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OpTic Gaming's professional Valorant player, Jaccob "yay" Whiteaker, recently stated that practicing Valorant in EU (Europe) was better than practicing in NA (North America).
The rivalry between the two regions has existed in the Valorant esports scene for a long time. Both NA and EMEA are considered to be two dominant regions. Moreover, the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) LAN tournaments, including the Masters and Champions, have always had an EMEA or a NA team as the winners so far.
Many experts and professional players have compared the two regions based on their differences in playstyle. However, OpTic Gaming's Valorant star duelist Yay recently pointed out in one of his Twitch streams that another notable difference was the quality of the scrims.
OpTic's yay believes Valorant practice in EU is better when compared to NA
The EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region overall has teams from Europe, Turkey, Russia, CIS, and MENA. There are several strong European teams, including Fnatic, Team Liquid, G2 Esports, Acend, OG LDN UTD, and more.
The competitive scene in Europe is intense due to the presence of several strong Valorant teams. This increases the quality of scrims in the region due to the high competition. However, it doesn't seem to be the same case for the North American teams, as OpTic Gaming's Yay pointed out in one of his recent livestreams.
He stated:
"I will say though, I think the practice in the EU is infinitely better than the practice you get in there, unfortunately."
The player further talked about the presence of Tier 2 EU teams in the region that have good executions. He said:
"I don't know. There are some really good Tier 2 EU teams - kind of like the best in the region or the best in their country, and they f**king slap. They have some insane execs...I would just say practice in general."
The VCT 2022 Stage 2 Masters Copenhagen recently ended with FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) as the winners after defeating Paper Rex from APAC in the Grand Finals. OpTic Gaming was the only North American squad to make it to the Upper Bracket Final after a flawless run. However, they lost to FPX and ended up in the third position in the tournament. On the other hand, XSET, the top-seeded team from NA, was eliminated right after playing two matches in the playoffs.
A similar case was witnessed in the VCT 2022 Stage 1 Masters Reykjavík when The Gaurd got out of the tournament in the Lower Bracket Round 1 in the playoffs. However, OpTic Gaming represented the region until the end and became the winners after a dominating performance in the tournament.
However, more EU teams have been consistent with their performances and have had a longer run in the LANs compared to NA teams. The presence of more Tier 2 teams and exposure to intense competition within the region allows its teams to outplay others in Valorant LAN tournaments.
