VCT Masters Tokyo will see ten teams from the three international Valorant leagues and two from China go at it for a shot at glory, the trophy, prize money and an extra slot for their league/region at Valorant Champions.
VCT Masters Tokyo had a long lead-up time as teams from the three international leagues and China battled for spots in the tournament, which will have a record prize pool of $1 million.
With the Japanese event around the corner, here is a power ranking of every team at the tournament based on their in-game performances, record and roster.
12: Attacking Soul Esports
Attacking Soul Esports will bring many new players to the international stage as China’s No. 1 seed at the tournament. The only player in the squad with international experience is Dong ‘Life’ Hao Qu, who played one series for Edward Gaming at Valorant Champions 2022.
The lack of international experience, along with their recent performance in the FGC Invitational 2023 Act 2, puts the team on the lower end of the power rankings. Unlike their qualifying run in Act 1, which saw them best Edward Gaming 3-2 in the grand final, Attacking Soul lost to Bilibili Gaming twice and was demolished by EDG 3-0 in Act 2’s lower final.
11: EDward Gaming
EDward Gaming are a hard team to nail down as the squad has looked unstoppable in their home region but hasn’t made much of a dent internationally. In their most recent event, the FGC Valorant Invitational 2023: Act 2 tournament, EDG only dropped two maps across seven series, both in the 0-2 loss to Attacking Soul Esports.
The last time most Valorant fans saw EDward Gaming was at VCT LOCK//IN, where the team lost 2-1 to 100 Thieves, who didn’t even make the VCT Americas playoffs. Prior to that, EDG had attended Valorant Champions 2022, where they went out of the group stage with two straight losses.
While EDward Gaming have looked like a formidable team at home, their inability to close out matches internationally cannot be ignored.
10: T1
T1 are the No. 3 seed out of VCT Pacific and come into Masters with a decent record and playoff showing. The South Korean squad went 6-3 in the regular season, with its only losses coming against playoff-caliber teams and the other two VCT Pacific representatives at Masters.
While T1 look strong heading into VCT Masters Tokyo, their roster doesn’t have the international pedigree to rank above the other teams at the event. Ha ‘Sayaplayer’ Jung-woo, Byeon ‘Munchkin’ Sang-beom and Son ‘xeta’ Seon-ho have made appearances at big LAN events before, but the highest placement of the three is a top-eight finish at Valorant Champions 2021 (xeta with Cloud9).
9: Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses had a Cinderella run to qualify for this Masters event. The squad has some international experience thanks to VCT LOCK//IN and showed that it can hang with top teams in their wins over NRG Esports and Cloud9 in the VCT Americas playoffs.
The biggest factor for their run will be Max ‘Demon1’ Mazanov, a breakout star during the VCT Americas season who will be making his international debut. As one of the most exciting players to watch in the league, Demon1 will get to show if he can play up to his normal level on the biggest of stages.
While Evil Geniuses are ranked fairly low, they do have a decent shot at making it out of the group stage and should be considered a team to watch.
8: Paper Rex
Paper Rex are coming into VCT Masters Tokyo as league title winners after some early struggles. The squad looked reinvigorated after adding Ilya ‘something’ Petrov to their lineup, but they may have to do without the Russian superstar in Tokyo as he is dealing with visa issues. This could force Paper Rex to field a lineup with Patiphan ‘CigaretteS’ Posri, who has only played one official game this year.
Because of the possibility of missing their star player, Paper Rex has been knocked down a good few spots in the rankings. However, it is worth mentioning that the team has managed to make deep international runs in the past before the addition of something, and it has the potential to do so again.
7: FUT Esports
FUT Esports hardly made any waves in the VCT EMEA regular season and squeezed into the playoffs with a 5-4 record, but then it looked like a much different team, beating NAVI 2-0 and taking a map off of Fnatic in the upper bracket semi-final.
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Led by their IGL Furkan ‘MrFaliN’ Yeğen and star Duelist Konuralp ‘qw1’ Şahin, FUT looks like the Turkish super team that has been promised to Valorant fans for years. Now, they just need to get some meaningful international wins under their belts to raise their profile and add another chapter to their incredible story.
6: NAVI
NAVI were one of the top teams during the VCT EMEA regular season, only dropping two matches, but fumbled slightly in the playoff stage as they were eliminated right after qualifying for Masters. Still, this squad gets the benefit of the doubt as the core of the roster qualified for every international event in 2022.
NAVI know when they need to start performing well, and that should be the case in Tokyo, where the players will be looking to add another international trophy to their résumés.
5: NRG Esports
Like NAVI, NRG get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to international rankings as many of their players have won international trophies and accumulated tons of experience at the highest level. However, this NRG squad looked shaky leading up to Masters.
NRG began the VCT Americas regular season on the wrong foot and also lost their first playoff matchup, to Evil Geniuses. The team improved as the playoffs wore on, however, and survived elimination matches against FURIA, Cloud9, and EG before losing to LOUD 3-0 in the grand final.
NRG might be one of the best teams in the group stage of the tournament, but they still look a tier below some of the other teams at VCT Masters Tokyo.
4: DRX
DRX is another team that has consistently performed well at the highest level, placing top three at Valorant Champions 2022 and top four at VCT LOCK//IN. Coming into Masters, the Korean side only lost three series across the VCT Pacific regular season and playoffs.
Compared to their VCT LOCK//IN lineup, DRX have a new face in Jung ‘Foxy9’ Jae-sung, who has been slotted into the starting rotation as a Duelist to be feared. Based on their group, with Attacking Soul Esports, FUT Esports and Evil Geniuses in the mix, it’s hard to see a world where DRX do not make it out as the top seed for the playoff stage of the event.
3: Team Liquid
Team Liquid are the first seed out of VCT EMEA and took the playoff stage by storm after a lackluster start to the season. After finishing the regular season only in third place with a 6-3 record, Team Liquid beat Fnatic 3-1 in the grand final, bringing an end to the VCT LOCK//IN champions’ winning streak.
This squad has a ton of international experience and could make a deep run at this Masters events after hitting form at just the right time. After a first-round exit in São Paulo, Liquid’s squad has had more time to gel, and they should be a team to fear once the playoff stage kicks off.
2: Fnatic
Coming off of a VCT LOCK//IN trophy win and an undefeated VCT EMEA regular season run, Fnatic look like an unstoppable force of raw talent and strategy, with IGL Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett and head coach Jacob ‘mini’ Harris at the helm.
The only stain on their impeccable résumé leading up to VCT Masters is the 3-1 loss to Team Liquid in the VCT EMEA playoff grand final. The question is: was it a blip in the radar or a sign that the team has hit a speed bump?
1: LOUD
LOUD, like Fnatic, have looked almost untouchable this year. The VCT LOCK//IN runners-up have only lost twice in 2023 (once to Fnatic and once to NRG), and look miles ahead of some of the other squads in Tokyo.
LOUD have maintained the excellent form they displayed throughout 2022, even after adding new young players into the mix. And the team is even experimenting with giving more responsibilities to Felipe ‘Less’ Basso, who was the IGL in the VCT Americas championship series. The Brazilian side should be the most feared squad going into VCT Masters Tokyo.
