VALORANT Champions 2021 is right around the corner and is the ultimate test for 16 participating teams to prove that they’re the best in the world this year. Since the tournament features teams that have qualified through the points system or the last chance qualifier tournaments, you can expect that each region has sent their best contenders and will be bringing the highest level of gameplay that they have produced. But which ones can we expect to be the favorites of the tournament?
There are 16 teams in VALORANT Champions 2021 but only one will be going home with the trophy. Despite each region sending their best representative in the tournament, we all know there are some teams that are considered to be the favorites to win it all. Even though these favorites are expected to bring it home, we know that this year has simply been a year featuring underdogs swiping the championships when everyone counted them out early into the tournament.
There’s no doubt that North America and EMEA are the top two regions on this list with both having most of their representatives on our top 10 list. The past two S-Tier tournaments, which are the VCT Masters Reykjavik and VCT Masters Berlin, have both shown that the top teams from these regions has what it takes to take home the championship. However, a lot can change in such a small amount of time and so we’re not ready to count out the other representatives as well.
KRÜ Esports has been the top name in LATAM consistently making it to the international stage as the region’s main representative. This team has won every domestic tournament they participated in the 2nd half of the year. Despite losing all their matches on the international stage against EMEA and NA, they are still a top 10 team in VALORANT Champions 2021. The Latin American representatives are hungry to take their first win against their major region rivals and they’ll have the chance to do so in December.
KRÜ Esports is definitely in the hardest group in the tournament having both Sentinels and Team Liquid together. The biggest problem that this team has is that they lack any competitive practice due to the fact that they have only participated in B-tier and below tournaments. The LATAM VALORANT scene seems pretty small compared to the bigger regions and they can only really fight against opponents that are equal in strength on international tournaments.
Cloud9 Blue makes its first appearance on the S-Tier tournament scene after a year filled with heartbreak and disappointment despite performing so well in domestic tournaments. After reshuffling their roster while keeping the core of mitch, leaf, and xeta, they finally found a formula that would allow them to become top contenders in the league. That was until they got kicked into the lower bracket on the Last Chance Qualifier by Rise, who were heavy favorites.
A dominant lower-bracket run allow the team to take a rematch with Rise in the finals but this time, they’d make a statement by beating them 3-0. Despite their dominant victory, the team still looks shaky and a few levels below their North American region mates. We’re not doubting that they’d be able to perform but they’ll need to step up early with a very hard group containing Fnatic and Vision Strikers.
Team Secret also makes their first appearance on the international scene but is a name that has been talked about for a long time… or at least, their old name was. See, Team Secret succeeded the roster of BREN Esports, who were supposed to participate in VCT Masters Berlin but wasn’t able to because the team experienced travel issues. Instead, Paper Rex was subbed in. This is why nobody really knows how good they are internationally but we’ve seen their domestic games.
Due to the fact that Team Secret signed every member of BREN Esports, they managed to take the circuit points as well. The team is probably the most dominant in Southeast Asia, looking at how they placed 1st in almost every tournament they joined (as BREN Esports). Despite this being their first time competing, a lot of fans actually have high hopes for this team and hope that they will pull of an amazing underdog story that people will be talking about for ages.
At this point on our power rankings, we’ll be talking about the big boys of the VALORANT esports scene and there’s no team better to start off with than Fnatic. Fnatic didn’t manage to make it to VCT Masters Berlin but they are still a top-tier team. Don’t forget that this team managed to make it to the finals of VCT Masters Reykjavic. The team has shown incredible consistency in a very competitive region like EMEA so they’re not a team that anyone should think won’t make it to the top.
Fnatic also has some really strong players on the roster with Derke and Boaster. In VALORANT Champions 2021, they will be playing in a pretty stacked group with all 4 teams having the potential of making it out. Similar to League of Legends Group D where all 4 teams managed to create a 4-way tie at Worlds 2021. Despite being a top team, they still have an uphill battle to fight especially since their rivals domestically and internationally have only improved.
Acend has been one of the most consistent teams from EMEA. Despite one of the team’s members getting involved in some scandals involving illegal activities. Luckily, the player didn’t intentionally mean to get involved which is why he hasn’t received sanctions that would otherwise hurt the team’s chances in VALORANT Champions 2021. Despite underwhelming performances internationally, they have been exceptionally dominant domestically, even more so than Gambit themselves.
We’ve mentioned already that EMEA is the most competitive region in VALORANT with so many teams and high-tier tournaments regularly. Consistently making it to the top 4 and winning most of the tournaments you participate in is no small feat so this team shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s expected that Acend will breeze through their group so the only challenge left for them is whether or not they will manage to perform at the same level when it comes to the knockout stage.
Vision Strikers have been at the top of the Asian VALORANT scene for a while and is the only team in the east that is considered to be on par with their western counterparts. Even though they didn’t manage to compete in VCT Masters Reykjavic, the team managed to redeem themselves in VCT Masters Berlin. As expected, Vision Strikers will also compete in VALORANT Champions 2021 to prove once and for all that the Asian scene isn’t far behind in this esports.
Fans should know that the Korean VALORANT scene is notorious for having a completely different style of gameplay. They are known for their mastery over the use of shotguns in specific situations, which is not only entertaining but also make a lot of sense. If there’s anything we learned from the different esports, we know having your own identity and strategy can be a really strong point. Alongside Fnatic and Cloud9 Blue, they’ll have a very blood group ahead of them.
Team Envy is North America’s #2 team and is a force to be reckoned with no matter the tournament. Even though they got swept by Gambit Esports in the VCT Masters Berlin, it doesn’t mean that this team doesn’t have what it takes to become a top contender in the tournament. In fact, they have always played a high level of VALORANT gameplay that proves that their finals finish in the tournament was not a fluke or simply a result of Sentinels flopping at the last second.
Even though we don’t consider them a top 3 team in the tournament, that doesn’t mean we don’t think they have what it takes to win VALORANT Champions 2021. They’ll have to fight an uphill battle in the knockout stage where they’ll be facing the teams that have already established themselves as the top names in the entire world. When everything looks grim, you can count on Team Envy to be the last hope of the region to carry their hopes and dreams.
Team Liquid is the team that has been rising in potential after their defeat at VCT Masters Reykjavic. This team didn’t make it into VCT Masters Berlin but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been working hard during the remainder of that time. Their performances in the past few months have been incredibly impressive and there’s no doubt that this team is a big threat in the tournament that can even be considered as one of the favorites to take the trophy home.
There are a lot of big names in Team Liquid that testify to the individual talent that they already have. The only thing they need to work on is how these names mesh together as a team. In the past few months, we’ve seen them grow from being a group of talented players to a structurally perfect team that can outperform anyone at their best. For this team, VALORANT Champions 2021 will be the ultimate proving ground for them to show the world that there isn’t just one team in the region.
Sentinels are the VCT Masters Reykjavic champions and have been the most renown name in VALORANT esports for quite some time. The addition of TenZ to the roster has boosted this team from an A-tier team to one of the biggest championship contenders. They are North America’s biggest hope and are expected to be one of the team’s that you’ll need to beat if you plan on fighting for the trophy. While they’re not exactly the final boss, they are definitely a threat to any team that they face against.
The team didn’t exactly put up an impressive show at the VCT Masters Berlin, where they not only lost to G2 Esports in Groups but they also had an early exit in the quarterfinals against fellow North Americans, Team Envy. In VALORANT Champions 2021, this team plans to prove to the world that they are still the same team that cleanly swept Reykjavic and are looking to be the first organization to win two S-Tier trophies for their region in the VALORANT esports scene.
Of course, we won’t forget the VALORANT Masters Berlin champions. The team that is literally considered to be at the top of Valorant esports today and are looking as dominant as they were ever since they won the trophy. The impregnable fortress that is nAts continues to be unrealistically good at the game that no player is able to make it past his line of sight as a defender. With such a powerful defense and really strong offense, they look like a team that can make it back-to-back.
The team is an absolute titan that deserves to be at the top of any VALORANT Champions 2021 power rankings. However, that is not to say that they are unbeatable. A lot of teams have improved over the past few months. While we’re not saying that their performance has degraded ever since they won the championship, we still believe that there are a lot of talent teams in the league that will be able to step up when it matters.
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