The female VALORANT scene has grown quite a bit since late 2020 when the Discord community Galorants began hosting tournaments for teams with all-female and non-binary players. These tournaments evolved into a partnership with Riot Games through the VCT Game Changers circuit, the female counterpart to the VALORANT Champions Tour.
Ultimately, the goal is for female players to be integrated into the male-dominated VCT, but giving players of marginalized genders opportunities like Game Changers is an important first step. Game Changers continues to grow into new regions and new organizations as more and more rosters continue to emerge. But who are the stars of the female VALORANT scene?
Counting down from number 10, here’s our list of the top 10 female VALORANT players.
Top 10 professional female VALORANT players
Lorri
Lorrian “Lorri” Elad is one of the Game Changers players with the sweetest redemption arc. She was a staple of Shopify Rebellion’s squad in 2022 that, despite beating their all-time rivals Cloud9 White at the Game Changers Championships, fell to G2 Gozen in a heartbreaking reverse sweep during the grand finals.
As the only player from Shopify Rebellion to take a new direction in 2023, Lorri joined Evil Geniuses’ Game Changers team. The team is comprised of players mostly unknown, yet they rose to the top of North America with their victory in Series III.
Lorri mostly plays the initiator role and isn’t known as a flashy or stand-out player in her own right. Yet her experience on the biggest stage in the world alongside her composure in her team’s most critical moments earned her a spot on our list.
Her most-played agent is Sova, but her best statistics are when she plays Fade, where she has a 290.7 average combat score (ACS) over the last three times she played the character.
Juliano
Based on her performance in VALORANT, Julia “juliano” Kiran earns a spot on this list. Her placement here might be controversial for one reason: Juliano is no longer an active player. But her achievements are so legendary that she’s still remembered among the best.
Throughout her career in VALORANT, juliano won several prestigious tournaments, with 2021 and 2022 being her most successful years. In 2021, she was the winner of the VCT 2021: Series 3, while in 2022, she won VCT 2022: GC EMEA Series 1 and 2, as well as the Game Changers Championship.
Before juliano retired from VALORANT to continue competing in CS:GO (her starting category), she had an impressive 1.22 rating. To this day, many fans consider her the absolute best female VALORANT player to ever hit the scene.
Petra
Petra Stoker is a veteran player with reflexes to match (and surpass) many younger competitors. During her fruitful career, Petra won a hefty sum of nearly $70,000 and achieved tremendous success.
Petra’s latest victories include VCT 2023: Game Changers EMEA (Stages One and Two). She also participated in the final World Championship, winning a respectable third place. Best of all, Petra doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down.
Petra is nearing the end of her club contract, which might sound like a reason for concern. But she already made statements saying she’s looking forward to new offers, so this top-tier VALORANT player may remain on the tour for the foreseeable future.
Kohaibi
Abigail “Kohaibi” Kong from Singapore is living proof that high earnings aren’t the only indicator of professional success. So far, Kohaibi has won a relatively low amount of $17,000. Yet she has achieved renown that most players can’t dream of.
In particular, Kohaibi has been leading the famed Team SMG as the captain for no less than two years. Under her leadership, the team scored a fascinating 38 consecutive wins, which is no easy feat. Anyone familiar with Valorant tournaments and esports in general knows success like that depends largely on the captain, which is why Kohaibi is on this list.
Bob
Bob Tran is undoubtedly one of the most mechanically gifted players in the world. Her potential to hit her shots is exponential, and she seems to always come out with a clutch performance in every situation.
Bob joined the already stacked roster of C9 White midway through 2022 when their original initiator player transitioned into a content creation role. She previously played with Soniqs before transitioning to the C9 White roster, where she gained substantial fame and recognition. She joined XSET in 2023 alongside former C9 White teammate Katja “katsumi” Pfahnl but left the team in September of this year.
Bob’s role has historically been as an initiator, but her agent pool is large. Truthfully, she could probably slot into any role and fit in without a problem. Over the last eight times she’s played Sova, she has an impressive 260.1 ACS.
Though we’re not sure what’s next for Bob, we hope to see her continue to compete on the big stage.
daiki
Natalia “daiki” Vilela is the captain of Team Liquid Brazil, which has continued to dominate the Brazilian region for two years straight. Despite being just 19 years old, daiki has a veteran presence on the Game Changers stage and leads with confidence.
Team Liquid Brazil took third place at the Game Changers championship in 2022 behind Shopify Rebellion and G2 Gozen, but with the 2023 championships being held in São Paulo they will surely be eyeing the championship trophy. Despite all eyes being on the European and North American Game Changers scene in recent months, Team Liquid Brazil is certainly a favorite to not only do well but even win the 2023 season outright.
Daiki mostly plays initiator agents, with her best performances this year being on Sova. She has a 290.8 ACS over the last five times she’s played the agent, though the meta recently has been shifting her more onto Skye.
mimi
Another CS:GO veteran, Michaela “mimi” Lintrup, is a highly experienced competitive player and one of only three women who won international championships across two different esports. She’s played for Team Secret, XSET, and now G2. She was initially a part of XSET’s first iteration of their NA female roster before moving back to Europe to join G2 Gozen.
Mimi’s team has a winning playstyle that saw them take the first-ever Game Changers trophy in 2022. Their combination of veterans alongside energetic fresh faces has resulted in a winning formula that continues into 2023.
Mimi is highly proficient on KAY/O and might be one of the best KAY/O players in the world with an impressive 234.8 average ACS on the initiator agent. On top of her utility usage, she also had the highest headshot hit percentage on her team throughout all of the maps in the final series at Game Changers Berlin in 2022.
She is a sharp, reliable player who is also well-spoken and a role model for others hoping to join the Game Changers scene.
MeL
Melanie “MeL” Capone is the in-game leader for Version1. She is consistently a top-performing player not only on her own team but also in any server she plays in. MeL previously led C9 White to a flawless record, with a victory in every North American VCT Game Changers tournament they entered before the team disbanded at the end of 2022. Since then, MeL has continued to work her way to a pristine VALORANT resume with V1.
Though her individual statistics aren’t as flashy as some other players on this list, MeL truly thrives as a leader.
MeL’s knowledge of the game is extensive and she excels in many roles, allowing anyone she plays with to be flexible. Her high VALORANT IQ and knowledge of team strategy even landed her a guest spot on the English broadcast during the 2023 VCT Champions tournament in Los Angeles.
MeL has received praise throughout all levels of the VALORANT scene, from people who play casually to top players in the men’s pro scene. In 2021, Sentinel’s player TenZ even said he thought MeL would be able to easily make it onto a VCT team before Game Changers had established itself as an international circuit.
florescent
With her long-awaited debut in the Game Changers scene in 2023, Ava “florescent” Eugene is our top female VALORANT player of the year. She’s been floating under the radar for a few years as she wasn’t old enough to play in a professional league, but now, the time has finally come for everyone to see just how incredible florescent’s skills truly are.
To put it into perspective how mind-boggling florescent’s stats are, we can take a look at the winning duelist player from the men’s VCT, Evil Geniuses’ Max “Demon1” Mazanov. Demon1 has been praised as the best Jett player of that event, where he earned a 239.2 ACS on the agent after six times playing her.
Florescent has played Jett 11 times over the last month and has an ACS of 285.3. On Yoru, her ACS over the last month is even more impressive, at 310 over eight maps. An ACS over 300 for one map at the professional level is impressive, let alone having the consistency to net that number over eight maps at the highest level on an agent that isn’t a meta pick.
To top it all off, florescent is just 17 years old. She has a long career ahead of her in VALORANT, whether at the Game Changers or VCT level.
If you’re looking to see more of the best female VALORANT players, make sure to tune in to the 2023 Game Changers Championship beginning on Nov. 28 in São Paulo.
Published: Feb 22, 2024 10:27 am