I mostly just watch NA and the bangers of EU games so I can't speak for Eu or the rest of the world but at least in NA the tier 2 scene from just a few months ago has drastically improved which is why there are so many upsets RN. I don't think these tier 1 teams are playing worse than they were b4 it's just that the competition is much better with much better strats. Makes me super excited for the future talent level of NA valorant and how perfected the game can get.