I mean it was called the group of death for a reason. Legit every single team in this group looked really good. Even 100T who were massively doubted, I think had some sparks of hope in that group

Import rules exist and they already have yay

thats what I thought too, i thought he was a sub but apparently not lol

i mean, he already has the connections and he played pretty decently at the red bull off season tourney, so its definately an option

yeah trusty ol' google translate

GE isn't even that bad of a team imo. They have the right pieces, they just need to make it work. Are they competing for a spot at an international event, probably not, but this could be a team in the middle of the table which get some decent upsets

Translated: (using google translate)

As everyone can see, I will be taking a reserve position at Bleed. It's been news for a few days now, but because I'm still part of Bleed, I had to let the organization announce it in advance even though I've been in Saigon for 5 days =))))
Hopefully everyone won't be too harsh on Bleed because of this decision, because this is not a decision coming from the management 😗 There are stars who form factions and then let them play together if they want to follow their own wishes 😗 I still I know a lot of things, I even go on stream to pretend to be a victim, but when I talk too much, antis make excuses 😗 This is not the team that I used to eat, sleep, and practice happily together, so that's it. I think this will be an opportunity to find my passion again 😋 Not only have there been 2 games with bad shooting but I think I used my connections to get here 😗
Since the rumors started, a lot of antis have come out to bite me, but I don't think it's enough. I have to bite the bullet because I've waited a whole year to get a chance, I have to take advantage of it or I won't have the chance later 😗
Stop talking nonsense, wait until it's announced so I can go back to streaming. By the way, Bleed has officially signed with Kick, so soon I will live on YouTube for about 30 minutes and then go to Kick. See you later

2 games into a season is WAY too early to be making roster moves this big. Also you have to consider that these players grinded for a whole year to get Bleed as an org into the VCT which gives the org so much publicity and potential to grow, only to drop them. Yes one of them 'retired' but I am almost certain is was because he was benched. It feels like a betrayal of sorts

If LEV look good and bounce back from being grouped in Kick-off, I 100% agree he will be the best player in VCT 2024 (at least in Americas, there are some emerging names coming out of other regions)

Am i correct in saying that Masters Madrid will be the most closest and competitive international event ever?

My only concern about EG's deadlock strat is that it looked pretty one dimensional. Worked well against G2, but they were doing the exact same strats against Loud and just got read so easily. It looks good the strat, they just need to mix it up and give it some variety though to REALLY make it good

1 and unless they kick yay, it aint happening

I'm still just trying to comprehend and think about why yay on the viper was a good idea in the first place. I mean I wouldnt be complaining if it was working and what not, and ngl some of the ideas they had on the game against GE where he was on viper looked ok actually and i didnt mind it, but the execution was just piss poor alot of the time, which hints to me that they didnt practice it enough.

EDG for the org and almost burning the hell out of their players during the off season

Just to finish it off

China:
W Orgs - JDG, Titan, FPX
L Orgs - EDG, Tyloo,

Bleed need to learn from Loud. Loud have one of the best viper players in the world in Less and they make it work by building a composition around the viper, even on maps where viper is arguable weaker. Bleed have one of the best chamber players in the world in yay, they need to make it work by building a composition around the chamber, even on maps where chamber is arguably weaker.

that or just dont put your world class chamber player on viper???????

also because different countries have different laws surrounding minors signing contracts, so Riot just plays it safe and keeps the age to play 18

A big contributing factor to them not looking as good is mostly because there is actual competition in their region now. EDG although are still the best team in the region, its not as easy as it was before. However I would also like to say that the sheer amount of off-season games they played/burnout has negatively affected the team.

I'm so jealous I won't be able to watch alot of EMEA this year cause of time difference, its the only region that is massively inconvenient to watch for me (like 2am - 5/6am).

I feel like you can say that for a lot of teams though. The only teams where i can confidently say that international lan experience will help them is LOUD, PRX and EDG. The other teams rather dont have that experience (KC, Heretics, FPX), or it has been so long since their last appearance (sentinels, geng) that I don't know whether they will be comfortable again just yet

I have genuinely no idea what to think about the teams in this region atm. I feel like most people would still say that Fnatic is the best team, but even as a fan myself, its kinda hard to say that atm when they only played 2 games and lost one. Heretics and KC look insane as well, but is this a case of a good team, or just an insane run? FUT and Giants I thought were good teams but both just got decimated in their group. Liquid I also had decent expectations for but lost to a team that was formed a week before kick-off (granted they beat them earlier but that just leaves more questions). Most regions I can look at and see a storyline coming up on who is going to do well and who isn't, but EMEA I still have so many questions

It's not like people were saying they were shit, but i dont feel like these players are getting enough attention

I'm very excited to see this team in the splits. This team looks severely underrated. Looks very reminiscent of last year where they pick up a bunch of players who everyone overlooks and although the look rough from the outside, give this team time and it will thrive

wouldnt work well with 11 teams

Can you recommend a better format for kickoff with 11 teams thats as fair as possible?

3 games in one day is the usual for most regions, but as soon as americas has to do 3 games its a marathon and after game 2, the casters, production and even the crowd just gave up. i dont mind funny comments and such during casting, but it got old so quick. the game was actually really cool and close, but the shitty casting and shitty production made it seem like a joke and that neither side was trying. also everyone acting as if the game was taking them to their bedtime, IT'S 9PM IN LA WHEN THE LAST GAME FINISHED. games finish at midnight regularly in pacific and china.

it better be holy shit

also if what yay said was true about him not being able to see properly during his game, the lighting could be a MASSIVE issue

The new venue just screams BUDGET, the lighting is also awful i hate how dark it is

Ranking

1. CN stage
2. Americas stage
3. EMEA stage
4. Pacific stage

Am I wrong?

I thought alot of people were sleeping on this team, they should def make play ins and I think they have a good shot at making it to kickoff playoffs

Very rocky start for him, hit some nice shots/kills but also had some pretty bad whiffs

I feel like its definately possible, especially the zeta ge game, all the players waiting to play must be exhausted. would be unfair to make them play

from what i remember, its even harder to get a work visa there

Me

Genuine question, what game is happening first, GE vs Zeta or Loud vs Sentinels

tbh i feel bad for the players in the upcoming games, they are probs gonna actually fall asleep in the practice room

why is there a game in my tech pause

ah ok lol im stupid

obviously but thats like comparing dog shit to cat shit

im very interested to see if with the recent buffs we see yay chamber again (the recent buffs are in the game right?)

I can see NRG and SEN putting up a decent fight against FNC, still favour FNC but will be good matches to watch none the less. I still have my reservations about LEV mostly just due to their issues with the initiator role and some inside drama regarding swapping out nozwer for c0m last minute.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2fW1q3e7jiCe9l55PlIcNE?si=4SjhAwWaQUmDhqUUaVnqIg

Found this band on my spotify discover weekly a while ago and haven't been able to stop listening to them since. Seriously underrated

I feel like this has to be something internal based. Thief is now a free-agent, so its not a trade deal/not going to another team (for now) and he is one of the teams best players so why would they drop him????

Find a new team

Tenz does lack in modern valorant game sense in some ways. However it is undeniable that he is still one of the most mechanically gifted players in the game. But you also have to think of it from an org/business standpoint kinda. Tenz brings sentinels a SHIT ton of fans and revenue. If he isn't necessarily throwing or losing games in spectacular fashion, why would you get rid of him? Plus there are alot of signs atm of him improving. I forgot where I heard this (most likely Sideshow or someone else on Plat Chat), but Tenz being on a flex role, learning new agents, gives him the ability to adapt to and learn alot more game sense that he lacks compared to others.

It's unfortunately just how this aspect of esport teams work, especially in games with lots of strategy like valorant. There is no doubt in my mind that Pancada is still a world class player, however it just so happens that Zellsis is popping the fuck off atm, so why as a coach would you not play him. I look at this the same way that EG started playing Demon1. Everyone complains because they were taking off a really good player in BCJ for a substitute. Now granted, not many people knew who Demon1 was at the time, but people were so quick to make judgements before they saw the potential of the change. BCJ, although now playing in tier 2, is still considered a very good player, not much has changed. Imagine Potter listened to the fan feedback and took Demon1 off and put him back on the bench after 2 games. I doubt they would have made Tokyo and I doubt they would've become world champions.

Although I'm not sure any of this matters, because from what I've heard in rumours, Pancada is still going to be starting during the regular season. Everyone needs to remember that Zellsis said HIMSELF when he was signed that he joined Sentinels as a 6th man so that he could still occasionally fulfil his competitive urge, but he would be able to have a focus on streaming/content creation. Most likely, they are using this off-season to give him the playtime he needs/wants.

I don't think this is the case at all. There are way more transfer success stories than transfer fail stories. But everyone just likes to focus on the fail stories cause "y0y funny haha"

best staged content ever

Probability I give that these events will happen:

Yay will make a major comeback (6/10) - Who knows, just depends on how well he gels with his team, his aggressive playstyle should do well in pacific however.
DRX will no longer be the second best team in APAC (7/10) - Definitely probable to happen, but they still have most of their core and both foxy9 and flashback are decent players in their own right. I don't think its necessarily them not going to be the 2nd best team, but there is a lot more competition in the top of the ladder now in pacific, which could push DRX down to 3rd, maybe 4th.
PRX/FNC will dominate their regions (8/10) - Both teams have shown dominance in pre season tourneys, but both teams have also shown flaws and mishaps as well in those same tourneys.
NAVI will be above the rest of emea but cant challenge FNC (4/10) - NAVI will be good, but to say they will be the 2nd best in EMEA confirmed is wild, especially when you have teams like FUT, Vitality and even possibly Liquid. Remeber, NAVI only changed ONE player, and yes they did rebuild the masters winning FPX roster, but I am seeing alot of copium from navi fans as of late.
TL/Loud will place mid-bottom (5/10) - Both teams I can definately see near the middle of the table, but middle-bottom i think is a bit too far. Team Liquid have some upset potential in their roster and could still be very competitive. Loud, although looking weaker compared to last year, I've learnt to trust Saadhak's igl'ing.
Sen will keep form untill half way through the year (3/10) - Form is always hard to predict, you can never predict the mental of anyone. However Sentinels, with massively positive and fun players like Zellsis and Zekken, I see it hard for this team to lose motivation at least.
Lev will win Shanghai (2/10) - Could see it happening, too far out to tell though, need to see more LEV.
EDG wins champs (1/10) - Also too far out to tell, but if they keep burning themselves out and never give themselves a break, this can see very slim.