Yap Warning
Alot of people are getting the relationship between rank and talent wrong imo, especially since Rankers' run through challengers so far
Ranked is a loose indicator of talent
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Lets look at the posterboy of rank = t1 talent, Primmie : https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/Scooby%20dooby%20doo%23wheru/overview
Of course, primmie is a t1 level player/talent, but the problem is when people say that we knew that from how good he is in ranked (#1 every act, insane tracker, etc). You can not infer that because he's good in ranked, that that makes him talented enough for T1. The relationship is the opposite, it's because he is talented that he is so good in ranked
And this condition does not always hold. Not every good player is good in ranked, not everybody good in ranked is good at pro play (more commonly).
Let's look at EG Nature : https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/EG%20NaturE%23RAT/overview
Wow, look at that, an absolutely insane tracker. 1200+ rr peak, 941/1000 TRS, 1.34 K/D, S tier every stat, 76% winrate, all while locking initiator (sova/breach/fade)
But in pro play, he's not even considered a top player in t1 play, even amongst igls, or even mechanically amongst domestic 'fragging' igls (Kingg, Valyn, Johnqt, Rossy all clear)
Now lets look at t3xture, arguably the best duelist in the world, and a Masters MVP : https://tracker.gg/valorant/profile/riot/GEN%20t3xture%239999/overview
Good, but nothing crazy
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So what is the relationship between rank and talent with regards to pro play? As previously mentioned, its very loose, but I propose a simple system
T4 - If you can consistently hit imm2 or higher in ranked if ranking up was your only objective , you have enough talent to be a T4 Player. This does not mean hitting that rank makes you a T4 player, but that you have enough talent for that level of play.
T3 - If you can consistently hit bottom radiant or higher in ranked if ranking up was your only objective, you have enough talent to be a T3 Player. This does not mean hitting that rank makes you a T3 player, but that you have enough talent for that level of play.
T2 - If you can consistently hit top 150 Radiant or higher in ranked if ranking up was your only objective, you have enough talent to be a T2 Player. This does not mean hitting that rank makes you a T2 player, but that you have enough talent for that level of play.
T1 - It does not matter how good you are in ranked. You should be able to hit top 50, but other factors are much more important in determining whether or not you are T1 capable. (Experience, understanding of the game, understanding of your role, etc)
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Why is it that rank does not matter much for T1 consideration? Because contrary to common belief, there are actually a good bit of players who are not in t1 who have better mechanics than most t1 pros (ex: Geeza - currently a collegiate player)
Primmie and Karon are the EXCEPTIONS. Does anybody here think that if Poppin was picked up to a T1 team that he would be in consideration for GOAT of his role within his first year, like Karon? Please identify yourself if you think so.
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This of course isn't to say that rank means nothing. RANKERS, composed of 4 notorious ranked demons + inspire, made it to Challengers Playoffs with no practice. But keep in mind this is literally the best of the best when it comes to pug stacking. 4 of those players have been getting to rank 1 consistently these past few acts. What they've done is very impressive, and does show that rank is an indicator of talent, just a loose one.
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