A friendly reminder Venka is yet to qualify for anything international and Techno was behind DM in only Int tourney he played i.e. convergence. Our comparison was for top Indian players so why would I bring up Ascension especially when Techno and Venka haven't even played in that for fair comparison. But yess they are young but so were Rawfiul and Karm1l same 19 y/o when they came in 2021 and look where have they reached yet but that's the thing no DM is now 27 and is still going toe to toe so I atleast overlook age as long as player is good. Venka nd Techno peeked at split 2 and that's the main tournament hence the hype but that was my point there are around 10 good players none exceptional and all equal in capability with minor differences.

Older tourneys 2023 splits and rest from 2022/21-
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1409/penta-pro-series
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1222/valorant-india-invitational-by-galaxy-racer?exclude=15083.15084.15081.15082.14602.14608.14609.14618.14619.14620.14621.14622&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1218/the-esports-club-challenger-series-9?exclude=14067.14068.14084.14069.14089&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1312/skyesports-sea-championship-presented-by-amd?exclude=14838.14839.14840.14841.14842.14848.14849.14850.14851&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1609/challengers-league-south-asia-split-2?exclude=19562&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1500/challengers-league-south-asia-split-1?exclude=16984.16985.16986.16987.16988.17027&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/996/skyesports-champions-series?exclude=11406.11467.11477.11479.11405.11476.11478.11528&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/840/valorant-conquerors-championship?exclude=9614.9615.9616.9617.9618.9619.9620.9563.9564.9565.9502.9503.9521.9522.9369.9370.9371.9366.9367.9368.9363.9364.9365.9251.9280.9281.9282&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1119/skyesports-pro-invitational
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/761/wd-black-cup-season-2
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/752/the-esports-club-showdown

Again all of them tried initially and when they didn't they all went heavy trying to build a star roster which can go INT. I can answer this better but I would need to research a bit bcz I am not very knowledgeable about EMEA T2 .
I knew you would name these 2 and that's what I wanted to point out bhai it's recency bias , these 2 have been around for 2+ years now and have only started playing well literally from split 1 this year. Nobody even took their names at this time last year and you can check off season stats from last year they are nowhere in even Top 10. On top of that Venka retires. every 2 months and has low work ethic. The actual consistent guys are Deathmaker , Rawfiul, Hoax , Karm1l who have been topping the charts since 2021 with an off tourney here and there. If you dont trust me watch these stats-
Split 3 just completed- https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/2155/challengers-league-2024-south-asia-split-3?exclude=27057.27058.27059.27060.27061.27062.27063.27064.27065.27066.27067.27068.27150.26833.26834.26835.26846.26847.26848.26836.26837.26838.26839.26840.26841.26208.26209.26210.26211&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1966/omen-challengers-league-2024-south-asia-split-1?exclude=23208.23209.23210.23211.23212&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/2073/challengers-league-2024-south-asia-split-2?exclude=25307.25012.25013.25027&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1820/the-esports-club-challenger-series-10?exclude=21075&min_rounds=0&agent=all
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1791/predator-league-india-2024
https://www.vlr.gg/event/stats/1727/emg-series-south-asia?exclude=20154.20155.20156.20157.20158&min_rounds=0&agent=all
I will put older ones in other reply notice which names keep repeating in top 5

A core generally means any 2/3 players who have been there at every iteration of a particular team maintaining a continuity and hence help define a team identity.
This site provides a unique 3 letter tag to every team which keep a bare minimum of 3 players from their previous roster going into their new roster.
An example from Indian scene is this team currently with Mogo which has been tagged #WLD for past 3 years now- When you click matches tab you can select a core here .
https://www.vlr.gg/team/matches/14768/mogo-esports/?core_id=7695&page=4

Gentlem8 gave them a season to try and prove themselves and didn't dismiss the whole french scene through tweets like " french players will hurt comptetive integrity" and on videos without giving them even a split to prove themselves.
Also they are changing roster this season bcz riot's new system of relegation has forced them to try and outperform Apeks , a situation GE doesn't have to face thankfully bcz they are permanent representation of "Indian" scene in T1.
Also just curios which 2 players are you referring to who have been consistently performing in challengers ??

If ascension is only place to prove them wrong it's kind of hard no once a year in a super unstable scene where nothing really exists and everything is an unchartered territory. Indian T2 is a place where teams try to achieve short term glory by throwing money on finest import they can find who is willing but they only get a good coach 2 months before split 2 and sometimes only after qualifying.
#WLD core playing as No salary peek looked good in predator pacific last year but what they got in return ?- Dropped from org , non-payment, no bootcamp and couldn't even qualify to next year ascension as a result....
https://www.vlr.gg/team/14418/no-salary-peek

Dos9 reached top 5 bcz he is exceptionally gifted and that was him determined to make most of his only chance to make it to T1.
I anyways don't agree on hard naming any 2 indians as best 2 bcz the truth is we have around 10 players who are more or less equally good and none of them are exceptionally good but if you call yourself "Indian representative" it's only fair if Indians get advantage and not vice-versa happens.

It has never been about home quota but if we keep moving ahead with this thinking we will never have anyone capable enough from our home to reach there without home quota and once you don't hv anything to play for the scene will eventually die.
I am all in for GE being a top org bringing a superstar team and aiming for master and champions - I will happily get behind them and cheer for our org and not talk about Indian players in that case.
But with all the respect to new roster I have followed most of them for long and they are all top talents in T2 well most are but do I think this is that star roster which will net championships and hence is a good trade off for letting our scene to fend for themselves ?- I don't think so...
When you let 2-3 players from India play there at T1 it will automatically light fire in others and give them motivation to outperform their fellow players and take those spots and improve in process. Otherwise you can keep trying to rile them up calling them lazy and what not and they have all the pressure and anger in the world to take out at just one tourney a year- ascension and they will inevitably keep choking.

Simply not true just putting across a simple point - whenever a trial is held in Singapore server any Indian pro literally is playing a stacked field at a disadvantage and if you have played it you know how much difference the ping makes. And if you haven't you can always compare Azys' stats when he plays from his home and when he bootcamps in India - it's night and day.

Respectfully I don't think you guys are using critical thinking and are getting swayed to a side which is clearly not completely untrue.
GE as on org has been repeating this for 2 years now and yet have played 2 of their players in T1.
Their lecture only starts when it comes to guys who haven't played for them.
I would simply ask a question would you ever apply for a job where recruiter has already rejected you and people of your qualification before the interview ??
I would not and that's why GE barely had a dozen Indian pros willing to trial.

It's 5 man as of now and nope not xavi8k but Yokam, Kellys and Papichulo are 3 pinoys.
Udotan will be sentinel

First Vyse in competitive valorant or someone has tried her already?
Just checked it's the very first Vyse play in comp let's go !!

GE's roster is finalized fyi
Yokam KellyS Kr1stal Papichulo Udotan

And how will you participate in T2 India from Korea?
Ping would be too high for anything and that's the issue here , academy teams of any team which isn't based in the country where VCT splits are held won't be able to help and learn from main roster effectively

Bcz he is far too new in the scene but I don't doubt his talent.
Yokam
KellyS
Papichulo
Kr1stal
??
#GeFighting
Btw with 3 pinoys in starting 5 this is now a new team for all my PH brothers to support

I think customary predator pacific is waiting though this time event is in Malaysia so let's see who gets those 2 invitations

Def not signing him he wasn't part of trials and he has recently signed for Vlt and playing with them

I know it's a mixed tourney but Veqaj has put up an all time performance hitting 70 with +34 in just 2 maps just wow !!

He said before the match he hasn't played the game for 2 weeks lol

Yep I see him every off season looks one of the best EU player out there but nobody even brings him up for T1 discussion

NGL this NA team is opposite of other one and may get outaimed here

I think they changed it later probably thought a day break is better

Mogo for the win , one another title for #WLD core .

I am not even sure if anyone other than DM on this team went for trials, I mean we have no leaks and surely they are good enough to make it past round 1.
That day someone from GE wasn't happy and even called out many Indian pros for not applying for trials despite being F/A

Azys on a busted neon was always going to be too hot to handle for anyone

Yes lol even at their best when they had enigma core and were undefeated they almost lost the finals for ascension going down 0-2 before reverse sweeping

Very surprised by this result before this match I thought OG was fav to win it all

Call down brother our nukes are real and they are capable of destroying major portions of multiple countries

It's pretty exciting that Valiant is fielding Zyppan and Zerance has Benjyfishy on the roster

Even I am excited for this would be fun to watch and would be played more in a fun way

It's not about Indian players or otherwise, GE is an org funded by a person and it is his authority to decide what he wants to do as a team owner and we don't have any right to do moral policing or demands in that. Similarly nobody has right to tell us to support them or consider them an Indian team or otherwise. People rightly point out that we at APAC talk too much about regional representation but the truth is bcz APAC has a very varied and divided playerbase and we all want to be represented at the highest level.
It's also true that GE made it to franchising just bcz they represented Indian fanbase and hence it is their moral responsibility to develop Indian scene but this fact is implicit and not explicit. What is more important that we work hard as players and support those who are already working hard by bringing them views and motivation to compete at highest level. If we truly care about Indian scene we will celebrate the success, do constructive criticism and look forward to bringing changes ourselves instead of demanding quotas and responsibillity from business like GE who have to provide returns

Yess exactly i hope you are aware of changes they only get 1 year , a new coach in between season will take months to implement his style you saw what happened with Navi.
They only 6-7 months so they are trying to upgrade infact he was let go after they finalized a new coach as their owner mentioned.
Everyone wants to stay in franchising for aslong as possible

I don't even play the game anymore so I am unranked lol plus this has nothing to do with rank.
The problem is in your brain if you think boom would hv dropped meow if they didn't make franchising -the guy they have had as coach since 2021 . You won't get an upgrade on him in T2 but you can do so easily in franchising...

That's franchising for you where you want to do your best to survive

I think they wanted to upgrade somewhere and unfortunately coach is easiest to cut off

Better salary here plus he genuinely likes playing with that core so until his call to vct comes or the team doesn't get offer I don't think he will go back to Ph .

Ran out of gas last map and Azys took his place

He originally mentioned buddy so i replied to that

You are right but during major tourneys riot gives temporary accounts of same type which are playable on normal servers but atm this guy is just baiting.

Edit- I was wrong here didn't think it through

The ultimate VCSA Split 3 aim battle part 2 of veterans vs newgens

off-season so cost cutting and i don't think we have ever signed any import who has a fan value that he will bring viewers to the region

I don't think anyone except Orangutan has put in efforts amongst the veteran players and hence shambolic results. To be fair to them rosters were formed a week back and most teams don't even have a coach yet.
Mogo has been doing contact plays and aim duelling and are still fine bcz their individuals are all top tier for T2 with exception of Anti.
On the other hand new teams like Asterisk, Dupg are hungrier and are putting efforts hence good results and for the first time these qualifier teams are backed by actual orgs instead of being F/A teams which has also helped like Asterisk securing scrims with Lev during champs and so on

The youngster core that they have recruited doesn't look ready for this level yet but I am sure this is just for off-season

Could go either way Wat and Rvk need to pull up if TR wants to survive today

pretty cool but I think there are upgrades available on both the duelists
Also if Papichulo is willing to play I dont think I can overlook him even if it comes at cost of grumble

Asterisk following the Anti/Rawfiul core model of having 5 cracked aimers to win it all.
Incidentally the only team they lost to in prelims is also the same core under Mogo.

I like this medal team , they are serious underdogs of the tournament, psy has built up a good team full of players suited to their roles

There are many but all are unproven .
There was this guy playing in India called Anq , he was very dominant in split 1 and then again in Italian T2 where he played for few matchs

Yep idk from where this stupid narrative camein , Koala was 2nd best duelist just behind Oxy last year too and see how destructive Oxy has been in T1.
On top of that Koala is one of the better opers and has consistently been performing for 3+ years