Valorant Champions 2023 Regional Preview - Best and Worst from Americas

An in-depth preview of the teams from the Americas region competing in Valorant Champions 2023

The climax of the Valorant competitive calendar for this year, Champions 2023, begins this Sunday, heightening the anticipation within the community to unprecedented levels. Only the elites from the three Franchise Leagues have secured spots in this event after going through a rigorous qualification process. In addition to the 13 Franchise teams, we have three representatives from China, making it a total of 16 teams vying for the glory of winning the most prestigious Valorant event of the year.

Credit: Riot Games

Americas Teams- Valorant Champions 2023

NRG Esports
LOUD
Evil Geniuses
KRÜ Esports

KRÜ Esports joined the other three teams after winning the Americas LCQ. With each of the four Americas teams boasting impressive track records on the International stage, it is fair to say that the Americas might be the strongest region in Valorant Champions 2023.

Let us see the details of each team ahead of the event:

NRG Esports

Austin “crashies” Roberts
Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks
Victor “Victor” Wong
Pujan “FNS” Mehta
Sam “s0m” Oh

NRG Esports, with the former OpTic-core, continue to prove themselves the most consistent team in the world at the grandest stages of Valorant. FNS led his team to qualify for the Masters Tokyo after dominating the Americas League, where they reached the grand finals. Although the NA Giants did not manage to clinch the trophy in Tokyo, they still came top 4 before suffering a heartbreaking elimination at the hands of Paper Rex.

LOUD

Matias “Saadhak” Delipetro
Arthur “tuyz” Vieira
Cauan “cauanzin” Pereira
Felipe “Less” Basso
Erick “aspas” Santos

Considered by many as the best team on paper in the Americas by far, LOUD seemed to live up to that reputation, at least in the Americas League. This Brazilian powerhouse dominated the League, emerging triumphant while dropping just a single series throughout the regular season. However, we saw a complete opposite face of LOUD in the Masters Tokyo, as Saadhak and Co got eliminated from the playoffs, losing both series without winning a single map.

Evil Geniuses

Kelden “Boostio” Pupello
Corbin “C0M” Lee
Max “Demon1” Mazanov
Alexander “jawgemo” Mor
Ethan “Ethan” Arnold

Evil Geniuses have arguably the most impressive resurgence story this season. Along with poor results, the team was wrought with numerous issues in the first half of the regular season. Yet, a dramatic transformation ensued. Qualifying for the League Playoffs by almost sheer luck, we saw an entirely revitalized and vastly improved EG emerge from there. They went on to beat NRG and Cloud9, two of the most in-form NA teams in the playoffs, to secure a Master Tokyo spot.

KRÜ Esports

Angelo “keznit” Mori
Juan Pablo “NagZ” Lopez Miranda
Marco “Melser” Amaro
Nicolas “Klaus” Ferrari
Santiago “DaveeyS” Galvis Ruiz

If there exists a more impressive resurgence tale this season than that of EG, it undoubtedly belongs to KRÜ Esports. From an embarrassing 0-9 record in the regular season to winning the LCQ with an undefeated streak, KRÜ qualifying for the Champions 2023 has been nothing short of a Cinderella story.

Best Americas Players at Valorant Champions 2023

Here are the Americas players to look out for at the Valorant Champions 2023:

Max “Demon1” Mazanov

Role: Duelist
VLR Rating: 1.08
Average Combat Score (ACS): 217.5
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.18
Headshot Percentage: 35%
Average Damage per Round: 145.9

“El-Diablo is dead. There is a new king of hell.” This quote by the Valorant caster during the Masters Tokyo perfectly portrays Demon1 and the absolute rampage of a form he is in right now. Evil Geniuses duelist main joined the team in the latter half of the regular season, and it is with his addition that we saw the resurgence of EG.

Soon after the roster shuffle, The spotlight turned to Demon1 for his uber-aggressive playstyle and impeccable aim. During the Masters Tokyo, the 21-year-old American took his reputation to unparalleled heights with dominant performances against the very best teams in the world.

Victor “Victor” Wong

Role: Flex
VLR Rating: 1.07
Average Combat Score (ACS): 215.4
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.07
Headshot Percentage: 21%
Average Damage per Round: 138.9

Victor undeniably presents a compelling argument for the title of the best flex player in the Americas region. His versatility knows no bounds – assign him any agent on any map, and results are guaranteed. Throughout the 2023 VCT season, the 26-year-old American has been the backbone of NRG Esports’ success. He started the season as a duelist main and then shifted back to his original flex role to accommodate ardiis’ preferred role. It will be interesting to see what FNS trusts him with in the year's final event.

Felipe “Less” Basso

Role: Sentinel
VLR Rating: 1.15
Average Combat Score (ACS): 229.3
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.25
Headshot Percentage: 26%
Average Damage per Round: 153.6

An aimer to the core, it is very rare to see less lose 1v1 duel. Entrusted with the Sentinel role (and occasional Viper) in the LOUD squad, he has been instrumental in his team’s success both last year and this year. Despite his young age of only 18 years, the Brazillian has been arguably the most consistent player on the team. Even in the Masters Tokyo event, where his team suffered humiliating early elimination, Less put up respectable numbers on the stats board.

Angelo “keznit” Mori

Role: Duelist
VLR Rating: 1.1
Average Combat Score (ACS): 246.2
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.17
Headshot Percentage: 22%
Average Damage per Round: 164.0

While KRÜ’s Cinderella run was definitely a product of team effort, it is without a doubt that Keznit going mayhem on the server every series had the biggest impact on their success. The Chilean topped the stats chart on nearly every metric in the LCQ and is rightfully the player with the most expectations in the upcoming Champions event.

Valorant Champions 2023- Americas Teams Predictions

Through extensive analysis encompassing different aspects of the teams, including roster strength, recent results, and previous LAN records, we have prepared our predictions for the four Americas teams in the Valorant Champions 2023.

Front Runners

NRG Esports: Top 4
LOUD: Top 2

The two NA teams with the most chance to go far into the event are the old rivals NRG Esports and LOUD. You might disagree with us, but we have our reasons to pick these two.

We have chosen to prioritize consistency and experience on the big stage over recent results. While the other two teams might have garnered greater success in their latest event, the vast big-game experience exhibited by players within both LOUD and NRG, coupled with the impressive longevity showcased by both rosters in maintaining their prominence over three seasons, makes them the clear favorites from Americas in the Champions 2023.

NRG is widely considered the team with the most adaptability in Valorant. As evidenced by the consistent podium finishes by Envy/OpTic/NRG, it is always a safe bet to root for the America's finest. As for LOUD, the Brazilian org is the most successful in the Valorant world. One bad event means practically nothing for a roster as strong and experienced as this one.

Underdogs

Evil Geniuses: Top 8
KRÜ Esports: Top 16

While the inclination towards recency bias might call for choosing Evil Geniuses and KRÜ Esports as the forefront among the Americas contenders, we remain inclined to perceive them as underdogs, particularly when matched against top-tier teams like FNATIC, PRX, and DRX.

It's undeniable that both EG and KRÜ have the potential for a deep run or even clinching the championship, as demonstrated by EG reaching the Masters Tokyo grand finals and KRÜ's undefeated LCQ campaign. However, in our opinion, we have already witnessed the best from them this season, and the prospect of replicating their recent successes in Masters Tokyo seems unlikely.