Thanks for reading the text.
It's hard to put it into words, because it's based on my feeling.
First of all, Nth was the only team able to take 1 MAP from ZETA in this tournament.
And IGZ members, except for lakia, were transferred from Black Bird Ignis, which did not do so well last year.
Of course, it is possible that lakia, who is from the top Korean team, will bring a new tactical eye.
I gave it a conservative rating because there are many uncertainties at the moment.

Tier1
ZETA DIVISION
Until then, they had been at the top of the Japanese competitive scene, but many perceived them as "the team with strong skills and set ups, but not so much in terms of individual AIM.
However, by changing the roster, they have transformed ourselves into a top team that gets high overall strength with of individual AIM.
In the against Crazy racoon match, which many expected to be a close match, they won 2-0 with perfect setups and movements.
Dep is a player who moves freely. Therefore, he sometimes makes moves that many people don't expect, confusing his opponents.
SugarZero is the best Astra player in Japan and was known for his fast skill set, but it is unclear how he will score after the Astra's nerf.
Laz, by his own admission the best AIM player in the country, often uses sentinel, but appears to have trouble with Killjoy.

Tier2
Crazy Racoon
In the previous year, CR was very competitive against ZETA, but the gap seems to have widened in the week1. However, it is hard to tell from the week1, since the team won the tournament after analyzing and taking countermeasures against ZETA in 2021.
IGL has changed to Astell, who is fluent in Japanese, and communication has definitely become smoother than before, but it is still difficult to understand from the outside. However, it seems that the rotation is more flexible than before.
Meiy and Munchikin seem to rotate the duelists (especially Jett), and Munchikin is actively moving forward to control the area, even on the defender side.
Meiy is a similar player, aggressive and sometimes dares to go forward in a 1:2 or 2:2 situation, when you would normally retreat or wait to see how his opponent will play. He is especially well known for his Icebox play.

Northeption
With all members replaced from the previous year and members announced in a flurry just before the tournament, many people were not expecting much, but in fact, the team performed admirably.
Nth won against FAV gaming and took 1 MAP against ZETA, so what kind of games will they show us in the playoffs?
BlackWiz is a Japanese specialist who has been using Viper since the days when it was weak. he was LFT in 2021, so his ability to compete in the Valorant scene was unknown to us.
However, he has turned out to be a great performer. Especially in Bind, he gave Zeta a lot of trouble with his area control and his lurks reminiscent of nAts.
JoXJo is an aggressive player who mainly uses support characters such as Breach, but when attacked at his sites, he fights tenaciously and is able to get a lot of kills.
Northeption is an amazing team that no one expected to do so well before the tournament.

Tier3
REJECT
The addition of takeJ, who was known as a duelist in ZETA, Reita, who was IGL, and Medusa, who was active in CR, had high expectations before the competition. However, many people were disappointed with the set-up and smoke mistakes.
Many expected Reita, who has played Omen in ZETA, to be the controller, but in fact, takeJ, who is known for his AIM, was the controller. However, it is quite possible that the role will change in the playoffs.

IGZIST
The team is led by lakia, who won an epic Korean showdown with Suggest, and oitaN, a sentinel specialist. lakia is a flexible player who combines a wealth of options as Sova, strength with the Duelist, and skill in small-group matches. oitaN is a Although he was not active in 2021, he is showing signs of a comeback, having gotten many kills with Chember in the last matches.

Tier4
FAV gaming
Minty and Fisker are the twin duelists. The roles are divided so that one of them uses Jett depending on the map. In Split, Minty uses Jett, while Fisker holds Operator despite Raze, which is quite distinctive.
Minty will actively control the area and lurk whether he is Jett or Skye.
For better or worse, this team depends on Minty and Fisker and how well they perform.

Crest Gaming
Like Reignite, noone expected to win the tournament so far.
Jemkin is a Russian who can get kills when he is in a good condition, while Syouta is an aggressive player who can lurk and get kills even at a disadvantage despite being a controller.
SamuraiD is a veteran player who has played OverWatch for a long time and did a great job against JohnOlsen in the Last Chance tournament.

Reignite
The team has won the tournament through good setups and coordination.
Foxy9 with Jett is the heart of the team and the other team members use their skills to get Foxy9's kills. eKo is a Sova user who supports him in this way and can also get kills on his own.

This is just my opinion and it may be totally different from someone who knows more.
I would very much welcome your opinions.

https://www.vlr.gg/event/853/champions-tour-japan-stage-1-challengers-playoffsTier1

ZETA DIVISION
Newcomer SugarZero is one of the best Astra users in the country.
Dep is also known for his AIM , but in his previous team Reject, he tended to be free , so I'm not sure if he'll fit in with ZETA's skill-based game like KR and EU.
Laz is, by his own admission, the best player in the country.

CRAZY RACOON
With the addition of Astell, who speaks fluent Japanese, there will be fewer communication errors than when Munchikin was IGL.
However, Astell himself does not have high clutch ability, and Meiy, the new duelist candidate, has not been outstanding in his previous team, so the overall power is down.

REJECT
Reita, who used to be the IGL of ZETA, and Medusa, who used to perform well in CR, have joined the team.
Zepher, who uses Jett, is less capable and RC has a lower TIER than the two.

IGZIST
The addition of Lakia, a famous Korean player, was a hot topic, but it doesn't mean that he can fill in the holes of other players.
They was the runner-up to ZETA in the last tournament of 2020, but has been dropping in lower TIER in more and more researched games since then.
Oitan used to be known as one of the best sentinels in Japan, but I'm not sure if he'll still be good in 2022.

BLUE BEES
善悪菌 and smith (something),the two main duelists are good.
When they are hot, the best in the country and can be the dark horse of the tournament.

FAV GAIMING
Fisker and Minty are back from CR, but that also means that FAV GAMING, which was in the top 4-8 class, is back again.
Fisker is good at getting kills with his AIM against lower ranked teams, but he can't do anything against players of the same rank or higher.
We can't expect much from them.

Not only in Valorant, but also in all PC games, the Japanese are at a low level in the world.
The reason for this is not clear, but it is often said that because Japan has companies like Nintendo and Sony that produce home video game consoles, everyone buys them and the PC gaming population is small.