shae

my only team loyalties are fnatic and shopify rebellion gold. otherwise i just like it when teams Play Good. my favorite players outside of my teams are zekken, bang, johnqt, t3xture, benjyfishy, forsaken, and chronicle! :)

hello gang time for another power ranking yippee!!! I’m not really gonna include the 4 teams in the upper bracket cause I already said what I needed to about them and they haven’t played since. Just assume G2/NRG/MIBR are #1-3 and Furia is like idk #5-6.

100T: They’re unquestionably the team with the most potential to rise to the top tier of the region, to potentially upset one of the big 3. Lots of really cool ideas and layers being added to maps already shown. Their Breeze might be a little weak, coulda been Loud looking really good on a map where they can Just Shoot, but I’m not ready to claim the “waylay one trick” allegations for timo quite yet. he’s also the only one who can do solo waylay right so i don’t blame them for playing into that. really wanna see their haven and abyss, i can see them doing some interesting stuff there. Also just the way they always play together and have crazy good jump peeks??? Aghhh they’re so much fun to watch.

C9: Unfortunately they’re playing with a sub (Demon1) in for Oxy, I wish him all the best through something so heavy and tragic as losing a parent. But for playing with a sub, they’re doing incredibly well. Respect to Immi and Zellsis as leaders for adapting their game plans to just set up Demon1 to play his game and thrive in it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decide to keep him on and cut Penny (even though I think Penny is a very talented player) whenever Oxy comes back. I struggled between putting them here or below Sen, but ultimately I think C9’s stuff is more fixable than Sen’s for kickoff.

SEN: Maybe I’m putting them too high, but idk I still think this team has potential to do well. They made the game against 100T really competitive and have significantly improved in their last two matches. I think their issue is clearly Waylay is not a good fit for N4rrate. It doesn’t seem to fit his playstyle and it feels like he’s not getting enough support on entries/retakes/etc. Like numerous times he’d use his ult and no one would follow up. I also am a little bummed they aren’t giving Chamber a try. like idk johnqt is already a goddamn nuke in the server on omen, astra, tejo, etc., FUCK IT just let him take over the whole game on chamber, why the hell not. some thanos “fine i’ll do it myself” type shit.

ENVY: I don’t know how to feel about this team (gameplay wise, the players themselves are………….). They’re allegedly the Paper Rex of NA, but that’s an insult to PRX, cause at least PRX have interesting comps and ideas. I mean ENVY’s comps are more interesting than before when it was Yoru+Cypher every map. But frankly they can’t keep starting cold, you’re not gonna go particularly far if you start a map down every time. And picking Abyss three times and not winning once??? Like how bad must their Haven be then as their permaban.

KRU: Probably too high in the grand scheme since they’re a sub roster rn but also the three teams beneath them are pissing me off so bad Kru gets a boost by default. And for what it’s worth, theyve made their games sorta competitive? They win a map but then the two they lose aren’t particularly close…. But players like mta and benG stepping up has been cool to see! Are they better than main roster? Hard to say. I already wasn’t particularly excited about their starting lineup, but obviously you’d hope they have some interesting ideas prepared for whenever they can play, but i fear that won’t be till stage 1 :/

LEV: I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU!!!!! WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!!!!!! aghhhhhh i was such a goddamn believer,,,,had spike and sato on my vfl team,,, but i dont think neon being able to play will fix the glaring issue that is Onur’s game plans. Like why do you have a bunch of cracked zoomers and you’re having them play like fnatic, they’re so goddamn scared!!!!!!! and god i hope that i’m wrong, i PRAY that neon will show up to that game against kru and lev will wake the fuck up and look like the fun, chaotic team we were promised. but i fear neon will get there, he’ll try his best, but ultimately they won’t really get far. :(

EG: I really like Potter but it’s getting to a point where i think she’s just lost the sauce. another year where the ideas are not really interesting in any way. like cool you played veto on abyss but you also have a heinous defensive setup on bind where your yoru doesn’t use cross map tps like right okay cool…….what a shame :/

Thought it would be fun to do a little power ranking week to week, so if people missed any games they can get the jist of what happened + my opinion on their standing within the region. This is not a definitive ranking like "these are the top 3 teams FOR SURE going to Santiago", but just how I rate them based on the games played this week.

NRG: For sure the most solid looking team of the big three so far, although you could make the argument they had the weakest opponent of the three. Was cool to see Keiko on the Neon, since we've seen him on the Raze but not much other duelists. Not really much to say, I'm kinda just waiting for the champs curse atp LMAO

G2: Wow G2 is good, what a shocker🙄 I personally was so over the “G2 play perfect valorant” narrative being used by the broadcast last year, it just became not fun to watch their games because it was just pointless. They’d lose a round or a map but it couldn’t POSSIBLY be their fault cause they don’t make mistakes! It’s died down a bit this year so far, but yeah of course they’re still good. It was kinda nice to see them get challenged by 100t, just to remind everyone they can still bleed. I’m interested to see what they play on maps we didn’t see in the offseason (ie breeze), and goddamn is Leaf a monster. Bro just takes over games on BREACH.

100T: Alright my bias is showing now. This is probably my favorite team from what I’ve seen so far, they’ve got really great ideas (that Corrode comp is EVIL its GENIUS, we’ll see about its attack though), and I really like Vora’s calling. They’re definitely the 4th place team right now, but I’ve placed them in 3rd for this week purely cause I was more impressed with what I saw than I was with #4. Like they could’ve beaten G2 2-0. That’s fucking crazy. And get Timo on a day where he’s just really feelin it??? Ohhhhhh this team is dangerous.

MIBR: Again, it’s not surprising in any way that a team with Aspas, Zekken, Mazino, Tex, and Verno is insane, but goddamn did they have a lot of plot armor against ENVY. There were a lot of rounds, especially on Abyss, where Aspas is just blessed by God, either through somehow Not Dying to magically getting a 3k while solo anchoring. I understand they’ve had very limited practice time but frankly I was a bit disappointed in the comp choices, nothing really new or interesting. Their Corrode comp from last year, the default 2024 Abyss comp…..like it worked but y’all didn’t wanna play around with double duelist even a little? You’d really rather stick ZEKKEN on Astra? Not even a dash of Yoru? I doubt they beat NRG, unless they keep that plot armor on tight.

ENVY: A very odd team to place. They scraped a win past EG, got stomped by MIBR on map 1 but made it close on map 2. They’re a dark horse but I doubt the better teams get caught by their aggressive rank-y style. I don’t know, I guess I’m just imagining a near future where Yoru is nerfed into the ground and this team is just fucked because Eggster LITERALLY can’t play anything else. It’s interesting to see different players step up each match (Eggster then Rossy), but I wanna see them when they’re all shooting.

FUR: Holy shit what a surge in the rankings. Definitely underrated by everyone. Koalanoob is a DEMON on the op, but everyone is just playing soooo confidently, which you never saw on previous rosters. They’re not doing anything too exciting comp wise but really they don’t need to, cause this is just about building confidence really. Like asking them to start cooking strategy wise is a lot when they’ve just barely beaten the Last Place allegations.

LEV: It hurts me to put them this low. I was believing in a lower bracket run. But I think this team needs to ramp up over the year, and obviously for Neon to be there. Not only that, but I’m a bit concerned for the playstyle Onur seems to be going with for this squad. You’ve got four cracked zoomers and a cracked, experienced IGL…..and your strategy is to play like Fnatic? I hope this is just their plan for these games before Neon comes in or something, cause I’ll be disappointed if this is the LEV we get after seeing them go dummy crazy in the off season.

C9: What is there to say really. They’re still a sort of gatekeeper team, where they beat teams worse than them but never really can compete with those better than them. Obviously that floor/ceiling can move up over time as Zellsis adjusts to IGLing, but I don’t know, there’s nothing really to say about this team. They stomped LOUD and got stomped by NRG, that’s about it.

SEN: Jesus christ this game pissed me off so goddamn bad. I hate the no recon inti idea Kaplan clearly thinks is going to be meta. It was just so utterly destroyed because they had absolutely no way of punishing Koalanoob on the op. And someone needs to lock N4rrate in a room and force him to watch 50 hours of Timotino and HYUNMIN Waylay vods, because his tp usage was shocking. Like how are you placing your recall down and not moving an inch? I’m being harsh, but really it was cause I was such a fan of ‘24/‘25 SEN, and I was really bummed to see them change SOOO much from last year. For them to brag about going to all the international events and upper bracket finals or whatever, change half the team, brag about winning their own off season tournaments, then get on stage and just completely crumble? God someone get Johnqt some help. Save him from this team.

EG: I’m gonna be honest: I don’t remember anything about the one game they played. They beat ENVY on a map! They got close on another one!…….Okeanos is funny! Keep doing confessionals to the camera! Uhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah that’s it.

LOUD: God what an utter waste of my time this team is. Get Daiki a goddamn trial for the IGL spot idgaf if she never played tier 2, it at least would be interesting to see a new Brazilian IGL on the stage that knows what they’re doing. Like yes, we have a bit more fresh blood on this team but I just am still not impressed by the old guard that’s still here. Honestly I hope they do the whole “go 0-5 but have someone drop 40 every map every time” thing again cause goddamn was that hilarious.

a couple teams (sen, eg) could move up if i find their playstyle more interesting as the year goes on. 100t/mibr are only that high cause of bang + zekken tbh😭 gx and ts are that low for petty reasons (boring ass comps and clearly trying to get kicked from partnership, respectively)

i’m incredibly annoyed that we’re sticking with the generic, copy-paste card designs. i personally don’t use the classic enough to really justify spending $20 if the card is gonna be boring. if you’re an org that’s whining about yours not selling enough, get good? hire a graphic designer or marketing team? it’s not sen or prx’s fault yall don’t make building a brand a priority🙄

this is objectively correct and if someone not in the top 3 qualifies for santiago it’s because the vct script writers defied my direct orders

lev; i’m so hyped for this team it’s unreal. just a ton of fun, chaotic personalities playing FUN valorant instead of “perfect” valorant. idgaf if neon can’t be there for game 1+2 or whatever, this team will become a fan favorite and give americas some much needed energy. my goats spike and sato are about to be the new golden boys of vct and im so fuckin here for it

g2; still have the aura of dominating americas last year but also hungry for a real international trophy. i could see them definitely falling off a bit if this meta becomes very chamber dependent. like im sorry but putting leaf on breach should be a crime (also #justiceforjonahp)

nrg; as much as i hate them (them meaning their army sponsor), keiko is an undeniable upgrade, and i don’t see them feeling the wrath of The Champs Curse™️ right away. i’m predicting this is their only international appearance though cause im a hater and believe in The Curse™️

mibr; purely this low because they’ve had no practice. i understand any team aspas is on becomes Aspas and Friends, but i wanna see zekken really shine, while not having the added pressure of being the entry (allegedly he’s playing smokes but im BEGGING for him to do some yoru double-duelist stuff. my biggest gripe w sen last year was them abandoning yoru INSTANTLY after the tejo nerfs). also i think they should drop tex for jonahp (#justiceforjonahp) but thats neither here nor there

100t; this is pure bias because i’m the #1 Bangzerra Defender. i think he was completely misused last year on sen, fundamentally misunderstanding his strengths and trying to make him play like tenz. i’m mixed on the roster build though. i like bringing on an established core, but im not convinced on cryo’s senti when he’s Not on chamber. lucky for him maybe the meta is going full chamber so who gives a fuck if his killjoy sucks ass!

sen; this high cause i’ve seen more of them in the off season than anyone else. i mean this with the utmost respect but i don’t really love the roster construction here in terms of roles (reduxx should be duelist, n4rrate should be recon idgaf), and some of the comms i heard during sen classic/invi did not inspire confidence in terms of vibes…..also frankly i don’t buy that john’s calling was the problem last year, but i might be in the minority on that. the crumble of sen ‘25 is my personal roman empire and we’ll probably never know what the hell happened between those c9 and g2 games at the end there.

eg; honestly i can see this team being a real dark horse. i was really bummed to see them drop derrek but i understand the role conflict with c0m (although the fact that he was the Best Chamber on the roster last year, now possibly going into another chamber meta is funny), but i like okeanos and dgzin. i really hope the c0m + potter duo will bring us back to the interesting comps + stratbook that i normally expect from eg

kru; honestly i’m probably underrating them, but it’s mainly cause in my vct viewing tenure (2024+2025), i haven’t really been convinced by anyone on this roster. everyone tells me sadhaak is a goat igl but he’s been kinda Whatever in the two years ive been watching him. dante was incredibly disappointing last year, esp given how hyped up he was by the tier 2 knowers. silentzz was alright but he was on 2g, a team that was never able to reach their true potential. mwzerra is the biggest “who?” for me, like i barely remember him and he’s only been on furia of what i’ve seen so…….. less is great though, he and derke were trying to save the sinking ship of vitality with the tiniest life preservers imaginable

c9; number placement pun not intentional, but i’m just kinda meh on this team really. oxy is obviously good, penny and vic are talented but haven’t really gotten a real chance to shine. i think it was kinda scummy how they treated mitch to force zellsis in but whatever, they can keep thinking it was worth it i guess, yk whatever helps em sleep at night. they just need to learn that karma is gonna keep preventing them for going to an international if they’re gonna keep being snakey in the off season! jokes aside, i just don’t see how this team sneaks its way up the ranks to making a global. like the changes made aren’t obvious upgrades compared to the rosters they’re competing against

loud; just a nothing burger team tbh. lukxo being back on a portuguese speaking roster should help his performance immensely, he’s an incredibly talented senti. but idk i hope darker and virtyy are good, i dont really watch tier 2, but i hear that xolos lazer(?) team was good. as much as i like pancada idk about him really being an igl now, and idk cauanzin is just kinda whatever to me.

envy; i think this team is screwed in multiple ways. a) their two stars are too young to play, with one of them not being able to play AT ALL this year. b) their cypher one-trick is being giga-nerfed cause cypher is garbage now and i haven’t been impressed by his chamber. plus i don’t see a world where yoru isn’t decimated with nerfs at some point this year, so their yoru one-trick is also fucked. and c) the vibes are probably gonna be fucking rancid. i mean the team already is a bunch of ranked demons who are obnoxious in the comms anyway, but their subs are rossy, a dude who clearly struggles in a Team Environment, and keznit, a guy who doesn’t speak great english and also gets giga-tilted. like how is this not a recipe for disaster? pure spite?