Incredible domestic consistency and performance secure GUILD's flex star Leo the #20 spot on the ranking.
Leo "Leo" Jannesson is perhaps among the most underrated players in the world. Despite being, in my opinion, the most controversial selection in this ranking, I believe Leo deserves recognition for his incredible domestic consistency and performance in regional events.
His VALORANT career began on Swedish squad bonk, which peaked at #2 in the world in July of 2020. The squad was eventually signed by David Beckham's esports organization, GUILD. The European team maintained their position among the top regional teams, but were then eliminated early into the First Strike circuit, unable to qualify to the main event.
The Swedes stepped up heading into the VCT circuit, however, qualifying to VCT Europe Stage 1 Masters. Here, Leo demonstrated his prowess with a 1.12 rating and lead his team to a 3rd-4th place finish.
With a LAN on the horizon, GUILD headed into Stage 2 as one of the favorites. The team qualified into the Stage 2 EMEA Challengers Playoffs with little challenge, but were eliminated in 5th-6th position following a massive upset to Oxygen Esports. Despite this crushing blow, Leo topped the charts with a stunning 1.41 rating, the highest performance in the tournament (with Sage and Sova nonetheless).
Heading into Stage 3 with their eyes on Berlin, GUILD qualified to the Stage 3 EMEA Challengers Playoffs through their first qualifier, suffering losses only to G2 Esports and Acend. Once again, however, the team finished the Challengers Playoffs in mediocre fashion, finishing at 7th-8th. Leo's consistency was demonstrated once again through his 1.33 rating, second in the tournament.
The last phase of the VCT 2021 circuit was perhaps GUILD's most successful, as the team placed 2nd in the EMEA Last Chance Qualifier, almost qualifying for VALORANT Champions. Leo dragged his team to the finals against an elite Team Liquid with a 1.29 tournament rating.
Why is Leo the 20th best player of 2021?
Despite GUILD only achieving a few top four performances and zero international lan qualifications, I feel that Leo's individual performance merits a position on this list. He finished the year with a 1.31 rating, one of the highest in Europe and the world. The lack of team success is difficult to overlook however, meaning that he barely squeaks into this year's ranking.
The most difficult part of this decision was placing Leo over both Jamppi and starxo, who are also elite players, but let me make my case. While both starxo and Jamppi have had a year filled with elite accomplishments, their individual performances are low enough for me to place Leo ahead of them. Jamppi performed abysmally during Valorant Champions, achieving a 0.90 rating, amongst the lowest in the tournament. The Sova performed in a similar fashion in both Stage 2 and Stage 3 EMEA challengers playoffs, with a mediocre performance in Masters 2 Reykjavik. Similarly, starxo held below a 1.00 rating in all but one major event.
Overall, Leo's stunning performances on agents such as Sova and Sage compel me to place him high on this year's ranking, and I am looking forward to his success in the 2022 VCT circuit.
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