“TenZ is forever the face of Valorant”

#1

meanie

ok let’s be real here people. We’re entering the 5th year of Valorant, 3rd year of franchising, and people are already so certain to call TenZ the face of Valorant forever? This game is going to last for another 10 years at minimum, the next few years this game will continue to grow if Riot plays their cards right like what they did with LoL, TenZ will be quickly forgotten by bigger players that’ll rake in more fame and winnings, hell KK is literally the most popular Valorant player ever if we’re talking about sheer numbers here.

This is a fact some of you need to face and it only shows how important TenZ’s decision was. He put all of that shit behind him to pursue what he wanted to do, respect.

#2

Aayan

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yeah but you're ignoring the face of valorant can change, it doesn't have to still be tenz in 5 years, he just is right now

#3

meanie

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except that he straight up isn’t, it’s KK when you factor in eastern viewers/players

#7

Aayan

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I would argue this

Face of VAL overall - TenZ
Face of VCT - KK

TenZ is more well known among the casual fanbase

#11

meanie

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Not anymore if we’re talking globally, like I said before, KK is the most popular a valorant player has even been right now. Not just in VCT.

#13

zephyrara

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nah kk wasnt even a thing here only in Tokyo then people started recognising him. but when U ask non Val players players that they know it's almost always tenz

#16

meanie

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KK is the most popular player in by far the most populated player base in Valorant, which is China. He’s straight up the biggest player in Val history after winning Champs. You can assume that TenZ is bigger outside of China though.

#19

washedradiant

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do u have any proof or are just saying that cause china is big. Im pretty sure china fans know who tenz is ..

#21

meanie

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And we also know who KK is lol, if you think TenZ is bigger in China than KK then you do you

#28

washedradiant

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ur so dumb I just realized u legit are guessing. u prob saw bilibili numbers and thought it was actual viewers. another unintelligent being trying to be different. and no people outside valorant esports have no clue who is kk. tenz legit generates generational numbers of views on yt, tiktok, instagram, twitch. gtfo. kyedae herself is bigger than kangkang and if u object this you are clueless. learn media

#32

meanie

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oh my goodness

#43

geospliced

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Chinese VCT viewership is more than all other regions combined (official data released from RIOT). And that's pre-champs. With how large the CN VCT fanbase is now, it is very fair to assume that KK is the most well-known Valorant player. Additionally, he dominates the highlights reel from Champs so meanie's statements are fair in his argument.

#20

DuD5K1S

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Using your argument, in 2021 (the last time china won worlds) Viper was the most popular player IN THE WORLD, because he was on a chinese team that won worlds
and faker was not considered?
Tenz is not comparable to faker, but you get what im saying

#22

meanie

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comparing tenz to faker we are cooked, your comparison doesn’t hold up for very obvious reasons

#23

DuD5K1S

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bro cant read more than 3 sentences, we are COOKED

#25

meanie

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Saying “TenZ is not comparable to Faker” right after comparing TenZ to Faker is retarded no? Do you seriously want me to explain to you why Faker was still a bigger player than Viper after Worlds 2021 because I’m not doing that for the sake of my sanity

continue thread →

#58

Lucrix

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is that not 3 sentences..

continue thread →

#33

Hyopic

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tbf before champs tenz was bigger than kk in china, right now maybe it's closer but there definitely isn't that big of a gap

#30

charleser

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I'm one of the biggest KK fans here but how are we scaling popularity? In China it's likely KK, but globally over the last 5 years it's undoubtedly Tenz. Was KK more popular than Tenz in 2021 and 2022? Absolutely not. KK became a major star in 2023 and now Riot has made him the face of VCT.

#50

SXNFLGJL

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Do you mean Valorant as a whole or VCT?
Lmao cause if you're saying KK then he's the face of VCT

#4

DuD5K1S

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Maybe not forever, but in every region except china, he is the face of valorant

#36

Prasinos

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No, Tenz is the face of Val only in Na when we think about Americas region.
SA is Aspas.

To be honest, Tenz is the face of NA and Emea.

#42

xXenonx

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actually in SEA, Tenz IS also th face kf valorant currently.

#44

geospliced

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I'd think it was f0rsaken or someone from PRX

#5

Nef0r0

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it was just a figure of speech, same when people say ''The greatest of all time'', maybe in another 100 years some bloke from Germany will win like 6 world cups and 10 Balon D'ors forever tarnishing Messi who won those trophies in tiktoker time

#10

meanie

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but there are players that have already surpassed TenZ right now lol.

#14

Nef0r0

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There is this thing in sports called the baby duck syndrome, whenever you engage in a new activity or sport, for this matter, you tend to grow attached to the first thing you see, kinda how football fans love the season they started watching football, or f1 fans rooting for the driver who won the first race they watched. People saw this new thing called valorant, came to see the first big lan and saw tenz with a thrifty winning the event with a dominant performance. Ofc they will grow attached to him.
EDIT:noticed I wrote twice about its spread in sports :D
also wanna add how I became a fan of s1mple and navi cuz the first game I watched was Navi vs QBF at the eleague boston major, I am sure anyone still remembers the first game they watched

#38

catNmouse

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i aspire to have your knowledge

#40

Nef0r0

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Thanks for the kind words

#41

catNmouse

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of course, seeing your discussions on this site always a treat to read lol

#45

geospliced

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You make a great point now that I think about it... the first Valorant match I watched was TL vs M3C and I've been a staunch TL supporter since. I've never even reflected upon it before. Thanks!

#6

shrike-

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times change, that’s the way of esports

right now the face of valorant is tenz because he has the following and the international presence. that may change with time but that’s the reality today

#8

greenshep

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TenZ is the modern day Jordan

#9

localkoolkid

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Well obviosly, Ange1 exists

#12

Phanification

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tenz is like LeBron james and kobe on cs2

#15

Nef0r0

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what does it have to do with cs2 :D

#17

sentekken

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you r so dumb

#18

neID

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nobody will forget him. he’s going to start creating even more content now, continue playing Valorant, doing watch parties, etc. His media presence among Valorant fans will only grow - so he’ll be the face of the game, if not forever, then for a very long time.

#39

Prasinos

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Disagree, people WILL forget Tenz, even in NA, if someone isnt his follower, someday the casual player will forget him.

Its how idols work bro, you idol someday will be forgot.
And, will not be for a long time, Tenz didnt achieved a world recod achieve, didnt created a remarkable thing (Like a Val school, or a product), and didnt a remarkable quotes or ideias.
In summary, he didnt a "legendary" thing.

You probally are going to call me retarded or smth mean, but its how the world works bro, people have new heros everday.

#46

neID

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Nah bro, it seems like that is you who don’t fully understand how the world works and how media power operates. The majority of people who play Valorant don’t care about Esports or are only minimally interested. You could win a championship and still only have a few thousand people on your stream.

Everything is determined by your media presence, and Tenz has the strongest out there. He had more viewers on his streams than Tarik (not including watch parties yet). He has the potential to become an even bigger media giant, especially if he starts doing more IRL content, watch parites and developing his own brand. In the eyes of the people, he’s already a legend with two Masters titles and Riot is financially invested in ensuring that people like Tenz remain among the main faces of Valorant.

Look at any industry, like music, sports, or film - you don’t have to be the best statistically, by critics' ratings, or in the opinion of professionals to be the face of the industry and have the largest fan base or media presence. If he decides to quit streaming Valorant, then yeah, his media presence and status will lose some strength. But if he doesn’t, he’ll stay at the top of Valorant views, mentions, and fanbase for a long time. Don't be delusional bro

#47

Prasinos

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Valid, but you are being much delusional as me.
First, Tenz owned his fans by competitive Valorant, yes, the majority of val players doesnt see competitve, but you cant deny the vast majority of Tenz fans is people who watche competitive Valorant, the peoples who makes him the face of Valorant, is these people.
And say that a championship doesnt bring thounsands of views is beyond delusional, especially if you was team mvp (Like Demon1 or Aspas)

Tenz has the strongest presence now, bc he is the face of Valorant now, u cant secure that he is going to make brand or something besides live.
U cant be sure if he still is going to be one of the main faces, you whole argument is based in people being loyal to Tenz, and his viewership is just going to grow, even if a new NA hero appears and take NA to the glorius spot.

Let me break it down for you with a example, Fallen.
Fallen was the main face of BR CS for a long time, he did everthing i said, feats both IRL and in Cs, making Cs school to the poors and winning majors, until now, no other Br team winned champs, still, when you ask people about face of BR CS, they gonna say Gaules ( Or fuking Neymar 💀).
Ofc Fallen was the main face for years, and until this day, is one of the mains faces of Br Cs, but you get the point, even with everthing he did (That lets agree, Tenz didnt 10% of what he did), he still lost his role as main face.

Yes, people dont need to be professionals, just have a huge fanbase to be the main face.
But, take the three paragraphs above, Tenz fanbase vast majority is people who watch competitive, he has his fanbase bc at his time, he was the best in the world (2021), who make NA win the first ever Val trophy.
If another MVP NA hero, appears, and win champions, people will change their idol real quick, bc this is how the world works.
Tenz didnt anything until now, to be remenbered for Irl feats, besides live, that has a huge viership bc he retired like, 2d ago, watche parties isnt enough to say he still is going to be in the same level viewership for more than 3y.

Dont get me wrong, he still are going to be influent, top 10, but when we say "still at the top" we mean top 5, and he isnt going to be in this place for more than 2y.
You argument was good, just had one mistake, loyalt.
If after a time, Tenz dont have anything to offer besides live playing Val or doing watche parties, people will change to the "Glorius NA goat wo bringed home champs".

#48

Prasinos

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Btw, holy yap 💀

#49

neID

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You've built your argument around some false takes: "vast majority of Tenz fans is people who watch competitive Valorant," and "people will change their idol real quick."

Yes, his initial boost in popularity came from that, but the main wave and growth came from his streams, YouTube, viral one-tap clips, and insanely viral clips with Kyedae. Tenz has long been more than just the "Glorious NA GOAT who brought home champs", his personality and personal life have played just as big a role for a while now. It's a different level of media presence compared to all other pro players and unique coincidence of factors (like having a wife who is in the top 5 streamers for Valorant).

As for the idea that champions only get a few thousand views - I never said that wouldn't happen. It will, but it’ll only be a few thousand at most, not consistent tens of thousands like Tenz. That’s a different level. (Aspas is more of an exception here because the competition among famous pro Valorant players in that language market is much lower).

I'm talking about his growth as a media personality ONLY if he keeps playing and stays involved in Valorant. If he quits the game, of course, he won’t remain the face of it. But similarly, you can't say for sure that he will quit. There are more factors pointing to the opposite – staying with Sentinels as a content creator, mentioning that he'll do watch parties – this all indicates that he's going to continue building his presence.

Being in the top 5 Valorant media personalities for 2-3 years is a long period, especially considering how short most players' careers are and how hard it is to stay on top. Again, if Tenz wants to continue growing in Valorant as a content machine, he’ll be a media giant for more than just 2-3 years. Right now, he's easily top 2 after Tarik, and there's no one even close to challenging that spot.

#54

Prasinos

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1° Paragrapy.
Its more a interpretation of what i have seen of his fans, ofc i can be wrong, but its what i have seen of fans of persons in general.
(Edit: Something that i forgot to tell, that is you cant deny Tenz have a huge part in his fanbase that his the type of people i said, not the majority, but its a huge, these people arent loyal, they just follow the "new goat" like people suddenly turning fan of Demon1, and sundely Demon1 lost many fans and gained many haters, even more than before)

2° Paragrapy.
Agree, you right.

3° Paragrapy.
Agree until a part, yes he doesnt gonna have the Tenz level, but i tink this is kinda happens for language barrier and regions popularity, not saying that other are better than Tenz, i saying that a BR or a China player wins a champs, doesnt gonna have the same chance to have the same popularity as Tenz, bc how English is a universal languague, a influencir with english being their main language, can and will have more acess to other folks.

4° Paragrapy.
I never said he would quit, i said that only working and streams playing val, wouldnt be enough for being one of the top 5 for more than 3 years.
That if he want to be for more than 3 years, he should work more in his projects (Brand, analysis, etc).

5° Paragrapy.
Agree with most but have somethings.
When you said.

he’ll be the face of the game, if not forever, then for a very long time.

Forever with "long time" makes looks long time was 6~8 years, thats why i have disagreeded.
Yes he will still top 3 or 2 for 2~3y.
More than 3y maybe, more than 4 is a divission of opnion that i tink we cant reach a common agreement, for me, even if he work at his brand, i tink he cant stay top5 for more than 4y for you is the opposite.
Still, we both agree that he is going to be at top for 3y.
And i tink Pujan can and will supass Tarik in term of influence.

In generall, we reached a common agreement with some divergences of opnions.

#51

VGG

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Tenz's popularity has nothing to do with his competitive Valorant career lol
he was a 20 k + andy way before he even became a sub for Sentinels

https://x.com/TenZOfficial/status/1349196931747041284

https://x.com/TenZOfficial/status/1349961859705708548

both tweets were from Jan 2021
Tenz went to Sentinels on loan on 2021-03-11

#55

Prasinos

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Twwiter link 💀💀💀💀💀💀.

#24

deanAM

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It could change from Tenz, or may not, KK obviously has Chima on lock, he is China's first successful player,

If Tenz watch party's or Riot have him at events and keep him in the scene, he may stay the face of the game everywhere else,

If and this hasn't happened yet but if a player domitinates, wins numerous trophies (from this point on), streams regularly, has a good personality, blah blah, they could become the face of the game,

People seem to underestimate it's his personality, his long term relationship with Kyedae, not been an absolute dick on stream, as some of the main reasons why he is the face of the game.

#26

_Nonsense

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Tenz is good and all but face of valorant?
...not even close to the level of achievement as faker or s1mple lul

#59

BLuko

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I think you are mixing up between "the goat of valorant" and "the face of valorant"

#34

nonchalantasian

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Tenz will never be the face of Valorant forever. People like Simple and Faker have dominated for so long they've built up decade-long loyal fanbases. Valorant is still a young game—winning just two Masters titles isn't gonna cut it to stay relevant for the next 5-10 years. Look at the OGs from CS2 and LoL; almost all of them have faded out of relevancy, and barely anyone remembers their names anymore.

#35

Hyopic

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thats just untrue, outside of league and cs yeah sure but in the communities most people know OG top players lmao

#37

highlyte

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I'm a fan of KK, but he still needs to have at least a successful next year before we can talk about his greatness

#52

hdeqth

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King of bad takes right here

#53

SAMPV6

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Well if it's been 5 years and no one has taken the spot, then that's indicative of something, right?

Think a bit, I swear it won't hurt.

#56

PlasmatheGoat

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Tenz is the Face of Global valorant, it doesnt matter if KK is more popular in China, What matters is the overall recognizability of players by the global audience in valorant as well as outside Valorant in other games not just one massive country. Most people who have never touched valorant will name Tenz over KK.

#57

LordItachi

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Even many/most Chinese pros have said that Tenz was their inspiration what are you on about.

#60

Blueberry77

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Tenz is just popular even within non vct watchers idk what you r talking about even if he is not in vct anymore he will play valorant and will remain as a popular player