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Valorant Champions 2022 is slated to start on August 31 and will feature 16 deserving teams from around the world. The fandom is hyped to witness the best-performing Valorant rosters take on each other in the most intense competition this year.
As fans wait for August 31 to arrive, they cannot help but speculate how each team will perform in the upcoming clash. While some have displayed astonishing valor and dominance, others have immense potential to prove the impossible.
Valorant Champions 2022 will feature a concrete format, including one group stage, one bracket stage, and lastly, the finals. Eight underperforming teams will be eliminated after the group stage, with the remainder proceeding to the bracket stage.
The bracket stage, in turn, will also feature a double-elimination format like the group stage, pitting teams in Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and finally, a Grandfinal. As one can decipher, the competition is intense and teams will have to put their best efforts to get seeded to the next stage.
Power rankings for all teams at Valorant Champions 2022
With 16 top teams that feature astonishing talent taking on each other in two weeks, now is the perfect time to analyze and speculate on the winners of Champions 2022.
The participating teams have been divided into groups for the first stage. The groups and their teams are as follows:
- Group A - Paper Rex, EDward Gaming, Leviatán, Team Liquid
- Group B - OpTic Gaming, BOOM Esports, ZETA DIVISION, LOUD
- Group C - FPX, KRÜ Esports, XSET, XERXIA
- Group D - DRX, FURIA Esports, Fnatic, 100 Thieves
Each team at the Valorant Champions 2022 deserves its spot and has showcased their best to be on the stage. That said, find the list of eligible teams, ranked based on their power, below.
16) BOOM Esports
BOOM Esports made their entry into the Champions 2022 by winning the APAC Last Chance Qualifiers. They are a promising contender with unpredictable strategies and good gun power. However, their intricate and unfathomable playstyle may not be enough to defeat top teams who display discipline.
BOOM earned their place at the Champions by overpowering some of APAC's best teams. They are quite capable of surprising the audience at the upcoming tournament. That said, they'll be facing the toughest competition from their own region in the form of Paper Rex.
15) Furia
One of the two SA teams to qualify for the Champions, Furia earned their place at the event via Last Chance Qualifiers. Furia put up a good fight against TBK Esports in the SA LCQ to secure their spot in the upcoming tournament.
That said, this will be their first international tournament this year, after being denied the chance to enter any of the Masters due to a lack of circuit points. They had qualified for Valorant Champions 2021 via LCQ too, but failed to give their best back then.
14) Zeta Division
Zeta Division made their entry into the Valorant Champions 2022 via circuit points, as they emerged as the top roster from Japan. After a brilliant run in Stage 1 Challengers and Masters Reykjavík, they failed to qualify for Masters Copenhagen after Northception defeated them in Challengers Stage 2.
That said, they still managed to garner enough points to qualify for Champions 2022. Zeta Division's team possesses magnificent gun power and strategic capabilities, but they will be playing Champions with a substitute. Hence, their fate at the upcoming tournament is uncertain.
13) XSET
XSET's win in VCT NA Challengers Stage 2 added some much-needed circuit points to their bucket. After they placed fourth in Stage 1, many fans doubted their fate in VCT 2022. However, they proved their worth soon after.
That said, the team's performance wasn't stellar at the Masters Copenhagen. Although they managed to qualify for the Champions 2022 via circuit points, their recent results aren't promising in terms of power.
12) XERXIA
Having qualified through circuit points, XERXIA has displayed a lot of power in VCT 2022's Challengers stages. They also qualified for both the Masters stages in Copenhagen and Reykjavík. Hence, they have participated in all VCT events this year, both domestic and international.
That said, their performance on the international stage was, at best, satisfactory. It's Xerxia's first VCT this year, and they may lack the experience needed to counter the top teams that have displayed massive potential in this field before.
11) Leviatán
A promising team from South America, Leviatán qualified for the Champions 2022 via circuit points after a good run in the Challengers and Masters Copenhagen. They earned their spot at the Champions 2022 owing to their surprisingly good aggressive strategies and gunplay.
That said, Masters Copenhagen was their first international LAN. With minimal experience on the international spectrum, it could be tough for the best team in LATAM to perform well.
10) EDward Gaming
EDward Gaming secured their spot in the Champions 2022 via East Asia Last Chance Qualifiers, marking China's first entry to an international Valorant event. Their roster shows incredible promise, as can be deciphered from their domination of the other EA teams in the Last Chance Qualifiers.
That said, Champions 2022 will be the first international LAN event they will participate in. Facing the toughest competitions from around the world may not be easy for the first-timers.
9) 100 Thieves
100 Thieves has surpassed some of the toughest NA competitors in the Last Chance Qualifiers to enter the Valorant Champions 2022 with a much-deserved wild card. While they haven't shown their best in the previous stages of VCT, the roster shocked onlookers with their sheer strategy at the erstwhile NA LCQ.
However, 100 Thieves haven't participated in an international tournament since VCT Masters Stage 3 Berlin in 2021. Although the roster displays incredible potential and enough power to tackle most of its competition, it may not favor the team enough to lift the trophy.
8) DRX
DRX won two Challengers events this year, and hence, qualified for both Masters Reykjavík and Copenhagen. However, they placed sixth in both the Masters event, which disappointed a lot of their fans.
As expected, DRX qualified for the Champions via circuit points and possess enough potential to dominate their opponents. But their consistent mediocre results at the international event have led to a lot of fans doubting their fate.
7) KRÜ Esports
While KRÜ made it to both Masters stages this year and had a brilliant run in VCT 2021, they couldn't perform satisfactorily in Masters Reykjavík and Copenhagen. The roster didn't qualify for Valorant Champions 2022 via circuit points and hence, had to fall back on Last Chance Qualifiers.
That said, they managed to secure a spot for themselves at the Valorant Champions 2022 after a victory against Furia in the SA LCQ Upper Bracket Final.
6) Team Liquid
Following an impressive comeback against M3 Champions in the EMEA LCQ, Team Liquid received their ticket to Istanbul this year. The popular Valorant team has shown incredible consistency throughout the past LCQ matches, and have given fans a lot of hope.
The roster didn’t garner enough circuit points after a disappointing run at Masters Reykjavík and an unsatisfactory performance in Challengers Stage 2. While they made up for it via LCQ, Team Liquid doesn't seem to rank high enough in terms of power to win the tournament.
5) LOUD
The beast from Brazil, LOUD qualified for Valorant Champions 2022 on the basis of circuit points. They had a brilliant run at Masters Reykjavík but failed to replicate the same in Masters Copenhagen. However, they will stand as one of the strongest contenders in Champions 2022.
LOUD's roster features five of the best but underrated players on the circuit. It will be interesting to see the young team take on the big guns at the upcoming Valorant Champions.
4) Fnatic
Fnatic houses one of EMEA's best Valorant rosters, fostering talents like Boaster, Derke, and Enzo, who make the impossible look easy. However, their performance in the entirety of VCT 2022 was good, and got them an easy entry to the Valorant Champions this year.
That said, they are going to face some of the biggest competitors from around the world in the form of OpTiC Gaming, FPX, and PRX. It isn't going to be easy to tackle such teams, but Fnatic, in their present form, have the potential.
3) OpTic Gaming
The reigning champion of North America, OpTic Gaming has proven to be one of the finest Valorant rosters in the world. While they are ranked third on the list in terms of power, they have all the potential to grab the trophy this year.
The roster maintained excellent consistency in VCT 2022 and even won Masters Reykjavík, while securing the third spot in Masters Copenhagen.
2) Paper Rex
After absolute domination in the Challengers stage, Paper Rex qualified for both Masters, placing fourth in Reykjavík and second in Copenhagen. They are one of the most aggressive Valorant teams on the circuit. PRX's strategies push opponents out of their comfort zone, forcing them to change their plans to be patient.
PRX is definitely one of the most promising teams and certainly has the valor to become the champion this year.
1) FunPlus Phoenix
Possessing an impeccable balance in aggression and patience, FunPlus Phoenix has shown true dominance in the form of their strategic executions. Not only does the team comprise sheer gun power, but they can also bring their opponents down on their knees through their mind games.
FPX undoubtedly holds the top position on this list in terms of power and is the strongest contender in Valorant Champions 2022.
