Two weeks into the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023 regular season, each region has developed their own strategies for both compositions and gameplay, but one region stood out. In the Americas League, the Brazilian teams have started strong while the U.S. teams are still getting used to their new rosters.
Yet, across the board, one specific group of agents is working out very well in the Americas: smokes. From Omen to Viper, some of the players with the best stats in 2023 so far have found their own by blocking sightlines and helping their team get onto and away from bomb sites.Â
Even though some of the players aren’t designated controller players for their teams, their success on smoke agents is notable in comparison to the other two franchised leagues.
S0m fitting in perfectly with updated NRG core
Out of all the offseason talent that NRG picked up for 2023, their best player so far is the one who stuck around from 2022: s0m. Fans knew he could hold his own from his time on the old NRG roster, but his performances in 2023 are a step up from his previous years.
Not only did he perform well during his time at LOCK//IN, but the first two weeks of the regular season have been great for s0m. He’s in the top 10 in average combat score for the region, according to VLR, with a score of 233.8 over his first two matches. He’s also top five in kill/death ratio, at 1.33, and top three in KAST percentage at 82 percent. KAST refers to the percentage chance that the player gets a kill or assist, saves a gun, or trades a kill, showing off how the player works with the team.
Last but not least, s0m leads the region in headshot percentage at 32 percent. That means in roughly one in three of shots landed, s0m hits an enemy in the head.
Khalil is the best player in Americas so far
To start 2023, one of the main reasons Furia have started off strong is thanks to their smokes player Khalil Schmidt. In the first two matches of the regular season against Leviatán and KRÜ Esports, Khalil consistently was at the top of the scoreboard. For a role that doesn’t have the same engage tools as duelists or initiators, this only makes some of these stats more impressive.
First off, Khalil has the highest combined match rating so far at 1.40, a full 0.15 more than the player in second. In comparison, the gap between first and second in this category is the same as the gap from second to 13th. He leads the region in kill/death ratio at 1.70, as well as KAST at 86 percent.
One of the unique stats he also carries is the least first deaths per round at 0.03.
K1Ngg starting off strong as IGL and Viper flex
K1Ngg is the first player on this list who isn’t a dedicated smokes player, but he has always been able to play Viper at a top tier. This is no different so far in the Americas as the young in-game leader has posted some great stats on Viper, which he’s played four out of five maps so far.
Just behind Khalil, k1Ngg is second in match rating at 1.25 and second in kill/death ratio at 1.48. What makes k1Ngg so unique is that most IGLs, unless they’re very experienced, struggle at fragging due to the need to come up with strategies and make calls on the fly. Even with that, k1Ngg is fourth in KAST and helping lead Leviatán to a strong start.
