team ANUBIS from Egypt, celebrates during Red Bull Campus Clutch World Final
© Jacobo Medrano / Red Bull Content Pool
Esports

Got Red Bull Campus Clutch Final FOMO? Fear not, here's what went down

After months of gruelling VALORANT competition, there could only be one winning student team. Find out who stormed the Red Bull Campus World Final!
Written by Pieter van Hulst
8 min readPublished on
On Saturday 12 teams battled for a spot in the semi-finals in an extremely close group stage. After that the remaining four teams were seeded into a knock-out bracket and battled for a chance to take home the Red Bull Campus Clutch grand prize. In the first semi-final, BTR, the Canadian representatives who topped their group with a 4-1 scoreline battled against Anubis Gaming, the Africa & West Asia representatives who’d lost their last match against VAC Kimchi at the cost of first seed placing.
In the second semi-final were Project S, the Portuguese representatives who had to fight tooth and nail in the final round of group A against BTR, who took on VAC Kimchi, the Korean representatives who narrowly lost out on a quadruple overtime (but managed to beat Anubis Gaming to secure their spot in the semis in the very last match of group B).
After an intense series which went the distance, ultimately Anubis Gaming beat Project S in the grand finals 3-2. If you missed any of the VALORANT action, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered with an in-depth recap of all the best moments you’ve missed.

Semi-final: BTR vs Anubis

Both BTR and Anubis looked incredibly strong in the group stage, but both also lost their final matches. In the semi-finals, both teams had something to prove. On the first map, Breeze, the Egyptian representatives took an early lead after a great pistol round. BTR needed some time to get settled in but started looking better in round four where ToastyUnicorns picked up a 2k with an off-camera Shock Dart. This blew open the Anubis offence allowing BTR to wipe the rest of the team.
With both teams picking up steam, the score was 6-6 going into the second half. BTR won the pistol and it looked like they could run away with their lead and pick up the first game in the series. However, with the score 9-7 in BTR’s favour, Anubis decided to stage their comeback, showing how great their defending is when it’s properly set up. They evened up the game at 11-11 and the Egyptians won another two rounds in a row to win Breeze 13-11.
On the second map, Ascent, both teams again went round for round in the first half. The score reached 8-8 and neither team were able to pull away. BTR decided to push B but got stopped in their tracks by an entry frag from shalaby. BTR’s Toph tried to push shalaby again, but with a slight reposition from the Anubis player, Toph lost the duel. With just three BTR members left standing, Anubis rotated to clean up the round, forcing BTR into a half eco. From this point, Anubis kept pushing their advantage and ended up on 12-8 with a match point. BTR pushed back to 12-10, but a brilliant A site hold from Anubis ultimately ended the series with a 2-0 victory, and the team claimed the first spot in the finals!

Semi-final: VAC Kimchi vs Project S

The second semi-final of the day was a perfect example of what happens when an immovable object (VAC Kimchi) meets an unstoppable force (Project S). If Project S encounter a problem, they solve it with more aggression while VAC Kimchi likes to take a more tactical and slow response. In the first map, Split, Project S started off well using their diverse defending patterns to catch the unsuspecting South Korean representatives off guard. In the second half, Project S were so far ahead that VAC Kimchi had to start a snowball if they wanted to have a chance of coming back. While the South Koreans did manage to pick up a few rounds near the end, it wasn’t enough to overcome the initial deficit, and it ended 13-8 as Project S drew first blood.
The series moved to Haven, where VAC Kimchi enjoyed a much better start than in the previous match. They were able to keep up with the aggressiveness of Project S and no team seemed to have the upper hand up until the second half where Project S once again started to make some headway in the scoreline by winning the pistol round. VAC Kimchi promptly turned on the brakes and slowed the match down; Project S decided to push, however, VAC Kimchi managed to hold on in multiple rounds, bringing back the scoreline to 10-9.
Project S kept the aggression up: JannyXD, the ace of Project S popped his Bladestorm ultimate and dashed around the defensive setup of VAC Kimchi, tying up the match. But it wasn’t enough to turn things around, as VAC Kimchi then made some slight adjustments in their positioning and scored three rounds in a row, picking up the map victory and tying up the series scoreline 1-1.
On the final map of the series, Ascent, Project S kept doing what they do best: attacking. They won the pistol round and started feeling out VAC Kimchi’s offensive set-ups, quickly increasing their lead. But VAC Kimchi didn’t sit still, adjusting their post-positions to fight back, bringing the score to 7-5 in Project S’s favour.
It should come as no surprise that Project S prefer to play on the attacking side, so VAC Kimchi’s real test began at this point. While the Korean representatives tried their best to keep Project S’s aggression at bay, the Portuguese powerhouse were unrelenting in their attacks, ending the match 13-7 to play against Anubis in the finals.

Grand Finals: Anubis vs Project S

Both teams were coming off strong wins in the semi-finals, and clearly looking to finish what they started all those months ago by qualifying for the event. Now they faced each other in the best of five finals to determine the winner of Red Bull Campus Clutch. On the first map, Bind, both teams started evenly until Project S pulled ahead at 6-4, winning four consecutive rounds to put the score at 10-4. Anubis gained a little bit of ground back with some great offensive set-ups, but not enough to mount a comeback and the first map went to Project S, 13-8.
On the second map, Project S dominated. They didn’t allow Anubis to score a single point on defense, with a mix of great post-plant retakes and duels. On round 9 K1zpawn even hit a 4K to save an almost lost round and continue the Project S rampage. By the second half Project S were 12-0 up; in the pistol round, the Portuguese players then decided to push B for a plant, push through and get the pistol victory, a 13-0 and three match points. But then: the comeback.
The series moved to Ascent for the third map, with Anubis in a make-or-break scenario. They kept their cool and defended against the relentless aggression that Project S brought them. They smashed the first half 10-2, leaving the Portuguese with very little possibility to mount a comeback. Anubis then won the pistol round, showing that after two map losses in a row they still have a lot of fight in them. The Africa and West Asia representatives struck back with a 13-2 map victory and put themselves on the board in the series.
On the fourth map, Breeze, Anubis picked up where they left on Ascent. On defense they won the pistol round once again and never let go of the lead. An amazing 10-2 first half by Anubis proved their defending was impenetrable. When the sides switch, Project S showed some signs of life and mounted a comeback, and with their back against the wall at a 12-1 scoreline, Project S had to win 11 rounds in a row to force overtime. Project S managed an impressive six back to back, however, a great Viper’s pit ultimately gave Anubis’s fr0st the opportunity to close the match out for Anubis with a 13-8 victory. With an even 2-2 scoreline, the next map decided the winner, and suddenly everything was to play for.
The first pistol round seemed to go into Project S’s favour, but Anubis’s fr0st gave a quick pistol masterclass, picking up three kills and winning the round. Project S started finding some success with split pushing on A and on B, keeping Anubis guessing where they would stage their next attack. But Anubis’s rotations were decisive and they manage to keep control of the pace of the game. Project S’s desperation plays didn’t seem to stick, and the first half went in the favour of the Egyptians as it ended 9-3.
In the second half, Anubis won the pistol again, putting them just three rounds off their tournament victory. With the adrenaline pumping, they staged three very successful attacks in quick succession. The Africa and West Asia representatives claimed the fifth map 13-3 and won the series with an incredible reverse sweep.
Anubis Gaming are your 2021 Red Bull Campus Clutch Champions – congratulations!