we say this but I'd rate TH and KC in the same tier, that Lotus map in the final was just a generational 1st half choke by TH ngl

SEN 2-1 surely, if TH aim wears off then SEN 2-0 13-3 for both maps

they're slowly turning this league into a joke, could've easily done a live draw right after LOUD vs SEN

imo the strongest international 2nd seed SEN can face, no glaze. Both teams also have very different comps.

EDG are definitely the favourites rn though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EqaekCD_uQ&ab_channel=Indominusreags

everyone just held in their hate for him cus of last year its natural atp, the event itself isn't even a legit tournament on top of that. All the reactionary takes hes been getting is pure proof how influential he is. First bad series since Masters Tokyo btw.

im seeing TekkenZ all over my feed on yt twitter etc but when EG beat PRX everyone only cared about Demon1

bro was due for a bad series lol, the last one he had was back in Masters Tokyo like 9 full months ago.

where was this energy when Jawg and Demon1 went +23 and +31 respectfully to win NA's first Champions, literally the best duo performance in this game's history considering the stakes. Do we just ignore good Valorant when our fav team doesnt win or what. I miss those 2 fr.

so then it's impossible for NRG to find a comp where Demon1 isn't suddenly on Omen? There's shit that can make Astra work that's been ran right now.

outdated is an understatement when you're forcing it on literally the best rifler of last year, pretty much the last guy you would want OFF the rifle xd

he forgot to add the ingame part

he clearly needs to OP more

no analysis tho, just the blunt truth

"demon1 best rifler. demon1 now on OP. why demon1 on OP?" = armchair analyst

I'm legit telling you there just has to be Operator body pillows all over that NRG facility or something. The gun is fucking garbage and its easily exploitable. Chet sat in his room watching 2023 EG play w/o an OP whilst punishing OP users and thought to himself that he should make that team's star player into yay 2.0 like wtf?

and there's 100% room to fit in Astra in that Split meta lol, also what meta is there to prioritize OP that much anyways, feels like NRG are the only strong team doing it.

They know but they want to cook up weird shit in a must win match.

nah what's legit even crazier is that they put him on Omen for that map instead of his Astra or even his Jett (ironic) that clapped PRX in Map 1 of the final.

Demon1 was statistically the best rifler of 2023: https://www.reddit.com/r/ValorantCompetitive/comments/17a1lgv/who_wins_the_most_rifle_vs_rifle_fights_best/

NRG then immediately sign him just for Chet to put him on 24/7 Jett OP duty for god knows what reason. Potter with EG last year exposed how useless the OP is against a well prepped team but bro still insists that its 2022. Even if Demon1 still had a bad day going vandal only vs SEN, his overall impact wouldn't hurt his team as much as it did with the 4700 credit gun you're forced to constantly save.

aspas who's the better and more experienced OPer barely even used the weapon this tournament even on Jett for a reason.

NRG are relying too much on the OP on top of that, like Demon1 has another off game on OP duty then the map is over because of how vital Chet makes the weapon in most rounds. The gameplan is to pivot away from the weapon and work on comps that're more flexible off Jett but there's a chance that we won't be seeing that. It's not even like picking Jett means you're on automatic OP duty, there's very real notes that Chet could be taking from Potter by just watching their games last year that he refused to implement for this tournament.

Chet is unironically living in 2022 when the weapon looked busted.

Seeing him save that much this tournament actually made me sad, this OPing shit is ruining him like the weapon isn't as good as Chet thinks it is. Demon1 was statistically the best rifler of 2023 yet is forced to save every time a team takes site because his ass has 4700 credits on his hands. It's lowkey making him feel uncomfortable in rifle fights after switching off his beloved OP.

They legit just got too cocky, that's it. Chet left SEN's most played map open on purpose, overcooked a weird comp, and Demon1 had an off game that was due since Masters Tokyo. Demon1 is also statistically way better off the OP on top of that, Chet sees him as another yay and I've been saying that since their match vs FURIA. I legit said it before that good teams WILL find a way to punish the OP, it's why EG last year made the weapon look dogshit.

They're gonna come back humbled and ready bc it's only been the first 2 weeks of VCT.

Both teams made it to all masters last year

I just glazed your team and ur laughing lol

I mean the aim on KC must fall off because they look unnatural if you know what I mean.

They've been SEN flairs just yesterday making fun of Demon1's gf yesterday and you say this?

SEN should 100% win, they have better strats but the individual aim on KC looks literally unreal, surely they can't keep that up for Masters though.

surely the prize isnt just plane tickets to europe

but there were big ass trophies for those events lol

i get that this is just qualifications but for the first tourney after a 6 months break, Riot doesn't even give their Kick Off winners trophies? not even a prize pool like 10k or smth? If a team that wins Kick Off yet doesn't win Madrid nor make it to Champs bc of the +3 points then what's there to remember?

EG was 1st seed for Champs, forgot about FNC and Liquid too though lmfao like its just further proof seeding isn't that impactful.

we somehow acting like being 1st seed will automatically place you further than the 2nd seed once the event ends. LOUD after winning Americas looked 10x worse than them being 2nd seed during Champs, form matters a lot.

LOUD was 1st seed in Tokyo and look what happened lmfao

EMEA clowns will start acting like they care about KC and TH lmao, 1 big family region apparently

Stuff changes with the meta yea but saying LOUD w/ aspas wouldn't be stronger rn is just crazy no?

what im i coping about lmfao

Comparing anything to LOCK//IN wouldn't work though I mean it's a single elimination tourney, you lose a single series and you're gone. SEN would've been out in their first series if LOCK//IN happened this year.

better than 2023 LOUD and EG? idk not really. LOUD with qck over aspas is a nerf no matter how you look at it, and yet they still managed to 2-0 then 2-3 SEN and qualify for Madrid

LOUD's new comp is definitely not as great we make it out to be, SEN's like the only real improvement from Americas though

i watched the games to make this claim wdym, how can i say any of this if none of the games were played lol

the only region that made an improvement of gameplay quality compared to last year is EU as much as I hate to say it, FNC kept the same roster and everything but got slapped by 2024 KC. Maybe FNC would've qualified over TH though.

LOUD w/o aspas is showing hard, so 2023 EG and LOUD if they kept their rosters would've qualified for Madrid from what we've seen so far.

2023 DRX and PRX would've qualified for Madrid 100%.

CN is still EDG and friends.

It's just the first event after a long break though but a lot of the gameplay feels way more loose than what we were left off from last year for sure.

KC and TH look like aim gods tbf

bc the final was for who gets 1st seed, it’s not an actual tournament like Americas League, it’s qualifications for the main event

i dont think bro cares

ngl i cant even tell if hes joking or not. I mean there's no way they're paying someone a full salary for lineups that this team barely even uses no? so is he just a hype man then LMAO

NRG are paying a man for lineups? did we even see a lineup this series?

I might have a heart attack if anyone compares Chet to her again. Bro must've hired 3 yes men or something.

and yet left Split open for their team to look completely and utterly lost in from the 1st round. atp we gotta pay Potter to anti strat for us no joke, slip her a few bands or smth. if Potter can take down LOUD convincingly with 4 random players on their famous Ascent then I say we start doing smth illegal that involves payment.