I mean he has always been one of the best in the world for sure. If I had to say Top 10 rn, this isnt in rank but I would consider Texture, Derke, Aspas, Something, Zekken, Sayf, Keznit, Jinggg, Miniboo, Kangkang.

I didnt put players like Woot since he isnt the primary duelist anymore, and I instead went with miniboo as he plays the role extremely well. And what I mean by that is space creation, he does an extremely good job at that while still having good fragging. He might not be as dominant as how he looked at the start of the year but I prefer him over many other duelists.

Players like Oxy are really good but when he has an off day the entire team just fumbles. But hes up there for sure. Others that come to my mind are Jawgemo, Cryo/Asuna, Buzz, Narrate. And the new dog Primmie. These guys can all be at the top of the list too, but I just prefer the others currently. You could argue that Kangkang doesnt belong on the list but I put him because of how much he carries and helps EDG even get past their shit playstyle and stratbook lately.

As for the others, Texture is still just as dominant bro is still demonic, Derke has been insane for FNC as a duelist he is looking sharp once again, Aspas is one of the greats for a reason, Zekken has been so good bar a few off days like the game against g2, something and jinggg have been interchanging insane games (the GENG game was fucked but we dont talk about that), Keznit is also insane for KRU consistently one of the better duelists in the world.

And now coming to the main man. Sayf is one of the greats, he used to carry Guild with Leo, then he carried Liquid, now him and trexx are frying on Vitality. Sayf deserves all the hype, bro is one of the best in the world. His aim, movement, and talent is just insane. It also helps that I love his IDGAF attitude, he literally does what Demon1, Boostio used to do last year. But it doesnt come off as badly/cringey. Bros vendetta against Liquid is too funny lmao.

I fucking love my Valorant Vikkstar

Unfortunately for Xeppa, beating NRG doesn't mean shit for them. If their win condition, Oxy does not perform they don't win. You really think C9 makes it out of playoffs lol?

FNS and Xeppa are both staying home and watch partying champs. But who actually won at the end of the day? C9 will rebuild, and I don't think Xeppa has the glock glock skills that Asuna has allowing him stay on the team for years. C9 will have to rebuild around Oxy next year if they wanna win and I don't see Xeppa in that roster.

NRG keeps FNS on the other hand, and what he lacked this year was time. Which he will have plenty of now. FNS will win a trophy next year. Mark my words. If he doesn't win, fuck me i guess?

8 teams?

Which teams are you referring to? I agree that Americas is the strongest, but the number of Champs contenders teams in the region is not 8, C9 isn't winning shit lol. I can see SEN and G2 being contenders from previous performances at Internationals. On the other hand LEV are just a weird team, they are good yes but with how inconsistent they can be I don't rate them like SEN or even G2. G2 are still underrated somehow, but they are a class team. On the other hand SEN is SEN. KRU can also be a contender, but they have things to fix. And so does 100T, they are coming back into form but there is also that inconsistency.

Other regions don't have the same number of teams that can win but its not that far from Americas. I would say Pacific has 3-4, GENG and PRX are the obv contenders, while DRX and teams like TS or TLN can be underdogs. DRX because of their new roster still learning and adapting while TS and TLN can be extremely good teams with their strats and plays.

EMEA has TH who are just demons, FNC who look revitalized with Hiro, FUT who have their strengths. KC can be contenders if they find a way out of this slump they are in right now but it seems unlikely.

China is obv the weakest region but I doubt that this will continue in the coming seasons. FPX are the best team in China, and FUT losing to them was no fluke. This team is insane, and I feel like any team from any region could lose to them with how out of the box their style is. Other teams in China are slowly but surely improving, not sure what is going on with EDG though.

Americas only has 2 contenders in my opinion, it could be 3 if you want to force it. But my opinion stands, the difference is not as wide as you think. There are many teams in other regions that could shit on your supposed contenders other than 2-3 teams in the Americas. People fr gotta stop looking down on other regions lol. Everyone is improving.