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Valorant's Knights Challengers League: North America is about to kick off its next phase with Split 1, which is set to commence on February 2 and conclude by March 15. For Split 1, 12 teams will battle it out against each other within two separate groups. After this, the bottom two teams from each group will be eliminated, meaning that a total of eight teams will head to the next stage, which is the Mid-Season Invitational.
The Knights Challengers League kicked off with its open qualifiers in January, which saw multiple teams comprised of scattered Valorant pro players, streamers, and even former CS:GO pros. Interesting teams such as The Nation, Untamable Beasts, and Soniqs were a delight to watch, but unfortunately didn't make it across the finish line.
With Split 1 about to commence, the majority of fans are expecting a few particular teams to perform extremely well and rise to the occasion. Given below is a list of five such teams who are the favorites to win it all in Valorant Challengers League NA 2023 (Split 1).
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
The Guard, M80 and three more teams to keep an eye on during Valorant's Challenger League NA 2023 (Split 1)
1) The Guard
Although The Guard officially entered the Valorant scene back in November 2021, it was in 2022 that the team truly became something special as the talented roster was able to dominate every other team in NA (North America). They won the Champions Tour North America Stage 1: Challengers and qualified for VCT Stage 1: Masters Reykjavik to make their international debut.
At the time, the team consisted of Trent, valyn, JonahP, Sayaplayer, neT, and their coach, mCe. The team was absolutely phenomenal and boasted insane levels of individual skill.
With the implementation of 2023's franchising system, The Guard saw the departure of mCe and Sayaplayer, which led to the team acquiring tex as their sixth man and JoshRT as the coach. Despite these unexpected changes, The Guard had a great showing as they won Valorant's very first event in 2023, the Ludwig x Tarik Invitational tournament.
The Guard are easily amongst the top teams going into Split 1 and it will be interesting to see how other teams prepare for them.
2) M80
M80 formed their Valorant roster in the aftermath of franchising. The team comprises of talented players like johnqt, zander, eeiu, NiSMO, koalanoob, and their coach, GUNTER. Interestingly, johnqt, NiSMO, koalanoob, and GUNTER are players from the team Ghost Gaming, which had a rather underwhelming run in VCT (Valorant Champions Tour 2022).
zander is from the now-inactive roster of V1 and is considered to be one of the best Controller players in NA. Lastly, eeiu comes from NRG Esports, another team that failed to make a mark in VCT 2022.
Disregarding previous results, the individual skill of each of these players is fairly high. As a result, it's expected that this team will deliver some incredible Valorant gameplay to viewers, with their very first match being against OREsports.
3) G2 Esports
G2 Esports is one of the few organizations that has decided to shift regions due to franchising. Previously one of the top EMEA teams, G2 Esports is now competing in the NA region. In 2022, G2 was unable to make it to franchising due to an unfortunate incident.
Nevertheless, 2023 looks like a bright future for G2. Their brand new Valorant roster consists of ShahZam, dapr, wippie, penny, OXY, and Immi as the coach. OXY comes from Dark Ratio, while ShahZam and dapr are former Sentinels players who have certainly proven themselves internationally. Immi, penny, and wippie come from V1, which was one of the top teams in NA in back VCT 2021.
In general, G2 feels extremely stacked with raw talent and experience. With Immi as their coach, there's a fairly high chance of seeing this team absolutely destroy their competition during Split 1. G2 Esports' first match will be against FaZe Clan.
4) Shopify Rebellion
Shopify Rebellion entered the male Valorant esports scene on June 27 after signing the former players of Luminosity Gaming. The roster was fairly consistent and was amongst the top five teams in the NA region.
The team currently includes dazzLe, v1c, bdog, mada, moose, and the Coach mac. Like the Guard, the team hasn't made any changes to their roster since November 2021, which gives them the advantage of having greater synergy. This proves to be rather beneficial against inexperienced teams and teams that have recently been formed. Shopify Rebellion's first match in Split 1 will be against Turtle Troop on February 4, 2023.
5) Disguised
The team Disguised was created by the popular streamer Disguised Toast in January 2023. It comprises of steel, Exalt, Genghsta, XXIF, clear, and the coach OCEAN, who is a CS:GO veteran. Unlike the four other teams listed above, Disguised wasn't directly invited to the event and had to fight their way through the Knights Open Qualifiers to make their way into Split 1.
The team had a great run in the open qualifiers, wherein they didn't lose a single match and directly qualified for Split 1 in the upper bracket itself. Disguised's roster consists of some incredibly talented players and watching their matches through Disguised Toast's watch parties has been an absolute delight for viewers. Disguised's very first match will be against their toughest competition yet, The Guard.
Split 1 is likely to be an incredibly exciting tournament, wherein every team will have to put their best foot forward. Interestingly, this event will also be the first showcase for several new teams from the NA region. Nevertheless, viewers can expect to have an amazing time watching these matches.
