I am disappointed in the VLR users. How do the most ragebait takes annoy the site meant to be for ragebait?

Packgod? The cringelord who literally fakes his "packs" and edits like a chimpanzee on adderall

It comes down to Maps and then round diff

Well then you are a minority as well aren't you? If you don't think its fun, don't watch it? Nobodies forcing you

They'll definitely be pretty upset. Though it says a lot about the concept of winning when you really think about it. Even though LOUD lost all their games I am sure they are definitely happier than Nrg or even Lev. Even though NRG have qualified for playoffs, their mental is more fucked than that of LOUD players.

No. Even if RRQ would have won the first priority would still be H2H, which Talon has over NS and T1. NS would then still be fourth because they lost to T1.

They need Hiro to pop off to make it happen. Otherwise they just get aimdiffed by the players on Vitality

You don't understand buddy. Saadhak and engh are playing 5D chess. They are maining Harbor when nobody is playing him. Once Riot overbuffs and makes him OP they are going to farm in Paris. Trust the process.

Saadhak is playing 4d chess. When Harbor gets buffed, he is gonna run him on every map and just smurf

Americas:--
LOUD is the team who i have immense hope for in Stage 2. The coaching definitely needed some changes but the team itself looks good. In the EG game, LOUD looked like the better team for 90% of the game but Potter diffed Stk so hard in the coaching department. Lukxo is amazing and a much needed help for Dgzin. While i don't think they'll win anything, they could be the surprise 4th Champs team.

EMEA:--
GiantX is my pick here. Ara and Flickless are great additions to the team and now it feels like GX can shoot back. One of the things I like about them is that they never give up. That sounds very weird, but the comeback against TH would never have been possible if they just folded and didn't punish TH for their misplays. I don't think this team has scope for internationals, but they could be a team where they will punch down and maybe get an upset over a team.

APAC:--
APAC have an insanely amazing and competitive top 5, but a very boring bottom 7. TS, DFM and GE look dead in the water. NS, Talon and ZETA have upset potential but i don't see them qualifying for an international. Ironically enough the team with the most potential is PRX, which feels nauseating to say. They have a chance to suddenly find their old form and blast some teams along the way. TRACK BY TRACK.

Sir, another incel has hit VLR.

The cope and seethe from EDG fans is apparent. Though can't really blame you. The Simon fallout was brutal for the mental.

A fight for the higher seeding is the same as a final. It doesn't matter who looked better against the weaker teams. It depends on who beat the other team. Here, Kru have beaten Sen. Hence, in this moment of time, KRU are better than Sen. Hence they get first seed.
If according to you, every group stage game should count, then I'd argue that the most important game was the one between Kru and Sen and the results of the other games get low priority.

By your own argument, EG winning against Kru wasn't a Grand Final either. So we can just pretend that Kru didn't lose a game.
The reason this is not like real sports is because the difference between a bad valorant/esports player and a great one is very small. Whereas, in say Basketball, the difference is humongous. So Valorant rankings have no choice but to be reactionary.
At the end of the day, SEN lost to Kru, and Kru were the best team in the group stage.

Fair enough, Let me give you a proper reason.
Round difference and map difference is a silly metric to take into account, because it doesn't prove whether a team is better than the other with the same points. Round/map difference would make sense if every fight in Valorant was transitive but that is never the case. If Kru have beaten Sen, then it makes no sense for them to be below them. H2H is even more impactful in deciding the 4th seed. Lets assume 2g beat SEN and Loud win tomorrow. Even if 2G has a better map diff, EG should still qualify because they have beaten them.
Like it or not, Valorant rankings have to be reactionary to make sure the best team in that moment is the one that qualifies, not the team with consistent results. So for now Sen is a weaker team than Kru.

Different regions, different casters, different ideals. Both players are not comparable. Also, Governer has never been a good player, he has always been below average. On the other hand, Patwho has shown signs of brilliance and is now in a slump. It makes sense for casters to talk more about the player with loads of potential, rather than a below par player who will always be below par.

I think an IGL like Boo or Nobody is really good. They are good fraggers, but their aim seems unimpressive when put on a team with Woot and Kangkang.
Their calling is also good and both seem to make some questionable and risky plays, but don't let those plays affect their team on a whole level.

Correction: I would rather have 2023 fnatic than any other. Boaster is a great igl, but he needed the rest of his players to mesh well with his calling. If your team is a bit more freeform and can have multiple callers, then a fragging igl is probably better, but it depends from team to team.

Muscle Man was a G. His jokes were from ignorance, not from trying to make an edgy joke and failing miserably.

Bro tried to sneak in RRQ.
APAC is going to depend so much on match-ups to decide who is going to go.

TH did play Pearl during kickoff and it did look good. There is a chance they don't ban it

Calling yourself stoic is the least stoic thing anyone can do

1) Most people don't care that SEN are somewhat regressing. Do you think they should be perfect every year with no faults.
2) Do you actually watch the games? Watch the aftermatch of the LEV vs Furia game, Probably the most fun interview in ages.
3) I don't know where you get that? Kangkang and Tenz are not at all similar players. You are just a Tenz fanboy who is mad that there are other people playing at or above his level.
4) You are completely correct there, but there is nothing anybody can do about that.
5) Same question, are you watching the games. Aspas is being completely outshined in the recent games by cortezia and xenom. Even great players regress, there is nothing inherently wrong with that, considering they are winning.
6) The PRX situation is sad and that is valid, but do you only watch PRX games? Thee are so many other teams playing amazingly maybe watch their game.

You seem like someone who started watching in like 2024, got attached to a few teams, and are mad they aren't still perfect. Its an esports. Ups and downs is the name of the game, and you need to start watching more games rather than crying about the few that aren't going the way you want them to.

APAC

High Chance : T1, GenG, Boom Esports, DRX
Low Chance : Talon, Nongshim, RRQ
No Chance : GE, PRX, DFM, ZETA, TS

AMERICAS

High Chance : G2, KRU, C9, SEN, MIBR
Low Chance : 100 Thieves, Nrg
No Chance : Loud, EG, 2G, Lev, Furia

EMEA

High Chance : Vit, FNC, TH, Fut, Gentle Mates
Low Chance : TL, BBL, Karmine Corp
No Chance : KOI, Apeks, GX, Navi

CHINA

Talking about China is futile. Even Xi Jinping can't predict what's going to happen.

i wouldn't consider winning against 2G an achievement, but they are still better than Fur and Lev

I would argue its the opposite in a way too. So many people were calling her mid because she failed in one singular game throughout the year that too against TH. The reason fewer people are hyping up the other teammates is because they have remained inconsistent so far, but the entire team looks good in stage 1. They ain't making it out of playoffs, but they need time and they could be huge threats in Stage 2

This isn't that bad. GenG is in the same boat as the "3" teams tho

Apart from G2 the rest of NA looks mid. Kru and mibr are almost guaranteed with them, but who knows C9 might make a surprise.

Thats what happens when you don't have an igl.

Dude the Apeks players honestly look fresh. Is Emea finally not a one team region?

who is the no1 cNed fan? See this shows your fear. You are afraid of declaring yourself as the no1 fan.

DO NOT BE SCARED OF VITALITY! VITALITY DOES NOT HAVE MICRO OR LAYERED PLAYS. THEY ARE A BASIC BARRY TEAM WITH BASIC BARRY MACRO AND A BUNCH OF VETERAN TALENTED PLAYERS (one of which they have traded out) HAVING INCREDIBLE AIM AND GAME SENSE.
Always remember---VIT is like a stray dog. If you pass them unafraid and with confidence (like T1 and G2 did) they will not harm you. Show even a hint of fear, they will bite harder than ever.

Watch Platchat (not sponsored). Its a youtube channel with a bunch of analysts and commentators who go live every week. You could use them as sources.
I don't think asking which teams to support is fair. I would suggest you go check out every champions or masters grand final from 2021 to 2024 (vods are on Youtube) and just see which player or team you like.

I shall see you in Champions 2026 ch1llin

Even if G2 are the favorites to win, if you are rooting for them (unless you are a g2 fan) then you probably like Billionaires, which is funny to say considering that t1 are the bigger org

As I said on the post, and as Vitality themselves proved today, you can't win with only one player (Less) shooting.

I was right. Down to the point. Forget anti stratting, bozos couldn't even beat T1s basic stratting.

Let me explain what I mean by flop. Do I think that they are going to be the worst team or something? No. Absolutely not. In terms of power ranking they are definitely top 3. However if we rank all the Bangkok teams in terms of how likely they are to lift the trophy, Vit are the most unlikely imo. They will definitely come 3rd or 2nd, but I dont think they are going to win.
Most of that has to do with their playstyle. THEY JUST OUTAIM. And to be fair, the players are built for it. But sometimes it feels like they don't have anything else in there kit. Watch the Team liquid vs Vitality game again. That was probably the most CS coded VCT grand finals I have ever seen. Almost no round, for either of the teams were won due to amazing ability usage or outplaying/outigling.
Another part to consider is that the teams that Vitality beat to get here weren't amazing. While G2 have beaten the 2nd americas team twice, and DRX have shown their grit against both T1 and GenG, that Liquid game was the most uninspiring win for any kickoff winners. Vitality have beaten, KC (amazing game btw, but again Saadhak outplayed them for most of it), Fut and Heretics both of whom looked like coughing babies, and Liquid. No team except Liquid so far have really tested Vit in terms of pure aim, something that a lot of Bangkok teams can do. And once they start to get somewhat outaimed their underbelly of having 5 of the best players in the world, all with great game sense, but no real teamplay will be exposed.
Maybe I am wrong, maybe Derke just Aura diffs everybody and wins it. But my problem with this teams stems from the fact that this is Valorant. In this beautiful game, you have First Bullet Inaccuracy. And the game might just decide to mess with you for the day. ****

EDIT: Turns out I was right. Bye bye Vitality

G2 Aura
Platchat- Glazed
Casters-Wet
Audience-Exploded
Americas-On their knees
Results- Has beaten two mid ladder teams convincingly

I agree with the Sayf and Nats, im just Sayf pilled right now.
Lewn should be 7 however. He is definitely good and the rookie with the most potential, but we can only comment on whether he lived up to it after kickoffs or stage 1. Flor has proven herself, not only in game changers, but also by being the only one to go positive kd in losses. click and purpo are arguable, but lewn is below flor.
Here is my argument for keiko. Woot is definitely a top tier player and fits in the controller role well. But as a pure smoker, we haven't really seen much crazy shit from him as we regularly see from keiko. Can he dethrone Keiko in due time? Absolutely. But for now, he still doesn't look as good as Keiko or even Boo when he plays controller.

Lewn is definitely not 4th place. He still has a lot more to prove. Push him down to 7th imo. I would put Sayf above Alfa, but its fine either way. Saadhak is above Boo imo. But honestly the fact that he plays flex harbor should make him no1. Keiko definitely above Woot. Individually, woot leaves him in the dust, but as a pure controller, keiko outsmokes everyone. Nats is above minny.