No.
Ethnicity: American
Nationality: Arabic
Sexuality: Radiant

Yeah both teams were throwing on Sunset. All I wanted to see was that map three though, to be honest.

Here are my honest thoughts on both teams playing Haven.
Just like Sunset, I felt as though that SEN were winning many lucky rounds, with many low HP/clutch scraps. However, likewise, DRX were fortunate their defensive set pieces were working, especially in the case of BuZz. Speaking of duelist, it was clear that zekken was on another level today. Him, TenZ, and Zellsis thrived in the chaotic nature of the match.
Overall, it was clear SEN had much better protocols. Although MaKo was the most consistent shooter on DRX, creating many chances out of unwinnable eco rounds, I found the attack round calls to be quite shallow.
I really wish DRX didn't throw Sunset because I feel both teams are competent on Icebox. I have no doubts we can win against TE but a heartbreaking loss nonetheless.

I mean yeah you can only base it off of map form and recent map ban tendencies but I'm confident DRX have a new strategy lined up for Haven in the past 8 days.

That's fair. DRX look good on Abyss though and SEN used their second ban on it.

SEN ban Abyss; DRX ban Haven; SEN pick Lotus; DRX pick Bind; SEN ban Ascent; DRX ban Sunset; Icebox remains.

For future international events, what cities/countries should Riot Games consider revisiting, if any? I know they have already repeated Berlin/Germany and Reykjavik/Iceland but are there any other hosts you really enjoyed? Try to pick somewhere other than your own country and consider the crowd atmosphere + overall city life.

Yeah I guess I shouldn't have ranked Seoul yet but the craziness of the group stage and unpredictable nature of the playoffs swayed me to put it on the list.
Glad to see that we agree on the rankings of the other events though.

1. Champions 2024 Seoul - Seems like the obvious number 1 spot. Even though playoffs haven't even started yet, the sheer unpredictability of the group stage with many massive upsets shows how competitive the playing field is. This sets an unknown precedent for how the playoffs will go, adding to the excitement. Furthermore, China as a region have been better this event than any other year.

2. Champions 2022 Istanbul - I mean, just take a look at that playoff bracket. Every single team looking like a stacked powerhouse side that could truly compete with each other. Could've been easily first on this list, however the group stage did not yield many huge surprises like Champions 2024.

3. Champions 2023 Los Angeles - The most redeeming quality of Champions 2023 was the shock emergence of a Chinese team that could compete, apart from EDG, in the form of BLG. The only reason why this does not overtake the likes of Champions 2022 is because of how strong/unpredictable the playoffs teams were in other editions of the event.

4. Champions 2021 Berlin - Unfortunately, 2021 as a whole was just less competitive than other years. Although many group stage anomalies occurred, with the likes of VS, NV, SEN dropping out, the lack of a double elimination format in the playoffs made the competitiveness of the group stage disappear.

Who are your favorite players qualified to Champions 2024 Seoul Playoffs that don't represent your flag or flair?

For me, I would say C0M, Boaster, zellsis, trent, benjyfishy.

Really excited for the BuZz vs. zekken duel. Although BuZz has had a better start, zekken seems to be warming up into the tournament and both are absolutely unplayable on their day.

What do we think the map bans will look like? Will SEN look to counterstrat with only a few days of preparation? I would assume DRX choose to be Team B. From there: SEN ban Abyss; DRX ban Haven; SEN pick Lotus; DRX pick Bind; SEN ban Ascent; DRX ban Sunset; Icebox remains.

And what are your nonbiased score predictions? Having never faced each other on the International Stage, it seems hard to predict. I fear all three maps will be tossups that go the distance, resulting in a 2-1 win for either team.

I saw it here first: https://x.com/ValorINTEL/status/1822635152553419016
But you can also see for yourself on the Global Leaderboard: https://valorantesports.com/en-GB/pickems/112053452805788444/leaderboards/global

One of them swapped DRX and FNC, another one swapped PRX and FUT, while the remaining two swapped TE and LEV.

Nobody will earn it this year. There are four accounts who have 156/160 points, in the official Pick'Ems.

Zest, Rb, k1Ng, Sayaplayer should make a new team and run it back. Bring in Ban or Governor, if one leaves Talon.

GEN vs. PRX will be a banger game.