There's been a general trend of lower-ranked teams closing the gap between themselves and the top dogs of their regions.
This is especially notable in APAC, with TS accomplishing the previously unimaginable feat of beating Paper Rex, GE having two incredibly close maps against DRX, and Gen.G looking strong internationally at Lock-in.
But also in EMEA, where KOI and Vitality, two dark horses have been able to consistently contend against NAVI and Team Liquid respectively.
In the Americas, MIBR, which flopped at Lock-in, managed to take a map against Loud and almost won the decider map. Furia also looks like an international contender with their recent performances so far, especially against Fnatic at their absolute best at Lock-in.
The titans of the past are crumbling. Only DRX seems to remain standing at the top.
Today we'll see if NRG, with the old optic-core, will manage to stand at the zenith of NA valorant like they had before.
Discord