Drawn into pool of death, first match vs the other top team in in AM, qualifier match vs the 3rd best team in the region, round 1 of internation vs the 3rd best team and ROUND 2 VS THE OTHER TEAM RANKED AS TOP 2 IN THE WORLD.

To be fair, Karmine corp got the same thing just without the hard first round at the international event. Both teams 100% had the two hardest schedules. Actually really funny.

17 year old in the most stressful moment of his career, help me god, is emotional. Fucking boil him in a vat of motor oil.

They may not have won, but genuinely showed that they're one of, if not, the single most prepared team at Madrid. Their set plays and combos are second to none, imo. Sen and KC just edge them out when it comes to their mid-round play and looseness, but that will only get stronger for Heretics. Bright, bright future.

Shoutout to Zekken, finally got a kill with his ult.

It feels like everytime these guys shoot a smoke it gets a kill, it's so insane. Any other team I would call lucky, but the amount of understanding of the maps that Heretics has shown leads me to believe it's calculated. They just have a huge read on the positioning of teams, it's impressive.

If I'm going to give EMEA anything that they gap the world on, it's the anti-strats and Set items. These concrete ideas that they got are fucking insane.

1) Yeah the Sen map-pool is week.
2) We're acting like Heretics isn't a top 3 team in the tournament.

Those mothefuckers looked like aimers and nothing more regionally. You'd think it's a different team with the ideas they showed vs loud.

My top 3 was KC, Sen, and Heretics. People doubting Heretics is still insane to me. They aren't the guard, they aren't just onliners.

The only thing I thought about them was (at lan) maybe Miniboo would regress without the online peakers advantage, but riens would do better SINCE HE ACTUALLY GETS TO PLAY WITH THE TEAM.

I only put them lower than Sen since I thought their set plays would be countered more, but they just tripled their fucking playbook.

I'm a Gen.G fan. Those motherfuckers looked like half the team regionally that they showed against loud. And we were acting like Heretics weren't a top 3 team at this tourney. The global scene is really close at the top-top level.

Genuinely, what fucking european propaganda was spread to for the analysts to say Sen 1 and Heretics were like 5 or 6. I HAD THOSE MFS 2-3. WHAT THE FUCK ARE PEOPLE ON TO NOT SEE THESE TEAMS AS NECK AND NECK ON THIS 3RD MAP. EVERYTHING IS DOWN TO 1 OR 2 GUNFIGHTS.

Heretics are insane and the fact everyone was down on them is fucking braindead.

What are you talking about Gen.G been shit for ages. They just outaimed pacific, maybe they can outaim into top 4 but I ain't got no hope.

Also what color is it?

Basically every roster that we had serious expectations for disappointed us. Lev, NRG, Fnatic, Fut, Navi - All were supposed to, bare minimum, be a top 3 team in the region. I think it shows how well some coaches have done to build their teams correctly and to handle their teams correctly. Rosters with much more established frameworks actually were worse.

Even Paper Rex and EDG, both were supposed to dominate. If you watched them play their matches, it did not look like last year. Maybe it's the magic gone, but these guys all looked way worse than advertised. Again, it's just a thing of the world adapting with these teams just staying the same.

Of course, this excludes Loud who still look like a definite top 4 team in the world. My goat Saadhak would never.

EMEA has a lot of capable rosters at the moment, like current EMEA was alright (imo) but once it comes to champs time and we're fighting for team #4? I could see almost every team in that conversation. In AM for example, I only see Lev, 100T or EG really fighting for that 4th slot - So EMEA going to be so much more hype at that point.

We don't talk about pacific, seeing between DRX and RRQ: who can throw harder to get 5th.

I think EMEA and NA are fairly level at this point. I'd say that they'll probably be the entire top 4 in madrid baring Gen G just outshooting everyone (which they genuinely could do). Sen vs KC last year would have been a meme and clout matchup, but this year it would genuinely be the best quality game we could watch.

Don't compare these beautiful sculptures of Valorant to a washed ass roster like Gambit. Karmine Corp is expected to win madrid.

Statistically, Ange1 has taken less first engagements this tourney than he has in the past. If he starts throwing more rounds by peeking, then Navi may take a hit in quality.

I'm going to be nice cause EMEA looks way better this year, and just say that AM (2 of the top 3 in the last champs) and EMEA (not in the top 3 of the last champs) are equal enough that it's negligible.

To be honest though, the lower EMEA teams seem better than the lower AM teams. I'd just give a large enough edge to AM's middle-of-the-pack teams and to the top crop we have.

But again, EMEA looks so much better this year, I'm glad yall actually got rosters.

See, I dislike the format for the 1 team per region that gets put into the group of death when they could have potentially WON a different group. Of course 100T, but look at RRQ. RRQ had a group with both of the Madrid teams. They got placed as tied for last when they played, exclusively, their region's kick-off winner. That just fucking sucks for them and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

If NRG and Loud are S tier teams, then Sen and Lev are 100% A+ level teams. Whatever AM team makes it, they will be the best 2nd seed. Navi and Vitality look good too, but Sen and Lev are just world-class teams, snubbed by the fact they have to face Valorant's true goat in Saadhak. As a Gen.G stan, and a Chinese Valorant lover, I honestly think there is no fucking shot any of these teams is getting into the top 4.

I hope to god that Sen decided to steal the Loud comps. Sen is fucking built to run the Loud comps BETTER than Loud. Sen has played super retake heavy, and fucking thrive on getting safe 1v1's to win the round just off that 4v5 advantage. Getting Zekken and Tenz an extra Initiator to be supported by would make their fights so much stronger, and the extra retake util will let them play even more space. Worst case, it augments Sen's shitty attack.

Tl:Dr - Steal from loud, win some fucking attack rounds, Sen Profit. Otherwise no way Lev lose.

I remember seeing a Riot Employee clarify on twitter that it was random draw, with the caveat of not having the play-in winner and their pool winner together.

That all the Madrid teams started from the same pool?

We just saw Gen.G and PRX be able to make it, so what is the likelyhood we see it from the other regions?

Imo, EMEA is going to be draw based on where Vitality and Navi are placed. I though Navi were going to be washed, but I think they beat every team except fnatic (in their region).

AM is another huge draw, not because it's between the 2 and 3 team, but because it's which B pool team will have to beat NRG. I think Lev and Sen are similar levels of being able to take down NRG, but historically my goat Saadhak owns that core.

China is the hardest. There are 2 likely scenarios - TEC come out and shock EDG or Trace is able to recreate magic (they are the only team to beat EDG in China through their competative circuit). Maybe it happens? I'm still torn between wheather JDG or FPX could really step up, but if we get a life or stew pop off, then ANYTHING is possible.

I wasn't able to eatch the games, but damn the DRX comps look ass. Single yoru on bind? Cypher on Lotus? I don't get why they were so against flashback on KJ or viper, when I remember his viper play looking good. Like I said, need to watch the game, but it looks like an immediate comp diff.

Also I almost shed a tear when I woke up and checked that Gen.G were able to win, I'm so happy for them.

Lowkey, I want Sen to play Split, Bind, and Ascent, just so they can steal the Loud comp. Sen was on a worse retake comp vs Loud, and had the best looking retakes I've seen. Stealing Loud's comp that lets you fuck them up with util and benefits Sen's playstyle. Plus, it gives sen an extra layer to support Zekken or Tenz when they want to get aggressive. I think they could use the comps as good or even better than Loud.

Idk just looking at his positions it felt like Warbirds just said "solohold whatever Borkum won't" and then left him to do whatever.

I believe in the straight up firepower of Gen.G being enough to duel DRX or T1, but the structure of the other 2 korean teams is just so much better than Gen.G. I don't think Zeta or TS have quite enough firepower, while their structure will still be worse than what we'll see from T1 or DRX.

Bald white guy in NA > Bald white guy in Korea

• idk william is just boring, doesn't get any emotion in his casting.

That 4 month break of Val made me forget how boring paperthin and william are as casters. Like, I have no clue what they did before Val, but they feel like nepo babies. Quack and Asurai are funny, they handle chaos really well, they are solid casters. You can BARELY excuse paperthin or william when they have Achilios (idk how to spell his name, I could literally just say the good one) cause that man carries as the main AND color caster. I'm like 70% sure that those 2 don't watch any val outside of what they cast. They feel like the most nothing casters in the english scene. I still remember when they got the Australian casters in for a tourney and it lapped the entire careers of William and Paperthin combined.

As an NA resident, I'm fully supportive of sending Bren down there since I think he was in Korea for some of the offseason? Stick Sideshow and Ender together, that would still work well CAUSE THOSE TWO ACTUALLY KNOW SOME VAL. Just please, pacific would be so mich better without the only individuals in the val scene with less W's than DFM.

Edit: i went to Sideshow's stream and he's put in more valuable input in 2 rounds than the entirety of William and Paperthin's cast.

Highkey it's up to whether Oxy and MWzera pop off enough, if they do 100T maxes at 8th imo, but if that carry duo doesn't do enough then 100T can get 6th.

Last news I heard about this whole situation was Sean during his recent touney. He said that NRG and 100T weren't in positions to play, despite his invite to them. It's all too likely that EG is just trying to postpone the dissolution of their current valorant team or overall valorant work, just to squeeze as much money out of NRG and 100T. Like, they still all scrim and shit, but it's got to have an effect mentally on all the players on both rosters of "will we actually get this guy or not?" I doubt that any team (NRG, 100T or EG/substitute) will be prepared enough for the first tournament, considering how every other team has been grinding. C9 playing those back to back to back tourneys, furia playing in mutliple tournaments, Leviathan and G2 both playing tourneys and having an EU bootcamp, Kru trying their best, and then Sen looking like the best. Loud and MIBR have been set for a bit, so I'm less worried about them playing against their expectations. If I were to guess, early January - about the second week - would be when news drops.

I was almost never able to watch Gen.G during the regular season, so I'm very excited to see what this new roster can do. Give 'em hell.

Sen have just always been shit at getting first bloods. They've always been good at winning once they get a FB (mostly due to how every iteration was based on mechanical ability), but they've never been great at converting first engements into first kills. Now that they have 1) no role issues 2) an even higher mechanical peak and 3) the best framework in the orgs history, they should be set up better than ever to be a good team.

Daily reminder that Prime Tenz is just Tenz when he converts his first engagements into first kills. He's basically always in the top 3 of most first deaths but when he was referred to as prime TenZ he just went positive in FB-FD. Like, Sen vs Fnatic finals in 2021, Tenz went 19-2 in FB-FD. He's never been put into a good framework to truly succeed.

Last note, THANK GOD PANCADA IS ON SMOKES AGAIN. 2 points here, kinda related. 2023 was the most valuable Sentinels have ever been, and Sen had a bad sentinel, it just wasn't a fit for pancada. Second point, Pancada was one of, if not the single most, useless players. He didn't die much, he didn't kill much, he didn't clutch much, he didn't do much at all. I'd just pack this in as a symptom of the role change. Just getting him more engaged, PLUS the fact that JohnQT is a better player than deph or (hate me, i don't care) marved were in 2023, will allow the whole team to feel way more comfortable and play better overall.

My goat

My goat dropped 32 on the most important map of 2022, including going 12-3 against your goat, topping it off with 7 of the last 10 kills of the map (to win OT).

That's my goat. THE goat.

Zellsis quite literally plays every role and is an amazing emotional leader. He is made to be the perfect 6th man. He's a perfect content guy. There isn't a single 6th man in the whole scene who is at Zellsis' value with the sole exception of screwface.

i was going to say some un-okay things, but thinking about it, he didn't have a great year and I agree that nuking the roster (not keeping k1ng and sylvan) is wack.

The week Evil Geniuses beat OpTic Gaming. Looking back onto this specific match on a random week of NA's second 2022 stage, this match might have defined 2023 as a whole.

Here is the context:

Obviously, this was the Optic coming off an International Lan victory - this was the best team in the world. This team was 3-0, dropping a single map to C9 (Who had just went 5-0 in stage 1, getting 3rd in playoffs - they weren't quite washed yet) and having a relatively easy time against Faze, while bodying Sen.

EG had just gone 0-5 in Stage 1 of NA, winning just 2 maps. They decide to keep their star op-ers in Boostio and Jawgemo, alongside their smokes player, Reformed. They now have c0m and apoth on the roster, but get 9-12th in the open qualifiers - losing to V1 and 100T. Thankfully they make it out of the second round of open qualifers. They lose their first game to C9, 2-0 with an overtime on map 1, but they bring it back and crush luminosity 2-0 in week 2. Now, it was time to face Optic.

Long story short, EG was able to beat optic on map 1 and 3 (with maps 2 and 3 being just a two round difference). Both winning maps were led by Boostio on the chamber, who went +4 against yay in the series.

But why was this match so important? Well, EG was not seen as a good team at this point. Going 0-5 in the first stage and fumbling groups was not a good thing for them. This match made EG the team that beat Optic. Yes, EG only got 5th-6th in playoffs, and went 0-2 in LCQ, but they were still the team that beat Optic. EG only made playoffs because they beat Optic.EG was only considered hopeful once they beat optic. The interesting thing is though, if EG lost to optic that core and potter are likely dropped for franchising. Think about it - a whole year of mediocrity, a whole year where their best performance is beating luminosity. No way that core gets through. Then we don't get the beautiful story of EG in 2023.

Moral of the story: FNS fucking made these kids, pipe the fuck down.

Idk, I almost failed pre-cal cause I played through Paper Mario instead of listening and played more Paper Mario instead of doing the homework.

Play paper mario, great game.

bcj got it and that's all I care about

To quote Leo "Promotion is earned in-game, not out of it."

If Leo and Riot do not want to set a precedent of... whatever... the best solution I can offer is very simple: Replay Top 4 of America's Ascension. This becomes a special situation, and Riot can then cite it as one. Bring back 9z, M80, Union, and the former Guard roster - letting the roster chose their org. If it gives the Union, M80, or 9z another opportunity to win, so be it. If Guard win it again, they DOUBLEY deserve it. I don't think it's fair for "Promotion is earned in-game, not out of it." when Promotion can be destroyed SOULY outside of the game. If he doesn't want a precedent, let them prove it in game. I'm sure the players would rather this than nothing at all.

Even just replaying the final of M80 and Guard, WHO WERE THE BEST TWO TEAMS IN ALL OF ASCENSION FOR THE WHOLE YEAR.

If we can have something, just let them earn it in any way possible.

I think it'd feel worse for NOTHING to happen rather than the team that was neck-and-neck with you the ENTIRE year to get the spot.

I mean, a certain some ones have just been cucked out of franchising.

s0m is the prototype of Demon1, he can play whatever the fuck you need

The most NA week of all of NA

• Win Champs
• Player gets over 100 assists in 2 maps (GC)
• roster fucked by Twitter
• org being sued for being financial rats
• every other pro roster being split in half
• FNS streams

God I love this region.

If Tenz could get the FB consistently he'd be a top 5 player in AM, but instead he's tied with Keznit for the most first deaths on all of AM. Just remember, he went 19-2 in first bloods at Masters 1. Him being at his prime is just winning opening gunfights.

I'm still huffin on my good old Foxy9 hopium

I got school and shit

Who the fuck thinks Tokyo was fraudulent.

EMEA fans like Republicans, gotta create their own oppression.