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Valorant Champions 2023 starts on August 6, 2023, with 16 teams across four regions participating in the final international VCT tournament of the year. It is the most important VCT event of each year with the winner being crowned world champions. The best teams and players will battle it out over the course of three weeks to determine the undisputed world number one.
Ahead of the tournament, certain teams stand head and shoulders above the rest of the competition and are early favorites to win the title, by many fans and analysts. This article lists the top five teams to look out for at Valorant Champions 2023.
Fnatic, Paper Rex and three others to watch out for in Valorant Champions 2023
5) EDward Gaming
EDward Gaming are the best Valorant team from the Chinese region. They made their debut in Valorant Champions 2022 and captured the attention of many with their unorthodox playstyle. The roster did not show much improvement at the VCT LOCK//IN, although the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023 would be the turning point for this roster.
The team was spearheaded by Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang and was on an incredible run, putting China on the VCT roadmap. The roster displayed exceptional mechanical skill and fundamentals to earn a fifth to sixth-place finish.
After dominating the China Qualifiers for Valorant Champions 2023, EDward Gaming will look to continue their international success from Masters Tokyo.
4) LOUD
LOUD are one of the most recognized and accomplished teams in VCT history. The Valorant Champions 2022 winners will return to defend their title. This time, however, there are far more doubts surrounding their capabilities to win the tournament.
LOUD were able to win VCT Americas 2023 but had an absolutely horrendous performance at the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023. The team was unable to win a single map and was eliminated in a humiliating fashion.
This has made many fans lose faith in the Brazilian roster. However, they have world-class players and can bounce back as evidenced by their 2022 run where they suffered an early exit in Masters Copenhagen and proceeded to win the Valorant Champions 2022.
3) Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses have been one of the biggest surprises in the 2023 VCT season. The team was initially written off as a bottom-tier team in the Americas region. But with the addition of Max "Demon1" Mazanov, they started to ramp up and qualify for the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023 when no one expected them to.
The team was expected to display a decent performance at the Masters Tokyo. Evil Geniuses exceeded all expectations and went on a tear with Fnatic being the only team to defeat them. The American roster probably has the best Fracture gameplay in the history of the game.
Coming into Valorant Champions 2023, Evil Geniuses will be one of the early favorites to make a deep run in the tournament.
2) Paper Rex
Paper Rex are one of the most loved teams in the world. Regardless of the various iterations, the team's chaotic and unpredictable playstyle has become a trademark with fans dubbing it as "W Gaming." Paper Rex have been a mainstay in the VCT scene and have only gotten stronger in the franchising era.
The final piece to fully unleashing Paper Rex was the inclusion of Ilya "something" Petrov. This was quickly followed up by winning the VCT Pacific 2023. However, Ilya was unable to attend the VCT Masters Tokyo 2023, leaving Patiphan "CGRS" Posri to play for the remainder of the tournament.
The team stunned fans and analysts by earning a third-place finish, as many predicted them to be significantly weaker without their star player. With "something" confirmed to be at the Valorant Champions 2023, Paper Rex might be the only team in the world that can compete against the current kings of Valorant, Fnatic.
1) Fnatic
With Fnatic, it is almost impossible to argue that they are the overwhelming favorites to win all three international titles of the 2023 VCT season. The team simply has no clear weaknesses that teams can exploit.
Fnatic were always a good team but never the best. That changed in the franchising era with the signing of Leo "Leo" Jannesson and Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov. The two players turned Fnatic into a completely different beast with little to no competition.
With Jake "Boaster" Howlett at the helm, this Fnatic roster has all the tools to solidify their dynasty at the Valorant Champions 2023 and establish themselves as the best team of all time.
