We now have two weeks of games to analyze in the NA VCT Stage 1. Fluke performances are beginning to stabilize and the landscape is starting to take shape.
It’s still too early to make any definitive judgements on the year, but there are some strong trends beginning to develop across the region.
Ahead, we’ll take a look at the biggest takeaways from week 2 along with our updated rankings and predictions for the Main Event.
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100 Thieves is down bad
100 Thieves has been one of the more promising NA Valorant teams for most of the game’s lifespan.
With strong results in 2021 and a team rework heading into the new year, fans had high hopes for the squad in 2022.
So far, it looks like 100 Thieves has taken a nosedive. It’s too early to call the year for the 100T boys, but back-to-back losses is not a good look.
In week 2, 100T lost to The Guard – a team that looks to be heading in the opposite direction of 100 Thieves.
Haven was competitive and 100T took a definitive win on Split, but the 0-13 loss on Ascent is just not something you want to see from a – supposedly – top 5 team in the region.
The Guard: it’s too soon to say
Is The Guard for real or is 100 Thieves just not that good? It’s too soon to say, for me.
Guard beat LG in their first match, as they should have, and then stood up to 100 Thieves – coming off of a loss to Cloud9.
Cloud9 is a top NA team and LG is among the bottom half of this event, so it’s really hard to say whether Guard beat a top team in 100 Thieves.
Guard plays XSET next, which should be a good test for them. Still, it will be hard to make a definitive statement on The Guard until they play Cloud9 in week 5.
Either way, The Guard will likely qualify for the Main Event, so we have plenty of time to see what they’ve got.
Version1 is back?
Version1 had one of the bigger fall-offs of 2021 after losing Vanity, leading them to prioritize free agent investment heading into the new year – adding Zander as their new IGL.
It looks like the investment paid off, as V1 is now 2-0 in Challengers Stage 1.
Most fans expected to see V1 handle the Knights, but Rise has always been a tough matchup. Version1 left little in doubt as they 2-0 swept them with back-to-back 13-6 wins.
Penny had an insane day on Jett/Chamber. He posted a 46/22/7 stat line with a whopping ACS of 326. V1 looks like they’re right back on track.
Updated predictions
With two weeks in the books, the Main Event teams are beginning to take shape.
Here’s an updated prediction of what I think the Main Event will look like after the next three weeks of games.
Group A
1. Cloud9: 5-0
2. XSET: 4-1
3. The Guard: 3-2
4. 100 Thieves: 2-3
Group B
1. Version1: 4-1
2. Sentinels: 4-1
3. OpTic Gaming: 3-2
4. Rise: 2-3
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