Top 10 most ELITE pre-franchising teams

I'm going to do this in chronological order, this is not a ranking of the teams but just the 10 I feel like were "elite" during the VCT era(basically the first 6 LANs). My general criteria is top 6 team in two straight LANs, or in some cases being great all year except for one LAN. So... starting chronologically

2021 S2-S3 SEN:
1 LAN win, top 8 in next LAN but lost to top 2 team. 3-2 at that LAN

2021 S3-Champs Gambit:
1 LAN win, 1 second place where they beat another team on the list

2021 S3-champs Acend:
Champs win, 1 5-8 in a very close game, beat another team on the list on the LAN win

2021 KRU(mostly s3-Champs):
Top 3-4 and 5-8, nearly beat Gambit but beat S2 champs and runner up OTW to almost finals. My last pick for this list and likely the least elite team here.

2022 Optic:
LAN win, 2nd place, 3rd place. Most consistent 3 LAN stretch of any team

2022 Loud:
Champs win, 2nd place and a qual for S3 but bad performance

2022 S1-S2 Paper Rex:
2nd place, 4th place in the 2 LANs, only Optic was better. Beat 2 teams on the list in S2

2022 DRX:
3rd at champs, 5-6 at both other LANs. beat 3 of the teams on the list in playoffs during that time

2022 FPX S2-Champs:
1 LAN win, 1 fourth place, 1 qual as a first place team in EU but couldn't play. 4 wins against teams on this list.

2022 FNC S2-Champs:
4th and 5-6th place, if fully roster in S1 would likely be seen as a better team. beat 1 team on this list for champs. Probably second weakest behind KRU.

Teams just missing out: '21 Envy(choked at champs after a top 2 in S3), '21 FNC and TL (both good in first and last stages but never were ELITE), '22 LEV and XSET(never elite but both very good).

My general rankings(very disputable):

1. Optic
2. Gambit
3. Loud
   ------------
4. Acend
5. FPX
6. SEN
   ------------
7. PRX
   ------------
8. DRX
9. FNC
   ------------
10. KRU

I like your thread Bro
My top 10 based in the teams u choosed is:
10-KRU
9-PRX
8-SEN
7-DRX
6-Acend
5-FPX
4-Fnatic
3-Gambit
2-Optic
1-Loud
Optic can be 1 as well

Aint reading allat

Optic and Loud, no debate.

LOUD clears

Rendzin [#2]

I like your thread Bro
My top 10 based in the teams u choosed is:
10-KRU
9-PRX
8-SEN
7-DRX
6-Acend
5-FPX
4-Fnatic
3-Gambit
2-Optic
1-Loud
Optic can be 1 as well

FPX, ACEND, and FNC above DRX? ur on smth blud lmfao

1. optic/loud
   2.optic/loud
2. gmb
3. drx
4. fpx
5. acend
6. prx
7. sen
8. fnc
9. kru

diswaco [#6]

FPX, ACEND, and FNC above DRX? ur on smth blud lmfao

1. optic/loud
   2.optic/loud
2. gmb
3. drx
4. fpx
5. acend
6. prx
7. sen
8. fnc
9. kru

What have DRX actually done to deserve being called a top 3 team? They never made it out of GS in '21 and their best performance was a 3rd place. How can you possibly put them over FPX and ACE?

Gambit

1.-Optic
2.-Gambit
3.-Acend
4.-KRU
5.-LOUD
6.-SEN
7.-FPX
8.-DRX
9.-PRX
10.-FNC

xKali1 [#9]

1.-Optic
2.-Gambit
3.-Acend
4.-KRU
5.-LOUD
6.-SEN
7.-FPX
8.-DRX
9.-PRX
10.-FNC

Im chilean and i love kru, top 4 could be a bit too much xd.

GooberBoy [#7]

What have DRX actually done to deserve being called a top 3 team? They never made it out of GS in '21 and their best performance was a 3rd place. How can you possibly put them over FPX and ACE?

i'm not going to say acend champs run was a fluke, but it felt a bit reminiscent of sen reykjavik 2021 where they just outaimed everybody. as for fpx, I respect them a lot, that ascent was prob the best val I have ever watched, but the results speak for themselves.
https://www.vlr.gg/130678/drx-vs-funplus-phoenix-valorant-champions-2022-ubqf
https://www.vlr.gg/130690/funplus-phoenix-vs-drx-valorant-champions-2022-lr3

1. NV/OPTC
2. LOUD
3. GMB
4. ACE
5. FPX
6. SEN
7. FNC
8. VS/DRX
9. PRX
10. KRU

based on events won and time spent relevant. Pretty similar to yours

diswaco [#11]

i'm not going to say acend champs run was a fluke, but it felt a bit reminiscent of sen reykjavik 2021 where they just outaimed everybody. as for fpx, I respect them a lot, that ascent was prob the best val I have ever watched, but the results speak for themselves.
https://www.vlr.gg/130678/drx-vs-funplus-phoenix-valorant-champions-2022-ubqf
https://www.vlr.gg/130690/funplus-phoenix-vs-drx-valorant-champions-2022-lr3

I really don't love that analysis because the team hasn't actually been given a shot to prove that wrong and people can kinda just get away with saying it without much analysis. ACE dropped their first map of the tournament and then went 8 straight maps wins in their four games before Gambit. They were dominant against Envy(no1 NA), TL(top 3 EU) and beat the best team ITW in a BO5. That's not a fluke at all. I think people mostly think that because they never did anything after but a roster change and zeek mental health issues stopped them from even getting a chance to compete again, and the LAN before they played well and were 1-2 fights away from ending top 4. That team was far from a fluke and were obviously a step behind the top 3 but were a fantastic squad. Also you know that DRX argument at the end there is dumb lol

GooberBoy [#13]

I really don't love that analysis because the team hasn't actually been given a shot to prove that wrong and people can kinda just get away with saying it without much analysis. ACE dropped their first map of the tournament and then went 8 straight maps wins in their four games before Gambit. They were dominant against Envy(no1 NA), TL(top 3 EU) and beat the best team ITW in a BO5. That's not a fluke at all. I think people mostly think that because they never did anything after but a roster change and zeek mental health issues stopped them from even getting a chance to compete again, and the LAN before they played well and were 1-2 fights away from ending top 4. That team was far from a fluke and were obviously a step behind the top 3 but were a fantastic squad. Also you know that DRX argument at the end there is dumb lol

could you elaborate further on the drx argument being dumb? they convincingly beat fpx and are one of the top contenders for masters tokyo.

diswaco [#14]

could you elaborate further on the drx argument being dumb? they convincingly beat fpx and are one of the top contenders for masters tokyo.

Theres a lot of things wrong here lol. This post is about pre-franchising to start, and DRX beating FPX twice doesn't make them a better team. FPX won a LAN and tho struggled against DRX that's literally the only team they've every struggled against. Against literally every other team in their two LANs they played they were 13-2. DRX for sure had there number, doesn't mean they were a more elite or successful team. Ya they beat FPX, how about what they did against OG, Loud and even Zeta division lol. They were obviously great in champs which put them up a bit but apart from that they didn't get out of groups once in '21 and in 22 they hard choked against Zeta and in the most important match they played against FPX they didn't win. If they were really that much better than FPX then why didn't they get blown out when they had a chance to get top 4 in Stage 2. They're obviously a good team but man ranking them above teams that won a LAN when they've never even made a final and have only been top 4 once is just comical.

diswaco [#14]

could you elaborate further on the drx argument being dumb? they convincingly beat fpx and are one of the top contenders for masters tokyo.

yall been overhyping drx since beta talking bout some they will dominate yet they never even sniffed a grand final that team is not top5 in any way if you are a human being with an iq higher than 39

GooberBoy [#15]

Theres a lot of things wrong here lol. This post is about pre-franchising to start, and DRX beating FPX twice doesn't make them a better team. FPX won a LAN and tho struggled against DRX that's literally the only team they've every struggled against. Against literally every other team in their two LANs they played they were 13-2. DRX for sure had there number, doesn't mean they were a more elite or successful team. Ya they beat FPX, how about what they did against OG, Loud and even Zeta division lol. They were obviously great in champs which put them up a bit but apart from that they didn't get out of groups once in '21 and in 22 they hard choked against Zeta and in the most important match they played against FPX they didn't win. If they were really that much better than FPX then why didn't they get blown out when they had a chance to get top 4 in Stage 2. They're obviously a good team but man ranking them above teams that won a LAN when they've never even made a final and have only been top 4 once is just comical.

? zeta beat them once during their cinderella run. also in the context of this thread we're talking about 2022 drx in which stax was igl, something that wasn't around during 2021 and something I believe was a huge factor in the way drx played. however, I do see your point about drx choking in important matches before gfs and ig we'll have to wait and see whether this trend continues for one more lan🤝

allat + DRX clears

Ok, but where is DSG?

GooberBoy [#7]

What have DRX actually done to deserve being called a top 3 team? They never made it out of GS in '21 and their best performance was a 3rd place. How can you possibly put them over FPX and ACE?

They made it out of GS in 21 and coincidentally they stomped ACE while doing it - the same ACE that won Champs that year actually. Masters Berlin.

diswaco [#17]

? zeta beat them once during their cinderella run. also in the context of this thread we're talking about 2022 drx in which stax was igl, something that wasn't around during 2021 and something I believe was a huge factor in the way drx played. however, I do see your point about drx choking in important matches before gfs and ig we'll have to wait and see whether this trend continues for one more lan🤝

Point is that they're peak has never been very good pre franchising, they had a good run at champs and have been consistently top 8 in 2022 but every person ranked above them should indisputably be since they won events and/or had consistent high placing, higher than DRX.

GooberBoy [#7]

What have DRX actually done to deserve being called a top 3 team? They never made it out of GS in '21 and their best performance was a 3rd place. How can you possibly put them over FPX and ACE?

Also the reason many consider DRX as a top 3 team is because, bar Champs 21, they have only ever lost to the eventual winners of a tournament and at worst, a top 3 placing team - usually a team they already beat.

Masters Berlin: 1-2 vs Gambit
Masters Reykjavik: 1-2 vs OpTic, 1-2 vs ZETA (3rd)
Masters Copenhagen: 1-2 vs OpTic (3rd), 0-2 vs FPX
Champs 22: 0-2 vs LOUD, 2-3 vs OpTic (2nd)