These ten teams will be making history by attending VALORANT’s first LAN in Masters Reykjavik.
Masters Reykjavik will be VALORANT’s first international esports event and is bound to feature some intense matchups. Every region has shown a very different approach to the game in terms of competition and play style which makes deciding early favorites incredibly difficult. With all teams qualified however, we can start to make some predictions.
The perennial NA kings and surging underdogs
Sentinels have long reigned over NA with only brief missteps blemishing their dominance over the region. Sweeping every finals in their past three tournaments, Sentinels have displayed the greatest domestic dominance out of any attending team. Playing around their duelists, TenZ and SicK, Sentinel have found unprecedented levels of success ever since acquiring TenZ on loan. The only potential weakness may be their static compositions. Their tried and true Haven and Icebox compositions may have benefitted them regionally, however internationally this inability to innovate could be their downfall.
Few expected Version1 to reach the heights that they have, especially after making massive roster changes just days prior to Challengers Final. The team’s new blood, Wippie and Penny, both had fantastic showings while the core of the squad has remained consistent anchors for the team. Though managing to make finals, V1 suffered a quick 3-0 against Sentinels. Facing off against the top teams in the world, V1 may struggle to keep pace with significantly stronger competition.
Team Liquid and Fnatic – The dark horses
Team Liquid’s turnaround time from an EU squad finding middling results to becoming the EMEA champions was made at a breakneck pace. The introduction of Jamppi seems to have changed the team drastically, providing another win condition along with ScreaM. One of TL’s constants since day one, ScreaM is coming into the tournament widely regarded as one of the best VALORANT players currently in the scene. Team Liquid has also shown some of the most unique compositions, being the only team to successfully pull off no-duelist compositions.
Fnatic has been notorious for playing a relatively dull and slow style that has earned the criticism of many. The introduction of Derke and MAGNUM have sped up Fnatic’s play marginally and added greater diversity to their compositions.
The usurpers in Korea and Japan
In an interesting turn of events, no First Strike Champions will be making an appearance at Masters Reykjavik. This is perhaps the most shocking for the Japanese and Korean regions, who saw top teams absolutely dominant the respective scenes initially. In Japan, Crazy Raccoons bested Absolute JUPITER while NUTURN snapped Vision Strikers’ 100 game winning streak. The two regions have threatened imposing runs internationally with these ‘top dog’ teams, however we will have to see if these unknown quantities can make the same waves as these teams enter Masters Reykjavik.
X10 Esports
The sole team coming from SEA, X10 Esports featuring an all Thai roster. X10 is one of the few teams that has managed to maintain their vice grip over their region since the start of the VCT and carried their momentum into an international qualification. Though not the lineup with the most individual carries, X10’s incredible synergy has won them 6 of their last 7 finals appearance. The SEA region overall has not had the best luck in the FPS genre, but this team is looking to start their chapter in VALORANT off right.
The Brazilian Sharks and Vikings
Brazilian teams have largely defied meta expectations, running Jett on relatively few comps and have yet to embrace Astra into the meta. Similar to NA, where teams live or die by their duelist fraggers, the likes of Raze and Reina dominate the scene. Between the top expected contenders for Master Reykjavik’s title, Brazil potentially has the most potential to break into the top two unexpectedly.
Also read:
- Masters Reykjavik removes Breeze from map pool
- Replication, a new VALORANT game mode, teased by Riot Games
- Rumor: Is VALORANT getting its own mobile version?
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Image Credits: Team Liquid