Each region of the VALORANT Premier ecosystem consists of 20 divisions each, with the highest ranked players making up teams competing in division 20. So if you’re looking to compete in Premier’s most prestigious division, don’t be surprised to see players you’d watch on the VCT or Challengers broadcasts.
Premier is still currently in its global beta phase that launched on April 25, but unsurprisingly, some elite pro players make up a handful of the best teams at the highest division. In division 20 in the US West region, two teams that are 6-0 so far are actually entirely made up of pro players from VCT Americas or NA Challengers.
Sitting on top of the standings are The Swaggers, made up of bang and Asuna from 100 Thieves, bdog from Shopify Rebellion, Kanpeki from TSM, Zander from M80, and former 100T/MAD Lions player Will. Joining them at 6-0 are The Fellaz, which feature valyn, trent, tex, and neT, all from The Guard. The Fellaz also have Ethan from Evil Geniuses and exalt from Disguised on the roster.
Even the stream teams in division 20 are daunting: the GO VALORANT team, currently sitting at 5-1, consists of Tarik, Stewie2K, steel from Disguised, iiTzTimmy, and shroud. Their only loss was to the previously mentioned The Fellaz roster.
Looking through the entire standings, there are plenty of other players from VCT teams, NA Challengers teams, and elite NA Game Changers teams that can be seen. These players are seemingly unsatisfied with the amount of competition they get from pro tournaments, and want to play for more than just rank in competitive mode.
For some of these pro players, this could be an exercise in getting used to Premier early before it becomes a more significant part of the path-to-pro. Back in March, global head of VALORANT esports Leo Faria confirmed that “Premier will be the path to the VCT Challengers leagues,” and that there would be no more open qualifiers.
So, if you have pro aspirations, you might as well get used to playing against pro players now in Premier.
