If it was just by achievements he would not be in the upper echelon of the list, but just by his incredible level of consistency i think he deserved that spot and even though he had like 2 bad maps when it mattered most, than doesnt mean he wasnt stellar for the whole season

If i did more than 5 hm i definetly would have put him there, its unfortunate that DRX didnt do more this season

I think for Madrid i can give him a pass since they lost to the Winners of the tournament and against the best LOUD we have seen this season, when everyone thought they were still gonna be dominant
For Shanghai it was underwhelming for the whole team, but if it wasnt for Aspas they dont even make Shanghai
It has been unreal to see the level of play from Aspas this season considering the lack of consistency from LEV

SEN had a solid slump in the middle part of the season and in Stage 2 beat teams everyone would expect them to beat and lost against 100T and G2 pretty badly, so even though there were some high highs from Zekken there were also some low lows, while Heretics only crumbled at Madrid, other than that they have shown unreal consistency

I did put Leo in honorable mentions and he would have been on the list if it wasnt for missed time
Less had a really underwhelming season after Madrid, compared to others on the list
Hiro played only like 14 matches, which is not enough
Kai was only at Champs and the competition in China wasnt that strong
N4rrate had a decline towards the end and wasnt able to play the way we first saw KC
Invy didnt make an international, but he was solid, just not enough considering the players in honorable mentions

I didnt think it would be that ridicilous to put Alfa in 4th considering he was playing in the team with constant problems whether it be Leo being sick or having a rookie with no offseason join the team and they still did pretty good, yea they didnt have international success, but considering the entire season i think Alfa has played well enough to be in the top 5

Nice

Hey, we can agree to disagree its all good, its just my list thats it

Its not that deep, my guy

In 2023 i would say he has been the best player on FNC, most consistent and the player with most acheved so that would make him the best player of that year

Here is some more:

• EG vs NRG (Stage 1)
• FPX vs TH (Shanghai and Champs)
• LOUD vs SEN (Kickoff)
• GENG vs FNC (Shanghai)
• G2 vs EDG (Champs)

Nah its the players of the year, and while my they were better in terms of achievements 2 of them were rookies and Benjy was solid but not better overall than Alfa + im giving the pass to FNC since they had many problems and the 3 of them still played very good (Leo also)

I mean Riens at 10 is pretty reasonable and Wo0t at 12 also since he missed half the season
For the FNC guys they were solid enough for me to consider them still elite and in the upper echelon of players for this year

I mean top 7 is pretty good

I mean he was top 5 in all of the Major categories for the players at Champs and won the tournament so i would say he is the MVP of the tournament

Ye he did not, but i still think he played good enough to be ahead of Derke, considering he was getting high praise for the similar play last season when Derke wasnt always on

It was unrealistic to see Benjy play on the Kickoff level the whole season, so he regressed in terms of statistic, but with Wo0t missing the first half of the season and Riens taking time find his confidence i thought that Benjy should be the highest TH player on the list

Nobody can always be good, but considering the stats and the level Alfa was playing at he still deserved a top 5 placement imo and he won both EMEA splits which is a solid achievement considering the level of opposition

Personally i would go for Munchkin over Boo

You are not wrong, but considering the circumstances FNATIC were in this season with Leo being sick and Hiro not having time to adapt completely (lack of an offseason to get to know the team and practise), to come out of that with victories at Stage 1 and 2 is not a bad achievement + they have always beaten Heretics when it mattered most in EMEA (At Champs it was unreasonable to think FNATIC could win the tournament, so it was an expected loss imo)

Other than Madrid and Stage 2 (3rd) Heretics reached all of the Grand Finals available to them, which i would call a pretty surreal achievement
Alfa was not playing as bad as people think bc of the lack of international trophies but they did win both of the splits which is still a good achievement
You are right that Benjy didnt have as high of impact when you just compare player by player, but i think that he was the reason his team was able to reach those heights when he was popping off at kickoff and he knows he cant continue to be the star player like Alfa because he is not at that level yet and that would not be good towards players like Miniboo and Wo0t who needed that space when they were on duelist

For Alfa it was different since you are playing with a setup gods in Leo and Chronicle, and Boaster is not all that, he knew he needed to carry in some moments which he did

Not a bad shout, but considering i had Alfa as the best player last year and he has been playing more or less the same i dont think he regressed to the point where he isnt at least top 5 still

I think i gave the edge to Alfa bc he has been more or less the same player as last year while Derke had a slow start to the year, which cost him a higher position imo

Alfa had a much better rating than Benjy and he was playing more or less like last year
Sen choked some matches really badly and werent that good until Champs (they beat all of the teams they should beat in stage 2, and lost pretty bad against g2 and 100t)
TH as a team exceded expectations and remain consistent throught the season even if they didnt lift a trophy, and reaching 2 international grand finals is not a little achievement - while Benjy wasnt the best player in terms of stats he was very clutch and played his role very good

Originally i didnt have him on the list, but as i listed all the players i think he showed enough this year and really stepped up in stage 1, and remained somewhat consistent

For Benjy i would say he stepped up when the team needed him to and managed to up the vibes + better achievement at internationals this season
For Alfa i would just say that he has been Mr. Consistent, and since he was the best player last season i wouldnt agree that he regressed to the point where he isnt top 5, even without much international success considering the circumstances Fnatic went through this season

Only if FNS is competing

He was just Mr. consistent this season, and considering he was the best player last season, i dont think he regressed to the point of being outside the top 5

I hope so

Leo would have been 100% on the list if it wasnt for so much missed time
D4v41 i dont think was on a level of the players that are above him consistent enough of times
Smoggy was very average the whole season and wasnt that much better at Champs so i dont think he was better than an honorable mention
JonahP was very good its just that with G2 bombing out everyone thinks they didnt do anything
Tex was stepping up massively and was the reason for Lev winning some important games
And for Benjy i think he has been able to step up in the situations when team needed it most, and he was able to keep up good vibes no matter the circumstances

I meannn, only 1 FNATIC played is above Zekken on the list and he was the best player of last year so i dont think Alfa regressed to the point of not deserving to be less than top 5 for this season

He is very underrated but as an IGL its tough to be putting up the numbers for this kind of list

FNATIC were in the shit situation the whole season and the others were in the 2 grand finals out of 3, and KK is the MVP of champs

I expect it next year but for this one i think 7th is perfect for him

I just think missing a part of the season and not achieving much until the end of the year, where they only did the upset against FNATIC and PaperRex

I originally thought of putting KangKang at like 9, but he did really overperform and did what needed to be done, and capitalize on SEN and LEV choking

He was solid at Champs but i think the players above him did show more with less available

I think they have been good enough even though they didnt have international success and they managed to always beat Heretics when it mattered so that would be enough for me considering that Leo was sick and Hiro was a rookie who didnt have the offseason to get to know his team and practise

He had an amazing beginning to the season, but was not always at the highest level when needed after that, so i think thats a good spot for him

I think its recency bias since he had some bad maps last 2 games, but he was 9/10 times the best player on the team and put up absurd numbers very consistently

I think he was very consinstent and a top 4 at champs has solidified his position in the top half

I think considering their circumstances they did okay, Derke was very solid, Chronicle is somehow always there, and Alfa didnt drop off that much compared to last year when he was unstoppable

I would not agree, i think he won a lot of Rounds in clutches, and he is not the one who should be taking duels so he should be the last one alive most of the times

He does have that trait. but if any other duelist was in his place i doubt they would have been as good as they have been, if they can solve their choking problem, i would be surprised if Aspas doesnt lead them to an international trophy next season
With his lack of OP i think its probably the lack of trust since the others have to be able to provide him the space to AWP and get picks, or its probably the team decision to not have him OP on attack

I just didnt think a couple of solid performances at Champs would be able to get him a spot considering the other players have been very consistent more or less, but i did put him at honorable mentions

I did write that he would be at number 1 if it wasnt for the lack of International success

1.T3xture - after last season, even after showing promise, nobody would have seen this coming, but T3xture was able to put GENG on his back and get to work whenever it was needed
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2.Aspas - without a question the best player of this season if the international success didnt go into equation, the GOAT of Valorant still gets better and better with every match
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3.Meteor - an amazing player that could never reach the heights he was capable of, this season Meteor was finally able to show how dominant he can be on the international stage
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4.Alfajer - even with a lack of an International trophy, and with the unfortunate situations which hit FNATIC, Alfa still provided what was needed and showed up regularly
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5.Zmjjkk - a player which suprised very much, considering the appalling result at Madrid and Shanghai and with something to prove, he showed why he shouldnt be underwhelmed
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6.Benjyfishy - although he hasnt had the greatest of stats for the entire season, his ability to always provide stability and an exit from a bad situation is enough for him to be this high
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7.Zekken - finally his results managed to be backed up with a Trophy, after the struggles of being on a team which cant reach that heights, its interesting to see what his level will be in 2025
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8.Karon - undoubtedly the rookie of the year, the level Karon showed propelled GENG to the biggest highs available
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9.Derke - a guy that knows what it takes to break down a defence, after a somewhat slow start, he got right back into action after Madrid
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10.Riens - another rookie who maybe at first didnt catch everyones attention, he definetly made it hard to doubt him after an amazing year, which should only lead to a better 2025
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11.Chronicle - a consistency like no other, Chronicle has put himself up at a level which always be recognized long after his retirement
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12.Wo0t - after bursting onto the scene in Lebron James style, he quieted down after Miniboo returned to the lineup, but was still amazing at providing what he needed to provide
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13.Chichoo - an unexpected player to be featured here for the whole season, but after stepping up when it was needed the most he was able to help deliver China its first trophy
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14.TenZ - after an amazing start to the season, he showed a little regresion, which costed him a higher spot, but Tenz was still able to prove at Champs how solid and reliable he can be
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15.JonahP - a very consinstent played, that can be unkillable at certain times, next year could be even better for G2
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16.Tex - very underrated coming into this season, he proved that his role swap didnt lead to worse ability on the server
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17.Leaf - as he always does, Leaf provides ability to adapt to different systems and different roles for the success of the team which very much showed, after dissappointing C9 tenure
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18.F0rsaken - a very consinstent Flex played, who you can always rely on to give his all, looking forward to see how can PaperRex adapt after a dissappointing season
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19.Trexx - a player which always seems to be on underwhelming teams, yet delivers as much as he can, even with a miss of Kickoff this year
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20.Eeiu - a piece in success of 100 Thieves, he really stepped up and proved he deserves to be in Tier 1
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Honorable mentions:

• D4v41
• cNed
• Smoggy
• Sayf
• Leo

Actually yes, i know its kinda looks like its just to bait people considering what they just did, but if history tells us something they arent gonna be suddenly able to be contending for every single trophy and it will be much harder for them unless they all step up, because Chichoo masivelly stepped up this tournament and Kang Kang had a great grand final but the others have showed weakness more than often so it will be interesting to see them next year

Congrats to EDG
They managed to take advantage of everybody's underperformance when it mattered in the matches against them, and punished Heretics on slow starts

With that said i strongly believe they will never even play a GF of an international event, since they got a lot of confidence after playing Trace in the first round, if that game was against anyone else, they would have been home already, but that allowed them to show how dominant they can be, but now everybody will know to not overrate them and will take them seriously which they wont be able to confront in the next games

Zellsis just secured a generational bag for SEN this year with the bundle sales and won a trophy, they aint dropping him

Its getting removed in about 15 days so i wouldnt bother figuring it out