Another week, another major VALORANT tournament in North America. This time the hosts are esports organization Immortals, as their newly-formed starting lineup will take on seven other top NA squads in the $10,000 Immortals First Light tournament. Although Twitch Rivals North America champions T1 won't be attending, almost every other major team from the region will be throwing their hat in the ring, with some hoping to continue their climb up the hierarchy ladder while others are attempting to attract tier-one organizations to sign them.
It's a mixture of established esports organizations and amateur teams in this one-day tournament for $10,000, and there's no other better way to break it all down than everyone's favorite: a good old fashioned power ranking.
Who is at the top aiming for the title of best in North America? Which amateur team deserves to be on a sponsored team tomorrow? Let's get down to business.
1. Gen.G Esports
The pick for the No. 1 slot was between two teams and it was a difficult one, but I eventually -- after hours of going back-and-forth in my head -- went with Gen.G Esports as the favorites for the Immortals First Light tournament. In the three tournaments that Gen.G have entered as a full team since their inception, they've made the finals in all three and only lost one, in a barnburner against TSM this past weekend during the Counter Logic Gaming Bliz Cup.
Overall, though, this team is as solid and as consistent as they come in VALORANT. Their chemistry with one another is as good as we've seen so far during the game's short lifespan, and instead of relying on a single player to carry game in and game out, Gen.G is a team where any of its five players can be topping the leaderboard in any given game. Until they enter an event and don't make the final, it's going to be difficult to put them anywhere but the top position.
2. TSM
Trust me, it was difficult putting TSM second. When I first started to internally write this article in my head while watching the qualifiers for this event, TSM was in the No. 1 position. They just beat Gen.G! Four of the team's core made it all the way to the finals of Twitch Rivals North America and were ever so close to upsetting the heavy favorites in T1. In terms of star potential, Matthew "Wardell" Yu, Yassine "Subroza"' Taoufik and Tayler "Drone" Johnson are a three-headed fragging monster that is supported by the team's two older, more experienced players. They are as well-built and practiced as any team in VALORANT, and there is really no wrong answer if you see Gen.G as the favorites in this tournament or if you see TSM in that No. 1 spot.
TSM has lost recently to another squad in this tournament, however, and it's not Gen.G. It's actually the amateur side China Nguyen, eliminating TSM from the tournament in the lower-bracket in relatively dominant fashion. TSM also dropped a series to another amateur team, Together we are terrific, in what was a competition they'll soon want to forget. The players owned up to playing a poor tournament and not being in the best condition, but to beat Gen.G, a team they've already built up a fierce rivalry in VALORANT, they're going to need to bring their A-game to win the grand prize.
3. Cloud9
Cloud9, TenZ & Friendz, or whatever you want to label them are the true unknown in this tournament. If I was making these power rankings before the launch of the game, they would have been at the very top in No. 1, following their complete decimation of the Rivalry Bowl North America where they didn't drop a single game the entire event, including a decisive win over TSM (then mouseSpaz).
Now, though? I really don't know. The same starting five entered Twitch Rivals North America along with T1 as the only two full professional lineups playing together, and where T1 won it all, C9 finished third in their group with a 1-2 record. TSM with Ali "Myth" Kabbani in place of its normal in-game leader James "hazed" Cobb soundly beat C9 in Twitch Rivals and that sets up their next performance in which we'll really see how good they are. Personally, I'm going to take their Twitch Rivals stumble as just that, a stumble, and expect them to put up a much better performance in Immortals First Light.
Give me Tyson "TenZ" Ngo versus Wardell to see which Jett superstar reigns supreme in North America.
4. Immortals
The home team of the tournament, Immortals is a true wild card. If they slapped everyone and ended up winning the whole shebang, it wouldn't surprise me. If they lost to an amateur team and bombed out completely, it also wouldn't shock me. A group of young, unknown players with top-level mechanics, this team is explosive, none more so than their most-recent acquisition, 16-year-old Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk, a prospect coming over from the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene.
In the team's only performance together as a five-man unit, they made it to the semifinals of the CLG Blitz Cup, losing in a knock-down, drag-out fight with TSM where there were highlights galore on both sides but the veterans of TSM eventually pulled away in the end. Their second outing is an important one, with all eyes on them representing their organization in a tournament named after them. Aside from Asuna, I would recommend keeping tabs on the team's most consistent tournament player, Yannick "KOLER" Blanchette, whose Brimstone is one of the best anywhere in the world.
5. China Nguyen
Our first amateur team in this ranking, we have China Nguyen. If there was an amateur five-stack that I would tell tier-one organizations to watch, it would be them or Together we are terrific, both sides having impressive results in the last few weeks.
The most well-known entity on the team is 2019 Fortnite World Cup solos runner-up Harrison "psalm" Chang, a player that has excelled at various competitive games during his tenure, currently focusing on becoming a pro in VALORANT. So far, it's hard to argue that he doesn't deserve to be one a major organization, as he's been a true ace in almost every tournament, big and small, he's entered since VALORANT went into closed beta on April 7. Also, don't sleep on Danny "cute fat boy" Nguyen -- the name might put you off guard, but he has a real chance of being a breakout star in this tournament.
6. Echo 8
Echo 8 are the second-place team from the Immortals First Light qualifiers, only losing to China Nguyen in the grand finals. While it was a 2-0 win for Psalm and his disciples, Echo 8 didn't make it easy, both teams showing that although they might not have the tactics or experience of some of these teams with professional Counter-Strike experience, they know how to aim and have the mechanics to back it up.
The most interesting fact about Echo 8 is that a majority of their starting line-up comes from the world of Crossfire, the most-played FPS in the world, solely due to how popular it is in China. Crossfire pros, Fortnite pros, CS pros, Apex Legends pros, VALORANT is truly the melting pot of players from all different gaming backgrounds looking for a new avenue to begin (or continue) their pro-gaming aspirations.
7. Code7
Here we have a team that's been active in a lot of online tournaments since the closed beta began that has farmed decent results but are still searching for that one big win to put them in the spotlight. The team's most recent attempt at gaining that spotlight was during the CLG Blitz Cup where they made it through a slew of fellow amateur teams before meeting one of the final bosses in Gen.G and having their run ended by a scoreline of 13-8.
This time around, no more single-game format. All matches in the tournament are best-of-three, so if Code7 was ever to make an impression to the big esports orgs watching, seeing if they should dip their foot in the VALORANT investment waters, this would be the time.
8. Mixup
Someone had to come last in such a stacked field, and unfortunately for Mixup, it's them. Though one of the direct-invites into the tournament, they are going to need to do better than their last outing in the Pittsburgh Knights Tournament Series. Mixup was placed in a four-team group stage alongside TSM and two other amateur teams. Not only did they get bopped by TSM 13-4, but they lost to both amateur sides as well, exiting the tournament winless with a -15 win differential.