The first season of the VCT Americas league has wrapped up, and we at Dot Esports have been given the opportunity to be on the panel that votes on the year-end seasonal awards. So which coaches and players are worthy of receiving awards?
The 2023 season was a thrilling one, between the breakout performance of Cloud9, the magical second-half run of Evil Geniuses, the wave of Sentinels changes, and LOUD claiming ultimate regional dominance and adding another trophy to their collection. But the action didn’t stop at the end of the regular season, as an exciting Last Chance Qualifier highlighted by a magical run from KRÜ delivered more excellent pro-VALORANT.
These were the votes cast by Dot Esports, including the first, second, and third choices for MVP, coach of the year, and best player at each role. These votes take into account the VCT Americas regular season, the playoffs, and the LCQ.
Dot’s MVP for VCT Americas 2023
Aspas
Unquestionably the best player of the entire VCT Americas season, the dominant duelist of the league, and the driving force behind LOUD picking up the domestic title. Throughout the regular season and playoffs, aspas was number one in ACS, K/D, and kills per round, and was one of the most successful entry players. His MVP case was almost upended by how excellent his teammate Less was, whom I used my second MVP vote on, but aspas is still the man on LOUD.
- 1st choice: Aspas
- 2nd choice: Less
- 3rd choice: Crashies
Dot’s Coach of the Year for VCT Americas 2023
Potter
Throughout the first half of the season, it looked like C9 coach mCe had locked up this award, but after the season and playoffs ended there is no clearer choice than Evil Geniuses’ potter. The decision to bring in Demon1 after a slow start at first looked like a desperate maneuver from a coach on the hot seat, but it ended up being a stroke of brilliance. In playoffs, she brought out the best in her players, taking the “nothing to lose” mentality to an unimaginable high.
- 1st choice: Potter
- 2nd choice: mCe
- 3rd choice: Atom
Dot’s ‘best player at each role’ players for VCT Americas 2023
Aspas (duelist)
What else more needs to be said? Of course, the MVP who played exclusively duelist all year is the first choice for best duelist. Demon1’s late-season run and playoff performance were so sensational that he earned the second-place vote, and keznit’s unbelievable dominance in the LCQ was so impressive that it earned him a third-place nod even after a disastrous regular season.
- 1st choice: aspas
- 2nd choice: Demon1
- 3rd choice: keznit
Less (controller)
As mentioned above, Less’s controller campaign of 2023 was so amazing that it put him in the MVP discussion. As excellent as he was during the regular season, he was certainly the most valuable player in playoffs, as he put up incredible numbers like a 1.51 K/D and a 35 percent clutch win rate. S0m ended up putting together a fantastic season too, and Melser like his teammate keznit was so excellent in the LCQ that he’s earned a nod.
- 1st choice: Less
- 2nd choice: s0m
- 3rd choice: Melser
Crashies (initiator)
Crashies and Nowzerr were virtually neck-and-neck statistically, both putting up near identical numbers for K/D, ACS, player rating, and kill/assist/survive/trade rating. But crashies gets the advantage based on higher assists per round, winning almost three times as many clutches, and the big plays he made during playoffs.
- 1st choice: crashies
- 2nd choice: Nowzerr
- 3rd choice: Ethan
Zellsis (sentinel)
The sentinel category was one of the hardest to choose from, as only a small handful of players primarily a majority of maps on sentinel this year with Chamber gone. Of the few players that did play Sentinel, Zellsis stood out the most, as his play on Killjoy was foundational to the success that Cloud9 found throughout the year.
- 1st choice: Zellsis
- 2nd choice: Shyy
- 3rd choice: Boostio
Saadhak (IGL)
Both aspas and Less had MVP-worthy seasons, but as great as those players are as individuals, some credit has to be given to the team’s shot-caller. Not only did Saadhak lead the team to a VCT Americas title, but he did so with two rookies as well. FNS was right there with him as well, and runi performed admirably as a rookie.
- 1st choice: Saadhak
- 2nd choice: FNS
- 3rd choice: runi
Published: Aug 26, 2023 04:44 pm