With Valorant Esports being so young, we continue to see teams rise and fall on the global stage – save for a select few.
We’ll see another international clash at the Masters 3 LAN event in Berlin, where the top teams from each region battle it out to see who’s the best.
There are a lot of unknowns out there, with so many teams making their international debut at Masters 3. Still, we’ve seen enough to properly rank the 15 competing teams ahead of the event, so let’s take a look at where each team lands.
Riot Games
Paper Rex are making their international debut at Masters 3.
They placed second in SEA for the second time in a row but made the cut with the team expansion in Stage 3.
We have yet to see Paper Rex play any teams outside of the SEA region. The team that beat them last time, X10, were only able to beat Crazy Raccoon at Masters 2 before falling to Vikings and Fnatic.
With the SEA winners, Bren Esports, unable to attend Masters 3, Paper Rex will be the region’s only representative.
We need to see more of the squad but are placing them at the bottom of our rankings due to a generally weaker SEA region and lack of global experience.
Paper Rex
We have more information about how Crazy Raccoon performs on a global scale than some of the other teams at Masters 3. Unfortunately, their history doesn’t give us much hope.
Crazy Raccoon were one of two teams to leave Reykjavik without winning on a single map.
We’re hoping for the best, but don’t expect much out of Japanese Valorant until proven otherwise.
Riot Games
Zeta Division are the Japanese winners of Stage 3, but that’s only enough to put them one spot ahead of Crazy Raccoon.
The team is unproven on a global stage, but their predecessors didn’t do them any favors.
For now, the Japanese region looks like one of the weakest in the game. It’s on Zeta to prove otherwise.
Zeta Division
F4Q made a surprise run in the Korean Grand Finals, losing only one round before falling to Vision Strikers.
The squad is as unproven as they come, so we don’t expect to see a breakout performance on a global stage.
Still, we’re eager to see how the team performs when faced with some of the best in the world.
Riot Games
KRU returns to Masters as the only LATAM representative.
After an underwhelming Masters 2 performance that saw them fall to Fnatic and Liquid, we can only hope that the experience will translate to Berlin.
Although KRU sits at the top of their region, we don’t expect much of a difference from their Reykjavik results.
They’ll probably beat a team or two from weaker regions, but their ceiling still appears to cap them at a loss to any EMEA or NA squad.
Riot Games
Another team making their international debut is Havan Liberty from Brazil, who had an impressive run to the BR finals.
The team didn’t lose a map on their way to Grand Finals, including 2-0 sweeps of the region’s winner, Vivo Keyd, and the best Brazilian team from Masters 2, Vikings.
Vivo Keyd figured them out in the Grand Finals, though, dropping them in three close matches.
We’re giving Vivo Keyd the edge in our rankings but could easily see Havan Liberty making it further. The only issue is that, at least at Masters 2, the Brazilian region struggled against their EU and NA counterparts.
Riot Games
Vivo Keyd and Havan are neck in neck for me, with both teams entering the international Valorant scene for the first time.
Although Vivo Keyd swept Havan when they last met, every game was close and the opposite happened earlier in the Brazilian Playoffs.
Vivo Keyd, on paper, has a tougher Group Stage than Havan does. We’ll have to see which team makes it out of their group – if any.
Vivo Keyd
EMEA remains one of the most competitive major regions in all of Valorant.
It seems like every tournament brings new contenders to the top of the heap, and the EMEA Stage 2 playoffs were no different.
That being said, it feels like G2 are the worst out of the four EMEA teams to make Masters 3 – something nobody expected to see after the European team’s early success.
SMB walloped them in the Playoffs. The matchup against Gambit was closer, but G2 still fell short. For now, it seems like G2 is a step behind the rest of the teams coming out of EMEA.
G2
The biggest disappointment from Masters 2 was that the most dominant team in Korea, Vision Strikers, lost to NUTURN when it mattered and missed the event.
They’re here, now, with an impressive undefeated run since their last loss to NUTURN.
Everyone seems to want Vision Strikers to upset the NA and EU-heavy status quo of professional Valorant. After all, NUTRN made a deep run in Masters 2, taking out Version1 before losing to Sentinels and FNATIC.
Vision Strikers could easily rise the ranks after Masters 3, but they’re unproven on a global stage. We need to see how they stack up against teams from the more established regions.
Vision Strikers
With some high-profile roster changes ahead of Stage 3, Envy was able to climb the ranks and join the likes of 100 Thieves and Sentinels at the top of the heap in NA.
Envy lost to both of the other qualified teams during the NA Playoffs, but 100 Thieves lost to XSET along the way as well. XSET, 100 Thieves, and Envy are all in the same tier as far as I see it.
For Masters, I think 100 Thieves’ experience as a team will pay off. The new-look Envy is unproven but could take a massive step up in Berlin.
Team Envy
SMB ran the table in their EMEA playoff run before eventually losing to Gambit in the finals.
The matchup looked like it would go the other way, with SMB dominating Ascent. Gambit turned it around, though, and picked up the 3-1 victory.
SuperMassive Blaze will be looking to make a deep run in Masters 3, provided they can get past their stacked Group Stage.
SuperMassive Blaze
Acend is near the top of the EMEA heap heading into Masters 3. They lost to Gambit and SMB during the playoffs, but not without a fight.
The team’s run will begin with an EMEA Playoff rematch with SMB. We give the latter team the edge, but could easily see Acend prepare and turn the tides.
Acend isn’t a favorite to win, but they’re an established Valorant team that has already seen success – more than any other EMEA squad.
Let’s see if they can bring it back in Masters 3.
Riot Games
The number-one seed from EMEA is poised to make a deep run in Masters 3, despite a slow start to their Valorant career.
Gambit has always been a feared team in their region but hadn’t been able to consistently string rounds together until their Stage 3 Playoff run.
They lost a close series to Acend before running the table in the Lower Bracket and winning the Grand Final.
We’ll have to see how the new-look Gambit fairs on a global stage, but they’re in a great position to go deep in Masters 3.
Gambit Esports
If there’s a team to take out Sentinels, I fear it will need to be another NA team.
100 Thieves missed Masters 2 qualification after falling to the other two regional representatives for the upcoming tournament, Envy and Sentinels.
With the NA supremacy we’ve seen thus far, it’s safe to project that their history of beating every team but Sentinels could continue in Masters 3.
100 Thieves
Sentinels are the reigning champion from Masters 2, where they looked indestructible. There isn’t much to say about them that hasn’t already been said. They won Masters 2 without losing a map.
Sentinels are, and should be, at the top of any reputable power rankings list. They have the skill, experience, and history that no other teams do.
This isn’t to say that Sentinels are unbeatable, but they’re undoubtedly the number-one ranked VCT team for anyone who isn’t being a contrarian.
Riot Games
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