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The Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) 2023 is rapidly approaching, with all franchised teams slowly but surely confirming their rosters as the start date gets closer. Fans have been ecstatic to see the selected teams perform as part of Riot Games' new Partnership program.
Riot Games has chosen ten teams from each participating region under the Partnership program to compete for the title of the best Valorant team in the world during the upcoming VCT season. Having said that, the teams that were unable to secure a franchise slot can still compete in their respective region's Challengers League.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinion.
Ranking all the franchised teams in VCT 2023
S Tier
- Cloud9
- Fnatic
- DRX
- NAVI
After signing skilled players such as yay, Zellsis, and qpert, Cloud9 is certainly heading in the right direction. In addition, mce has also joined the team as the head coach. These talents easily form an exceptionally strong squad capable of defeating even the best teams in the upcoming VCT season.
Fnatic is without a doubt the most promising team in the VCT EMEA League. The iconic core of Fnatic's VCT Champions roster, which includes Boaster, Alfajer, and Derke, will return for the VCT 2023 season. Meanwhile, the organization has acquired Leo from Guild Esports and is reportedly in talks to acquire Chronicle, a key member of M3 Champions.
South Korean club DRX tops the VCT Pacific League 2023 tier list. Following the team's strong performance in 2022, the organization decided to keep its core lineup (stax, Zest, Rb, BuZz, and MaKo) and only add in a sixth player, Foxy9, to meet the updated roster requirements. Given their previous synergy and flawless in-game executions, DRX is unquestionably a top contender for the tournament.
NAVI is rumored to be interested in acquiring the FunPlus Phoenix core of Ange1, Shao, Zyppan, and Suygetsu. The organization is also looking to sign Acend star cNed to round out its star-studded roster. If these agreements are completed, NAVI will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.
A Tier
- Leviatán
- ZETA DIVISION
- KOI
- NRG
- Team Liquid
- 100 Thieves
- Sentinels
- Paper Rex
- LOUD
Leviatán is preparing for the VCT 2023 season after acquiring Nozwerr from Furia, as well as Mazino and keznit from KRÜ Esports. The only drawback to this new roster is that they are yet to acquire a dedicated smoke player. It's safe to assume that the roster will make that decision before the end of the season.
Fans across the world praised the top Japanese team ZETA DIVISION for their performance in VCT 2022. Despite failing to advance past the Group Stage in Valorant Champions 2022, the roster showed great promise. The organization, predictably, chose to keep the same team composition and added Ryo "barce" Takebayashi as the roster's sixth man.
KOI is said to have signed some of the best EMEA players for its VCT 2023 roster. Nikita "trexx" Cherednichenko (former Guild Esports player), Patryk "starxo" Kopczynski (former Acend player), and Bogdan "Sheydos" Naumov are among those expected to join the team (former M3C player). KOI will undoubtedly be a strong contender in the upcoming international leagues, thanks to the presence of these talented EMEA players.
Ardiis is rumored to have been acquired by NRG for their roster. NRG has also reportedly signed the entire former OpTic Gaming roster, although Marved will be taking a season break with yay joining Cloud9. This means that, in addition to s0m, Chet (Coach), FNS, Victor, and Crashies from OpTic will be on this new roster.
Following the departure of iconic athletes ScreaM and Nivera, the renowned European organization Team Liquid is reportedly rebuilding its core with top EMEA athletes, including Igor "Redgar" Vlasov, Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin, and Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel. According to the most recent leaks, Jamppii will be the team's only core player to remain, as Soulcas and Dimasick are currently looking for new opportunities.
After benching Will, 100 Thieves has upgraded its roster with Cryocells from XSET. Will may continue as the sixth man on the roster. In addition, Sean Gares was let go by the team as Mikes was promoted to head coach for the upcoming tournament. Asuna, Derrek, stellar, Cryocells, and Bang are now the new team.
Sentinels, on the other hand, are looking strong after making a number of roster changes. TenZ's new contract will keep the team motivated as the star player certainly has a lot to offer. In the meantime, Sentinels acquired Sacy and pANcada from LOUD, as well as dephh, Zekken, SykkoNT (Head coach), and DrewSpark (Analyst) from XSET.
Paper Rex is well-known on the VCT circuit for being one of the most aggressive teams and performed admirably at VCT 2022. Despite the prevalent roster mania, CEO Nikhil Hathiramani emphasized that there is no need for a roster change. Another thing to note is that the organization signed a sixth player, Patiphan "CigaretteS" Posri, to meet roster requirements.
LOUD duo Sacy and pAncada have joined Sentinels, leaving the team with only three players from the previous roster: aspas, Saadhak, and Less. Before the team can prepare for VCT 2023, the remaining two slots must be filled.
B Tier
- DetonatioN Gaming
- Global Esports
- Talon Esports
- Giants
- T1
- Gen.G
- Furia Esports
DetonatioN Gaming have announced their roster for 2023, but their selections have failed to impress fans. Nevertheless, in previous VCT seasons, some teams have occasionally demonstrated unexpected dominance over their seemingly superior competitors. Fans will be closely watching DetonatioN Gaming's performance in the VCT Pacific League.
Global Esports features some of Asia's most promising young players, as well as two iconic Indian players led by former XSET member AYRIN in-game. The organization represents India, which has a large number of Valorant fans. While the game's esports scene in the country continues to develop, Global Esports aims to be the first step in showcasing the capabilities of Indian talent in the international arena.
Many fans were surprised when Talon Esports announced the return of iconic Valorant athlete Patiphan to the game. The team welcomed the retired Overwatch pro, as well as former XERXIA players Sushiboys, foxz, and crws, into its professional Valorant roster. Talon Esports appears to be quite capable of dealing with their opponents in the APAC region.
Giants, like all other EMEA teams, is yet to announce their final roster. Only Adolfo "Fit1nho" Gallego is currently on the active roster. The organization is reportedly looking to acquire former NAVI member Kirill "Cloud" Nehozhin and may also be thinking about renewing Tobias "ShadoW" Flodström's contract.
T1 has recruited some of the most talented individuals from the APAC region and beyond in preparation for VCT 2023. To begin with, the organization welcomed back Sayaplayer, a former member who had joined The Guard for VCT 2022. Former Cloud9 and Crazy Raccoon players Xeta and Munchkin have also joined the team. T1 also signed Joseph "Ban" Seungmin Oh to use its import slot. Finally, popular Overwatch pro Carpe is set to make his Valorant pro debut with the organization.
Gen.G has completely rebuilt their roster. Meteor was acquired by the organization from the high-achieving team Northception. It also signed five South Korean players with previous league experience to round out its roster. While the lineup appears to be insufficient to defeat the top contenders on this list, the upcoming VCT season may have some surprises.
Furia is a team that should not be underestimated. Having said that, Furia has done well in previous Champions matches against DRX and Fnatic. The organization has kept its roster relatively the same, other than adding mwzera from Keyd Stars after Nozwerr's departure.
C Tier
- Team Secret
- Karmine Corp
- MIBR
- BBL Esports
- Evil Geniuses
- Team Vitality
- KRÜ Esports
- Team Heretics
Team Secret has yet to formally announce its 2023 roster. However, the Valorant team from the Philippines has always been a strong presence at Asian events. Their current active roster consists of JessieVash, DubsteP, Jremy, and BORKUM. The organization has yet to announce these players as part of the final roster and has added two members to comply with the roster rules.
Karmine Corp is reportedly in talks with ScreaM and Nivera, the iconic brother duo. The organization is also interested in acquiring Mad Lions' Alexandre "xms" Forté. However, Karmine Corp has yet to officially announce the aforementioned signings and will need to acquire three more players to complete their roster.
Former MIBR players gtnziN, mNdS, and stk have announced that they are leaving the roster and looking for new opportunities. According to reports, this prompted the team to sign Heat, Murizzz, and RgLM from Keyd Stars. Although the current roster is not the strongest, viewers can expect them to perform well in the upcoming VCT season.
BBL Esports has yet to make any notable off-season moves. Their current roster isn't very strong when compared to those in higher tiers. Having said that, the VCT has a history of witnessing miracles and dark horse performances.
The Evil Geniuses roster was in the process of expanding with the addition of Ethan from NRG and supamen from FaZe. However, the roster currently consists of Apothen, C0m, Boostio, Reformed, and jawgemo, and there is nothing exciting going on with their Valorant lineup as of now.
Unfortunately, in comparison to the other teams on this tier list, Team Vitality hasn't made much of an impression on fans this VCT off-season. The organization is expected to sign two former OG LDN UTD athletes and one former BIG athlete to join Jokbas "ceNder" Labutis and Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi.
KRÜ Esports has recently signed xand (Ninjas in Pyjamas), Daveeys (E-Xolos LAZER), Melser (Leviatán), and axeddy (Phantom Troupe), all of whom are excellent players to solidify the team's performance. When the season begins, KRÜ may likely be a formidable opponent. Before signing the new players, the organization parted ways with keznit, delz1k, and Mazino.
As of now, Team Heretics has announced only two players for their VCT 2023 roster. Nevertheless, fans have high expectations from the Spanish organization. Heretics' active roster currently includes Scar "mixwell" Caellas Colocho and Wassim "keloqz" Cista.
D Tier
- FUT Esports
- RRQ
FUT Esports and Rex Regum Qeon have both announced their rosters for the VCT 2023 season. On paper, the teams do not look impressive, but some teams have been known to exhibit unexpected dominance in VCT against clearly superior rivals. Only time will tell how these lineups fare against their competition.
The upcoming Kickoff Tournament will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and every team chosen in the Partnership program will be invited to take part in the largest LAN event in Valorant history. For three weeks, all thirty franchised teams will compete against each other.
The tournament winner will be crowned Champions and will receive an additional perk. Furthermore, the winning team will also secure an additional spot in the new season's first international event, the Masters.
