Heavy changes in the entire VALORANT pro scene promises a very exciting return as the new system is set to begin soon as 32 teams from four different regions will finally face off after months of preparation.
Out of these 32 teams, oddsmaker bet365 favors Na’vi to win it all coming in with odds of 5.50. Trailing behind them is Korean team DRX at 6.50 who have had high placements throughout last year’s VCT circuit.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 8th, 4:30 A.M. (EST)
Na’vi picked up the old FunPlus Phoenix roster as the latter decided to return to China where the organization originated. They brought in everyone but ardiis, who opted to join North American team NRG. Instead, its Turkish superstar cNed, who most notably carried Acend to win Champions 2021, will be playing taking the place of ardiis. It seems like the FPX roster will not have problems after all. The team won Masters Copenhagen and finished 4th in Champions 2022, losing to DRX.
Despite every team going for huge roster shuffles, 2022 3rd placers Team DRX will keep their roster intact. The team consists of former Asian Counter Strike standouts stax, RB, and Zest. Known for their aggressive play-style and strong mechanics, the Korean organization notched themselves high placements all throughout last season.
Other teams to look out for are NRG, Fnatic, and Cloud9. Fnatic brought in Leo from Guild Esports to replace Mistic. Meanwhile, NRG picked up the old Optic Gaming roster with the exception of their superstar Yay, who signed with Cloud9 after being courted by several North American organizations. He will be the latest addition to the roster together with Zellsis, who last played for crowd favorite Sentinels. He will reunite with Vanity who he played with in Version1 back in 2021.
All eyes will be on the North American organization Sentinels that brought in Sacy and Pancada from Brazil’s dominant team LOUD, who managed to win Champions 2022 versus Optic Gaming. They will join TenZ who is the last man standing from the team’s original roster. The team will be rounded out by zekken and dephh from X-set’s previous roster.
The opening VCT tournament for the newly refurbished pro scene will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil and is a very brutal single bracket elimination with seedings pre-determined. With US$500,000 on the line, each team will look to make a statement after over five months since the last international LAN event.
With the new season unfolding, who will be making the loudest noise?
