https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/f7c78075

https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/3125bfd7

this is going on very limited knowledge of gc regions outside of NA and EMEA. kind of a shame we didn't get in game pickems with rewards like at Champions Seoul.

multiple eastern european languages. none of which english.

thank you very much! i actually watched MY/SG finals RDA vs DSG. the casting was a lot better than expected.

when Tokyo Ascension comes around, or maybe VCJ Split 3, I am gonna watch a few games to see what all the hype is about.

https://www.vlr.gg/event/pickem/2143/champions-tour-2024-emea-ascension

kinda late but here are mine.

a lot worse than MSC. I had DZ in grand finals through uppers. is what it is tho.

lmao this aged well.

sen are so overhyped. they were incredible and Kickoff and Madrid, then they just shat the bed every single match after that. and TenZ and all their players/ fans still have this massive ego like their org is the best when in reality sen are gonna go on another long run of irrelevancy. but for some unknown reason, every single NA valorant fan still meatrides and bandwagons the fuck out of them.

Basically the title. I'm just looking to get into watching more VCL but I am only fluent in English. Thanks in advance.

this is lowkey nuts. Leo was a top 8 player in EMEA. I hope he can recover quickly but im curious about how well hiro can play. I guess we'll see. this definitely changes things for fnatic going forward.

thats ridiculous lmfao. i mean they are still a clear fav to win so no worries i guess lmao

very curious why it says they forfeited. they are still on to play in the lower bracket tho.

Seems like they ran Viper, Gekko, Kay/O, Deadlock and Killjoy. They beat G2 13-11 at Kickoff. Then they lost to Loud the very next game. In W1 of Americas Stage 1 they switched back to a standard Harbor/ Viper comp on Icebox and got destroyed 3-13. They still haven't played it since.

They ran the same comp as TTR. it worked pretty well for a while, they beat NWG 13-8 and KPG 13-5 running the comp. They lost to DRG 5-13 but DRG were clearly the better team in terms of talent.

So far Add3r has played Deadlock on Ascent 4 times this season, all 4 times they won the map. The first instance of him EVER playing Deadlock on Ascent was against SaD Esports in W3 of Split 1. They won the map 13-5 and the series 2-1. They then beat M80 on the map with Add3r on Deadlock 13-5 to win the series 2-1 in week 5 of Split 1. In the quarter finals of the MSC they beat Blinn 13-8 to win the series 2-1. In that Blinn game Add3r got 2 kills using ultimate lineups. Now they just beat M80 on Ascent for a second time in the MSC semi finals 13-8. In all of these maps, they ran the same comp, stellar on Sova, bdog on Jett, silenx/ wedid on Omen, corey on Cypher and of course Add3r on Deadlock. Every single time it had worked perfectly. This team comp might be viable in the current meta even in tier 1 play. I'd be really interest to see if other teams adapt into something similar with a Deadlock and Cypher combo.

For a little reference, the last time TTR played on Ascent before they began using Deadlock/ Cypher, they lost 6-13 against SaD Esports in the quarter finals of the Sean Gares Showdown. In this map, they played mikeE on Kay/O wedid on Omen bdog on Jett dazzLe on Sova and Add3r on Killjoy. The main different was Killjoy and Kay/O instead of Deadlock and Cypher. Even though they went through a pretty large roster change, I think this just proves TTR's willingness to adapt and try new compositions. Clearly they experimented, understood everyones strengths and weaknesses on this comp, and made something that works flawlessly, and beat the best team in Challengers NA twice using it.

If anyone else knows of any other cool Deadlock comps that have worked in pro play please let me know, I'm pretty curious about it.

note: the mid-season cup is a 12 team, single elimination bracket where all matches are bo3

1. Oxygen
   Coming off of a very convincing win over QoR Gaming, and bootcamp leading up to this event, Oxygen look primed and ready to win it all. Their next match won't be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but they are in prime form to take it all.

2. Moist x Shopify
   Coming off of a less convincing W over Fluffy Aimers, they looked a little sloppy, but have re-entered competition with a win and are (hopefully) back in form and ready for a tough match against Oxygen.

3. M80
   After taking home a tough win over TSM, they look back in form and ready for their next match against TTR. Their performance on Lotus was nothing short of spectacular and I can't imagine a world where they won't try and pick that against TTR. They looked pretty sloppy on Breeze and Sunset however, and I can see them losing to TTR, especially considering the last time they met in Stage 1 they lost. That's all to say however that even OXG lost to QoR earlier in the season, but absolutely demolished them in the MSC.

4. Turtle Troop
   They looked incredibly sloppy against Blinn. However Blinn has been bootcamping and came right off the Promo/Relegation Tournament so were in much better form than TTR. I can see them beating M80, but they've got a lot of work to do until tomorrow.

https://www.vlr.gg/event/pickem/1999/champions-tour-2024-masters-shanghai

lol

5. keznit
   Lead his team, KRU, to a 3-0 start to the season, easily cementing KRU as the number 1 team in South America, and his position as a top 5 duelist.

6. zekken
   Pretty simple, led his team along with TenZ to a Masters win, though to be entirely honest, I feel like TenZ deserved the Madrid MVP a little more,. Regardless zekken is still a cracked duelist.

7. Oxy
   A total curveball to all fans of tier 1 who didn't keep up with tier 2 last season was Oxy. Most fans of NA Challengers knew that Oxy was absolutely cracked, but many were wondering when he would get a real chance on the tier one stage. Safe to say Shanghai is on the cards for him.

8. Aspas
   Stats don't lie, 47 frags on 1 map is absolutely insane, and going double positive on the series with 68 frags is insane. Aspas going to Lev was the greatest move he could have made for his career, it was like Kevin Durant going to the Warriors. One of the greatest in the world joining a super team to dominate. We'll have to see how it plays out at Shanghai however.

9. Demon1
   The hate for Demon1 post-2023 was completely unprecedented and absurd. He won MVP at LA, absolutely dominated at Tokyo and cemented his legacy at EG within the span of 2 tournaments. He was the peoples champion until he wasn't, when he went to NRG and suddenly after a single bad map at Kickoff playoffs he's suddenly "Diamond1" and washed. I understand Sentinels are the #1 NA, and that they absolutely deserve all their success, but NRG is still one of the best teams in the world right now and this split has been total proof of that. He stomped Loud, stomped Furia, and with any luck will stomp Lev tonight.

Edit: not sure why the numbering of the list is doing that, but it's a descending list, fifth at the top and first at the bottom. i dont really know how to fix it, if i do ill remove this edit.

mid org, mid players, mid performance.

i mean nobody can truly give them a confident ranking yet. all they did was beat an ascension team and now they are in playoffs. tbf that game looked really clean from EG, and i think i definitely ranked them 1 or 2 spaces too low, but for the most part i dont think they stand a chance in playoffs.

behold
https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/76771b5d

lightwork
https://www.vlr.gg/pickem/bf9da567

in my defense I see them as roughly equal in strength I just gave furia the edge.

im def a gen.g fan but they haven't proved that they are the best team yet

I did this with Americas and thought it looked pretty well so I figured I would do the same for Pacific. For context I definitely do NOT watch nearly as much Pacific due to living in the U.S. and the time zone difference, but I have watched enough to make what I believe to be a decent list.

1. PRX
   Yeah this one was pretty obvious coming into kickoff, I caught both of their matches and thought they looked incredible. Needless to say they'll be a top competitor at Madrid. I won't elaborate too much since this is pretty obvious.
2. Gen.G
   Definitely my somewhat sleeper pick. I know that expectations for this team weren't super low, but they also weren't very high, and I think Gen.G has thoroughly outperformed themselves at kickoff. They were 4-4 during League play last year and didn't make a single international event. save for Lock In of course. But this year I'm all in on them. From the very start of their kickoff play to now I've been impressed, and they are absolutely my favorite Pacific team in VCT at the moment. t3xture might also be THE BEST duelist in Pacific this year.
3. DRX
   Now putting this DRX this high isn't exactly a scolding hot take or anything, but putting them below Gen.G might ruffle some feathers, and I understand that, especially when both these Korean power houses are about to play each other in their biggest matchup of the year so far, but I don't think it's ridiculous to put them here. In my opinion MaKo is the best controller in Pacific this year without debate, and between t3xture and Sayaplayer, BuZz might be the best duelist. HOWEVER I simply haven't seen enough out of the rookies. Don't get me wrong, I think Foxy9 is a phenomenal talent, but it's also hard to replicate what make DRX so incredible in the first place, and that was team chemistry. I think keeping stax at IGL was the right move though, and I'd love to see where this team goes.
4. TS
   This could be a burning hot take for some. I truthfully have only watched one match from TS, but that one match was a masterclass. I'm of course talking about their second matchup against Talon, where they proved that they wouldn't let a prior loss deteriorate their mental, and if anything used that to their advantage. I like this team, and want to see them get better, and in all honesty think they will. I think there is a better chance that the top 4 teams listed here will qualify for champions than any other Pacific teams.
5. T1
   Admittedly they got a pretty lucky hand by playing Bleed and then Zeta, but T1 has definitely performed up to the hype. I honestly can't say I have any stock in them beating PRX, probably not even taking a map off of them, but in these cases I'd be happy to be surprised. xccurate surpassed every single one of my expectations against Zeta, and Sayaplayer proved once again why he is in that top Pacific duelist discussion. Carpe is also one of my favorite IGL's in all of VCT. I've always enjoyed his crafty calls in tight situations that allow T1 to walk away with the round. Truthfully it was harder putting this team here than you may think, and I can see a world where they are at the 4 spot on my list. It's a tight gap between them and TS.
6. Talon
   Here is the part of the list where we begin to exit the great teams category, and descend into the alright teams category. They're a great team, and a great org, and I had my hopes up following their victory over TS in round one, but they completely and utterly dropped the ball promptly after they were delivered a whooping from DRX, where after they couldn't even save themselves against TS. But I think it'd been unfair to put them any lower than 6 or 7. I have them roughly at the same pedigree as RRQ.
7. RRQ
   It's unfortunate they got placed into a bracket with the two best teams in all of Pacific. Truthfully I couldn't even see enough of them to decide whether I thought they were good or not. Truly hoping they can have a great regular season and turn this around.
8. Zeta Division
   This will definitely be a hot take but I actually got the opportunity to watch play-ins for Pacific since I was pulling an all-nighter for school, so having their games on in the background and watching as they got massacred wasn't something I'd wish on my worst enemy who happens to be a Zeta fan. In all seriousness they are a talented squad and were able to qualify for the play-ins, which is more than most can say.
9. GLOBAL
   Now we descend into the category of teams that performed subpar, they definitely proved that India as a region has a lot more work to do before it can contend for a title, but be that as it may, they are the sole representatives of that region, and their improvement overtime has been a great indicator of the progress their region has made. I will say I believe they can definitely improve upon their three win season last year, and I wholly expect them to.
10. BLEED
    Oh boy. Oh... boy... How the mighty have fallen.
11. DFM
    Need I say anymore?

Always open to some feedback and open discussion!

this has got to be the worst Americas list I have ever seen.

that is a scorching hot take bro. i dont think i could see nrg any lower than 2 lol.

okay look. most people are REALLY mad at me over my Furia take, and i honestly can't say i put them that low for any reason other than a gut feeling.
this list is my predictions for the end of season, not current, and i just dont think that Furia can keep up this form. the highest i could put them is 7 and in place of g2, and truthfully i do think as of right now they are better than g2.

honestly looking back at it g2 should be a bit lower and furia a tad higher, but apart from that i stand by my list.

After watching the first three days of Americas kickoff, I'd say I've watched enough to confidently rank teams for the season.

1. NRG
   one of the best NA fraggers in Demon1, reigning champion IGL in Ethan and the cracked core of Marved, Victor and crashies. they showed out against Furia and are my confident #1
2. Loud
   there isn't much to say about Loud, they're a dominant force, and even though they lost aspas to Lev, watching their match against Sen was telling about the kind of season they are set up for.
3. C9 (interchangeable)
   three words; oxy. is. cracked. nuff said.
4. Leviatan
   aspas, kingg, and com are all incredibly cracked players in their own right, but i didnt see enough of them as a team to say weather they can go any higher. regardless they are easily top 4
5. mibr
   im gonna get hate for this, im aware, and i can accept that, but they definitely had the most solid performance of any of the 5 teams who lost this weekend. and ill stand on that hill
6. sentinels (interchangeable)
   the thing that concerns me about sen is that i could see them being anywhere from 1st this season to 11th, im making this placement purely off their dominant performance at afreecatv.
7. Furia
   originally had them at 11 prior to my first edit, and honestly i have no clue what i was thinking. mwzera is a dog and the team looks super coordinated, originally had g2 in this spot as well, which was silly.
8. 100T
   i really enjoyed watching this team play, something about them. its unfortunate they came across a budding super team in their first match, they could def make a play-in run at kickoff tho.
9. G2
   i feel almost obligated to put G2 this high because they won their first match. as someone who followed NA challengers last season, I've been around this team a while, and can't say i'm wholly confident in them, especially without oxy. we'll see what happens.
10. KRU
    i'm going with my gut on this pick, hate me if you want, but i can never doubt them again after LCQ. its important to remember that it was CLOSE vs G2, had they taken a few more rounds they'd be at 7 right now.
11. EG
    this hurts. i love EG, but as an organization they ruined all their credibility, lost the players that made them so amazing in the first place, and its looking more and more like that championship run was a cinderalla tale.

open to some friendly debate :)

edit 1: okay, okay, ive come to my senses about furia and decided to bump them up quite a bit, hopefully this looks a bit more fair from my previous list. i also swapped g2 and 100T.