The VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Reykjavík marks the first time that the best teams from each region will compete on an international stage. Each squad fought their way through regional qualifier events and established themselves as top teams. But how will these teams perform against other regions?
Here are our Masters Reykjavík team power rankings and how we think each team compares to the competition.
10) X10 Esports
X10 Esports are at the bottom of our list in the power rankings, but not because they’re a lackluster team. X10 are on a hot streak going into Masters Reykjavík and didn’t lose a single series in Stage Two. The team also won the Stage One Masters tournament, where they went undefeated.
Despite this incredible track record, the Southeast Asian region isn’t known for its talent in FPS games. The team also doesn’t feature any notable names besides Patiphan Chaiwong, who’s a former Overwatch player who played with Talon Esports and represented Thailand in the 2018 Overwatch World Cup. These factors leave X10 as a wild card that can’t be ranked high going into Masters Reykjavík. But they could prove us wrong and make a decent run.
9) KRU Esports
KRU Esports are on an eight-game win streak and only lost two maps in the LATAM Stage Two Challengers event. The team features former Overwatch and CS:GO players who have transitioned successfully into VALORANT. Juan Pablo “NagZ” Lopez Miranda also made a name for himself with Esstal Esports before joining KRU Esports and is one of the best duelists in the region.
KRU Esports are by no means a team to ignore, but they have a lot more to prove, especially on the international stage. The team’s first opponent is Fnatic, who are one of the toughest opponents in the tournament. But KRU Esports have all the necessary ingredients to pull off an upset.
8) Sharks Esports
Sharks Esports are a talented team coming out of Brazil and they won every match in the Challengers Finals except when they faced Team Vikings. But Sharks Esports did take out FURIA in the finals, who beat them twice before.
The Sharks roster needs to be on top of their game if they plan on beating NUTURN in their first match. But they might end up having to fight their way through the lower bracket if they want to go on a run in Iceland.
7) Crazy Raccoon
Crazy Raccoon features a diverse roster that includes former Overwatch professional Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom, who most notably played with the Seoul Dynasty and Boston Uprising. The team also has players with a CS:GO background, like Yusuke “neth” Matsuda. This combination allowed the team to defeat the Japanese powerhouse Absolute JUPITER.
Crazy Raccoon aren’t as notable as a few of the other teams competing in Iceland, which is why they’re ranked slightly low. But the team has consistently beat the best squads in Japan and might be able to extend their success to the international stage.
6) Version1
Version1 were an underdog going into the NA Challengers Finals and weren’t expected to make it past the stacked lineup of teams at the event. But after being sent to the lower bracket by Sentinels, V1 went on a warpath and sent four teams home before facing Sentinels again in the grand finals. These teams included Cloud9 Blue and Envy, two of the top teams from NA.
V1 didn’t beat Sentinels in either of their matches, but they still secured a spot in Iceland. The V1 roster has less experience playing together and will be forced to play with another new player since wippie was unable to travel to the event. Version1 have a long road ahead of them at this event, but they’re no stranger to defying expectations.
Related: VCT Masters Stage 2 Reykjavík player power rankings
5) Team Vikings
Team Vikings are the dominant team coming out of Brazil after defeating Shark Esports twice in the Stage Two Challengers Finals. They went undefeated during the event and are on a five-game win streak. Brazil is known for its success in CS:GO, and if Team Vikings can replicate this success in VALORANT, they’ll give the other regions a run for their money.
4) NUTURN
NUTURN went undefeated during the Korea Stage Two Challengers without dropping a map. The team also beat Vision Strikers, who previously dominated the region with an unprecedented winning streak.
NUTURN can go head to head with aggressive teams and have adapted as needed, making them a formidable opponent. They’re also led by Kang “solo” Keun-chul, a CS veteran with invaluable experience. It’s unclear how they’ll stack up against the European and North American teams, but fans shouldn’t overlook this team.
3) Fnatic
Fnatic didn’t make it into the Stage One Masters tournament and struggled to find its footing at the beginning of Stage Two. But the team made roster changes just before the EU Challengers Two event and picked up Martin “Magnum” Penkov and Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev. Both players proved themselves as great additions to the team and helped Fnatic qualify for the EMEA Challengers Playoffs. Fnatic lost against Team Liquid, but this EU team is still one of the best in the world.
2) Team Liquid
Liquid entered VALORANT with the former fish123 roster featuring CS:GO legend Adil “Scream” Benrlitom. The team was unstoppable in the early days of VALORANT, although they did struggle during the first stage of VCT. But they made roster adjustments and signed former CS:GO player Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen, who helped Liquid bounce back in Stage Two.
Liquid are on a four-game win streak and most recently defeated Fnatic in the VCT Stage Two EMEA Challengers Playoffs. This team will be one of the toughest to beat and either Version1 or Crazy Raccoon have a tough match ahead of them.
1) Sentinels
Sentinels as the top pick for Masters Reykjavík might be a controversial choice, but there’s no denying how strong they are going into Iceland. They’ve dominated North America since the VALORANT Champions Tour started despite having to adjust its roster before Masters One.
Tyson “TenZ” Ngo was the best pickup the team could’ve hoped for and they ran through the Stage One Masters event with ease. While a small setback in the first Stage Two Challengers event made some fans nervous, they immediately bounced back and qualified for the Challengers Finals in the next tournament. Sentinels are heading to Iceland on a nine-game win streak and just finished their longest break in months, giving in-game leader Shahzeb “ShahZaM” Khan plenty of time to prepare the team for the biggest tournament of the year.
Even if Sentinels don’t walk away with a victory, they’re almost guaranteed to make a deep run in the tournament.
VCT Masters Stage Two Reykjavík kicks off on May 24.
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