The VALORANT LOCK//IN tournament featured an unexpected pick during the second day of the competition with the introduction of the newest map in the game, Lotus. The map was chosen by FunPlus Phoenix in their match against Karmine Corp, despite being the most recent addition to the map pool. The tactic was meant to catch KCorp off guard, but it failed to do so, resulting in a 13-6 loss for FPX.
Both teams brought out two controllers for Lotus, utilizing Viper, Omen, Killjoy, and Skye to smoke off long lines of sight toward A. However, FPX picked Fade, while KCorp chose Sova as the initiator. KCorp controller player Ryad “SHIN” Ensaad dominated the scoreboard, despite being on Viper duty, with an average combat score of 288, according to VLR.gg.
Lotus is the second map in VALORANT that features three Spike sites and has several new gimmicks, including rotating doors on to sites and a breakable wall between the B and A sites. It was added to the game in January 2023 with Swiftplay and was subsequently added to the ranked map pool a few days later.
Despite the surprise pick, KCorp secured the victory against FPX, winning on both Lotus and Pearl. The Lotus pick was a reminder that teams need to be prepared for any map in the pool, regardless of how recent it is.
As VALORANT continues to evolve, teams must stay up to date with the latest strategies and compositions to stay competitive. With the addition of Lotus and other new maps in the future, it is essential to adapt to changes quickly and stay ahead of the curve. Only time will tell if more teams will start utilizing Lotus in their game plans or if KCorp’s victory was a fluke.
