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The Superstars: Best Players to Watch at VALORANT Champions 2024
VALORANT Champions 2024 starts tomorrow with two Masters winners of the year playing to kick off the event.
Not too long ago, Strafe posted a list of teams to watch out for at Champs 2024. These teams that will not only make a deep run in the tournament, but will entertain viewers with some amazing VALORANT. Within these teams, there are players who will be a treat to watch. These players will be coming into the tournament with a neat form, aiming to take the international stage by storm.
Let’s take a look at these players.
Erick “Aspas” Santos - The Americas MVP
The back-to-back VCT Americas MVP, aspas is the final boss of VALORANT. After a successful tenure with LOUD, aspas found his way onto a stacked Leviatán in search of a second international title.
At the start of the year, aspas continued to dominate, putting up superstar numbers to carry Leviatán through their struggles and help them qualify for Shanghai.
During his Stage 1 expeditions, he put up an average ACS of 270 with an ADR of 175, getting more than a kill for every round he played. Leviatán unfortunately could not translate that domestic success, as they failed to qualify for Shanghai Playoffs.
Back home, Leviatán started playing better together and together with aspas, won the VCT Americas 2024.
Coming into VALORANT Champions Seoul, aspas and Leviatán will be top contenders to win it all. The final boss aspas will definitely be one of the best players to watch as he will be looking to cement himself as the greatest VALORANT player of recent times.
Wang “Jinggg” Jing-Jie - Pacific’s Darling
One of the best duelists in VALORANT and the best Raze player will be looking to blast pack through the competition to the finals.
The prodigious Singaporean Raze main announced his return to competitive VALORANT ahead of VCT Pacific 2024 Split 1. The Paper Rex star had to put a temporary stop to his professional career to fulfill the mandatory military service requirements.
Fortunately, due to certain circumstances, Jinggg was able to make a triumphant return, helping Paper Rex secure VCT Pacific Split 1 title. In his returning Split, Jinggg put up an average ACS of 234 and ADR of 154, recording a kill per round.
Whilst the team struggled internationally, they managed to secure Champions qualification, dominating the domestic competition.
Unfortunately, Jinggg and Paper Rex finished third in the second split of VCT Pacific 2024, but they will be coming into the tournament with a vendetta, trying to finish what they couldn’t last year.
Jacob “valyn” Batio - The Brain and the Brawn
G2 Esports’ story is of Tier 2 stars ‘ascending’ to the top. After missing on the partnership as The Guard, the team stuck together and made it through the Challengers and Ascension to earn back their seat on the table.
The one leading the pack of hungry competitors from the front has been Valyn. Despite the big names on the roster, the young IGL has been the one stepping up for the squad, clutching up when it matters and delivering on the big games.
With their strong runs, G2 Esports has placed outside the top 3 once out of the four tournaments they played. They have been surprising the spectators with their VALORANT dexterity and a lot of credit has to go to Valyn as the leader of the squad.
Additionally while IGL’ing, Valyn recorded an average ACS of 207, KAST of 79%, a clutch percentage 24% and a KDA of 1.05, some of the best numbers across the board.
With Valyn missing out on the international title at Shanghai, he with the G2 boys will be looking to finish the job at Seoul.
Kim “Karon” Won-tae - The Superstar Rookie
2024 has to be the year of Rookies, throughout the year we have had some of the most fearsome rookies take the mainstage and take the world by storm.
Amongst these newcomers, one that stood out the most has to be Gen.G’s Karon. A 21 y.o. ranked demon who recently was named VCT Pacific’s Controller of the year and finished close second in the season MVP race.
The debutant not only fulfilled his role with ease but put up strong numbers with a KDA of 1.24, KAST of 79% and a 15% clutch percentage. During the intense rounds the team faced, Karon displayed nerves of steel and stood shoulder to shoulder with his veteran peers. His incredible performance helped Gen.G place top 2 at all the VCT events this year.
With Karon still looking in tip top shape along with his teammates, Gen.G will be aiming to be the first team to win a Masters event and follow it up with a Champions title.
Honorable Mentions:
While we chose to highlight four players, there are a lot more who deserve the limelight. Here are our four honorable mentions amongst the competitors.
- Fnatic's star sub - Emirhan "Hiro" Kat
- Leviatan's backbone - Roberto "Mazino" Rivas
- The Silent Assasin - Enes "RieNs" Ecirli
- The Korean Jett - Kim "t3xture" Na-Ra
With these superstars going full-throttle, Champions Seoul will be an event to behold. The competition starts August 1 02:00 PM KST with a Masters Madrid Grand Finals rematch.
Catch the tournament live on Twitch and YouTube. You can also watch the tournament on Valorantesports.com.
Follow Valorant Champions Tour on X/Twitter for latest updates on Champions 2024. You can also follow the tournament on Strafe.
Stay tuned on Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews and more.
Let the biggest VALORANT event celebrations begin!!
Featured Image Credits: Riot Games // Strafe
Read More:
VALORANT Champions 2024 Pick'Em Challenge Guide
