Across the ranked and pro player meta in competitive VALORANT, duelists like Jett and Raze are the clear and obvious frontrunners in regards to pick rate and win rate. Reyna joins the top tier of duelists across most divisions in ranked with a high pick rate and win rate, despite little to no appearances in VCT 2023. But one of the least-picked and least-successful agents in ranked turns out to be a must-have for one of the best pro players in the game.
Neon is one of the most interesting cases when looking at the duelist category and the pick/win rates for each agent. She’s had a pretty poor showing across ranked, with some of the lowest pick rates and win rates amongst all agents in virtually ever skill division, according to data from Blitz.gg. Neon only has a positive win rate (50.7 percent) in Radiant, but she has the lowest pick rate of any agent at that rank, including Yoru.
This can be attributed to a lack of quality when it comes to her ability kit. Relay Bolt isn’t as disruptive as flashes or other concussive blasts, and has a high potential for misuse (or simply wasting it) at lower ranks. Additionally, her Fast Lane walls don’t have great reach, and don’t deal damage or slow enemies like other walls in the game, such as the ones used by Phoenix, Viper, or Harbor.
Still, Neon has become a vital part of VCT Americas’ most impressive team of the season, helping the squad dominate a specific map while in the hands of an MVP-caliber superstar. Cloud9 has won all five of their Lotus games this year, thanks to Neon when she’s played by Nathan “leaf” Orf.
Related: VCT Americas 2023: VALORANT scores, schedule, format, and standings
Leaf has been so good with Neon that he is single-handedly responsible for Neon leading the field of all agents played at VCT Americas in ACS, damage per round, and first kill percentage. His numbers alone with Neon on Lotus are spectacular: a 1.32 K/D, 276.8 ACS, and a 65 percent opening duel win rate.
C9 runs Neon with Viper, Omen, Skye, and Killjoy. On attack, Omen and Viper zone off areas of the site with their smokes, allowing Neon to speed through clearing these areas one at a time, with Skye’s info-gathering abilities providing help while Killjoy monitors lurks and flanks. The comp has been so successful that other teams are borrowing it and succeeding as well, with both Sentinels and 100T taking and winning with it during the last couple weeks of the regular season split.
If C9 are able to qualify for international events this year, and if more teams borrow their composition on Lotus, maybe Neon’s numbers will begin to climb as teams find more and more use for her.
