The last qualifiers for Valorant Champions 2023 in the American region have recently ended, meaning that all 16 participating teams for the upcoming championship are now known. Today, we'll tell you about the groups that have formed and analyze potential favorites.
The #VALORANTChampions groups are locked in! pic.twitter.com/ybUoCWbSru
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) July 24, 2023
First, let's note that the tournament is divided into two stages, the group and the playoff stages. All 16 teams participate in the group stage, divided into 4 groups, with 4 participants in each. They play against each other and as a result, 2 teams from each group advance to the playoffs.
Group A
The obvious favorites in Group A are Paper Rex and KRÜ Esports. The former is currently the top-1 in the Asia-Pacific region and qualified for the tournament by winning the regular season of VCT 2023 Pacific League, beating 9 other teams. KRÜ Esports, on the other hand, is the dark horse of the tournament, having made it to the world championship after an unexpected victory at the LCQ in the American region. Despite not winning a single match in the regular season, the Latin Americans did not lose a single match at the LCQ. Giants are less likely to make it to the playoffs, but they're worth keeping an eye on, as they defeated NAVI 3-0 at EMEA LCQ, thus qualifying for the championship. While EDward Gaming is the top 1 team from the Chinese region, when it comes to global competitions, the team doesn't have much to counter the top teams from other regions, as it has been at all recent major tournaments.
Group B
The first favorite in this group is FunPlus Phoenix. The Chinese team has been performing on the professional stage for a long time and has several significant titles under their belt. The main paradox of FPP is that they lose to top teams in the Chinese region, but usually win when it comes to Europe and America. Evil Geniuses is also a main candidate for the playoffs. The current season has been quite productive for them, albeit without victories, but with prize places at VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo and in the regular season of VCT 2023: Americas League. FUT Esports looks like the weakest team of the entire tournament, with the exception of the 3rd place at VCT 2023: EMEA League, the team has no other achievements in the current season. T1 also doesn't perform very well on the world stage and usually leaves the competition in the last places.
Group C
Group C is entirely composed of strong teams, so it is hard to define a clear favorite. Fnatic is currently at the peak of its strength. The team has won 2 S-tier tournaments since the beginning of the season: VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo and VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, and they have also performed well in the regular season. ZETA DIVISION may not have such achievements, but they reached the finals of the Pacific LCQ without a single loss and won it. The American team NRG placed 4th in the last Masters in Tokyo and took 2nd place in the regular season. Bilibili Gaming is perhaps the only weak unit in this group. Although the team is quite strong in the Chinese region, they have not yet had experience playing against teams from other regions, so it's unknown how they will perform.
Group D
Group D also has many strong teams. LOUD are the current world champions. Although they replaced 2 players after their victory in last year's championship, the team did not weaken at all, as evidenced by their results this season. DRX is the strongest team in Korea, which won quite a few tier-2 and tier-1 tournaments last season. Even though they have no victories in 2023, the team will certainly show itself well at the world championship. Team Liquid, a European team, is doing great but usually only in regional competitions. At large world tournaments like VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo or VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo, things are not going well for the Liquid. Natus Vincere showed average results this year, 3-4 place at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, and 4th place in the regular season. Honestly, it's hard to believe in NAVI at all, considering that they had difficulty getting into the current tournament.
Remember, the Valorant Champions 2023 will take place from August 6th to 26th in Los Angeles. The 16 best teams will compete for a large prize pool, the championship cup, and the title of the strongest team for the entire next year. You can follow the championship on our website, where all necessary information about the tournament, news, match results, and analysis will be available.
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