M80 and TSM stars dominate VALORANT Challengers Split One’s highest-rated players

One of the newcomers to the VALORANT Challengers Split shot up in the ratings over the past few weeks⁠—and for good reason. 

TSM player Eric “Kanpeki” Xu, who joined TSM on Feb. 27, has accrued the highest rating of any player in the North American Challengers Split One, according to data collected by VLR.gg. But he hasn’t played as many rounds as two M80 stars. 

M80 finished joint-top in Group B alongside The Guard with four victories and one loss. It was no surprise that the second and third-highest-rated players would be the standout performers from the best team in the split. 

M80 duelist Gianfranco “koalanoob” Potestio and initiator player Daniel “eeiu” Vucenovic achieved a 1.33 and 1.26 rating respectively, according to VLR.gg. Koalanoob has the highest average combat score of all players with 273.3. Kanpeki is still at the top with a 1.36 rating since he joined TSM, however. 

Other players stand out with The Guard initiator Trent Cairns up in the rankings just above Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey, who joined MAD Lions with great form. The pair have ratings of 1.18 or above. 

While the top-rated players are mostly a part of the best-performing teams in the first split, there’s still plenty of time to increase individual standing. The first split is set to continue with the Mid-Season Face Off, which will begin on March 22.