Riot Games is really busy with esports events right now. League of Legends is in the midst of MSI, bringing the best teams of several big regions together, while at the same time Riot's young tactical hero shooter Valorant is in the midst of VCT Masters. The competitive scene of Valorant has spent its whole life online so far, ever since the game launched in June 2020. Now, pro players are coming together in Reykjavik, Iceland to compete for Valorant supremacy. VCT Masters will set a precedent for the future of Valorant tournaments and give Riot Games a sense of where the game's esports scene is going. So far, things are looking up.
The overall esports scene isn't all that's getting nailed down for Valorant. This could be when Valorant's first heroes are born. Just like physical sports, every esport has its legendary figures, like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's Shroud and League of Legends' Faker. VCT Master's victors and near-victors have the rare, unique chance to establish themselves as the best of the best at the dawn of a completely new esports scene. Although anyone could shine through by the end of the tournament, there's definitely a few fan-favorite players who already seem poised to make a huge impact on VCT Masters this week.
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Tenz is definitely one of the top players to watch at VCT Masters. While Sentinels is an impressive team on the whole, Tenz's story is particularly interesting. He tried to break into Valorant competitive play with Cloud9 Blue first, and proved his talent there. When Sentinels dropped Sinatraa over sexual assault allegations, Tenz was brought in and instantly meshed wonderfully with the team. Sentinels have been on a tear ever since Tenz joined, and now he gets to play on LAN with his new team rather than online, potentially empowering them further. Tenz might be Sentinels' key to winning VCT Masters.
As a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive veteran, ScreaM is a very different player from the youthful rising star Tenz. That expertise is exactly why ScreaM is worth watching at VCT Masters, though. ScreaM is famously amazing at shooting accurate, earning an incredible headshot ratio during his time in CS:GO. ScreaM has already proven that those shooting skills translate to Valorant, a game often compared to CS:GO for its gameplay similarities. ScreaM's famous accuracy could carry Team Liquid through a tournament that's stacked with rival talent.
In esports, consistency is key. Derke has proven that he's one of the core consistent players on Fnatic's Valorant team, and that's likely to be a big factor in Fnatic's performance at VCT Masters. Derke has a track record for racking up a really good KDA in Fnatic's games, no matter who he's playing. Although Derke is famously pretty skilled at using the Operator with Jett, he's a very flexible player, which is important in a game like Valorant where team compositions are key. He doesn't mind changing up his focus and playstyle, which continues to be a big help to Fnatic.
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Major teams like Team Liquid and Sentinels aren't the only ones with players worth watching. X10 Esports, a Thai team and the VCT Masters representative of the Asia Pacific region, is on a tear lately, and that's thanks in large part to X10 Patiphan. The former Overwatch pro and current Jett main has been a crucial factor in a long stream of X10 Esports victories that have led to their place at VCT Masters. X10 Esports have a good shot at competing with anyone dropping out of the top of VCT Master's bracket with talent like Patiphan at the helm.
Korean team NUTURN is a major contestant at VCT Masters — the team hasn't dropped a single game in all of April, tearing through the Korean circuit and defeating Damwon Gaming 3-0. That was made possible in large part by allow, another Jett main whose frequently incredible KDAs speak for themselves. The onus is always on Duelist players like allow to rack up kills for a Valorant team, and allow's contributions to NUTURN's recent winning streak make him worth watching.
Version1 hasn't had as glamorous a run leading up to VCT Masters as some of its competitors. However, they deserve a lot of credit for fighting through the losers bracket to get this far. Duelist player penny deserves a lot of credit. Like Tenz's ties with Sentinels, penny only joined Version1's Valorant team in February, meaning he hasn't had a ton of time to mesh with his teammates. In spite of that, he's been a big help, winning crucial gunfights on a range of Duelists and helping carry Version1 through some of its more difficult matches. If Version1 makes a big run at VCT Masters, there's no doubt that penny will contribute to that.
Valorant is available now on PC.