A really busy VALORANT offseason, which nonetheless hasn’t sorted out all of the beginning rosters for subsequent 12 months, has already produced some attention-grabbing must-watch rosters. Regardless of this, final 12 months needs to be a reminder that pre-season hype doesn’t imply a factor when VCT 2024 begins.
One crew that basically stood out was Cloud9, partially as a result of how a lot recreation and display time that they had throughout the official 2023 OFF//SEASON. Over the previous month and a half, they’ve been on a worldwide tour, going from San Jose to Busan to Tokyo to Colombia, going through groups from all three worldwide leagues.
Whereas they finally ran out of steam at Superdome 2023 in Colombia, the crew carried out properly throughout their complete run, however the standout efficiency got here from younger duelist OXY. His playmaking skills and mechanical ability caught the eye of everybody watching, and he’s clearly not afraid of going through in opposition to the highest groups; I noticed him bouncing in his chair between rounds at Crimson Bull House Floor. With OXY being so expert with each Jett and Raze, it additionally opens the door for C9 to have loads of extra flexibility with their agent comps.
C9’s world tour got here to an finish by the hands of each FURIA and Leviatán, and whereas each groups performed properly at Superdome, it was Leviatán who simply turned essentially the most heads. Distinctive play is nothing new for aspas, who picked up the place he left off after leaving LOUD, dominating on the duelist position. Tex has built-in properly into the crew, however kiNgg placed on a Viper masterclass throughout the event that stole the present.
Throughout the VCT ecosystem, a number of different groups placed on noteworthy performances as properly. New in-game leader Redgar led Giants to a Crossfire Cup victory, Fnatic appeared as nice as all the time at Crimson Bull House Floor, and Sentinels went undefeated at their very own event.
Hype could be onerous to withstand. Already, I’ve seen followers discuss OXY like he’s a shoe-in for rookie of the 12 months, whereas some have pegged Leviatán to win Masters Madrid. However final 12 months proved that preseason hype doesn’t all the time imply common season success.
The perfect instance of that is 100 Thieves, who ran by way of the competitors eventually 12 months’s Crimson Bull House Floor, however their efficiency declined all through the 2023 season, leading to them lacking the VCT Americas playoffs and making a fast exit from the LCQ. Cryocells confronted difficulties all through the season as a result of a dip in his personal private efficiency and the team struggling to set him up for success.
The opposite high 4 groups at Crimson Bull House Floor 2022 additionally struggled in 2023; that model of Cloud9 didn’t final previous LOCK//IN, Vitality limped into the EMEA playoffs and had been rapidly dispatched by Liquid, and KRÜ went 0-9 within the common season and solely performed properly all 12 months within the LCQ.
This isn’t to say OFF//SEASON outcomes imply nothing, simply that they don’t translate to assured success in VCT. It’s going to be an excellent longer season subsequent 12 months, and as Evil Geniuses proved, it’s not all the time the groups that look the perfect straight away that find yourself changing into champions.
