At the biggest VALORANT event in the world, there are multiple different major regions that are represented from across the globe. From Brazil to Japan, almost every team has proved themselves to get to Champions.
But one of the best players in the EMEA region, Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom, said today in the pre-event press conference that the teams from two major regions—APAC and EMEA—are better than North America, which fields several teams including former Masters champions OpTic Gaming.
Other players set to compete at the event told Dot Esports that North America has played well against other regions in practice and they may have a similar opportunity to take the trophy with APAC and EMEA failing to solidify themselves as better than other regions.
Fnatic’s Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev told Dot Esports today that all regions are “on the same level” and “NA is a strong region with really high skilled individuals.” He said that North America experiences consistent results, which can be justified by OpTic’s recent performance at international events, solidifying themselves as the best team in the region.
OpTic, who were credited by ScreaM as “a very good team,” were victorious at VCT Stage One Masters Reykjavík, which took place in April. The team has arguably been the most consistent in the region with another top-three finish at VCT Stage Two Masters in Copenhagen, the most recent international event.
Alongside OpTic, ScreaM said that North American team 100 Thieves has “showed good stuff in the last chance qualifier and have really good individuals.” But it may be difficult for the team to win it all since they lack experience playing at the highest level, he said.
OpTic coach Chet Singh told Dot Esports that he believes all regions are similar but EMEA may be slightly ahead, while APAC could surprise fans since they have a unique playstyle. But he believes that all regions are “pretty close” in skill level.
The VALORANT community will find out which region will solidify itself as the best in the world on Sept. 18, with the playoffs and grand finals set to be held in front of a live audience in Istanbul, Turkey, which was reported by Dot Esports on Aug. 17 and confirmed by Riot a few days later.
