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VALORANT Champions 2024 Playoffs: Pick’ems Guide
The VALORANT Champions 2024 Playoffs are upon us. Starting later today, the remaining eight teams will take on each other to crown the best team of 2024.
And with the new stage, there is a change at redemption. The community collectively fumbled the group stage pick’ems, but the Playoffs will be the chance of redemption and two additional in-game drops.
We at Strafe fumbled poorly too, but who would have expected Trace Esports to qualify over Leviatan.
Now that we are more informed on how these inter-regional match-ups play out, here is our shot at redemption.
VALORANT Champions 2024 Playoffs: Pick’ems Guide
The eight teams that will play in the Playoffs, represent the best of VALORANT esports. While some teams have a higher chance to win than others, they all deserve to stand on the big stage.
Now that we have diplomacy out of the way, Let’s look at these teams individually and how they look going into the Playoffs.
DRX
The last hope of Pacific has exceeded expectations, taking down Fnatic and KRU Esports to qualify as the first seed of Group A.
Coming into the Playoffs, the players look especially hot, especially BuZz and Flashback who have been putting up unexpected rounds, helping the squad to reign supreme over the group.
Unfortunately, the group’s inexperience might bite them back, especially against seasoned teams. MaKo’s IGL’ing will be challenged a lot more and it will be a trial by fire for the Korean squad.
With the weight of Korea's expectations on their shoulders, DRX has a tough road ahead of them.
Sentinels
Sentinels, a team that struggled in Americas Playoffs and qualified via caveats, were dealt a poor hand. They were seeded in a group consisting FunPlus Phoenix, Gen.G and Team Heretics, arguably the strongest teams out of their regions.
No one expected Sentinels to qualify over Gen.G, but they did. And any team that slays the tiger in its den has enough wind to sail through the VALORANT Champions.
Especially a team that is momentum heavy like Sentinels, defeating Gen.G, a trophy favorite, gives them enough confidence to make a deep run.
Trace Esports
The CN #3 came into the tournament with one and only one goal, to ruin pick’ems. They have single-handedly defied expectations and perfected a brand of VALORANT that DRX wished they could in 2022-23.
Trace has been playing exemplarily, showing how good teamwork can help a team achieve solid results. While there are definitely strong individual performers in the squad, their teamwork and coordination far exceeds the individual brilliance.
The only downfall for the squad will likely be the international experience or lack thereof, especially against teams that play a similar style like G2 Esports or Fnatic. That said, regardless of where they finish, the team has already made a strong impression for their first international showing.
EDward Gaming
The first seed out of China definitely looks in a better form than they did in Shanghai. The team looks rejuvenated and only lost the first seed by a slim margin. Contrary to their compatriots, EDward Gaming relies more on individual brilliance, something that has helped them stay atop Chinese VALORANT for the third year now.
The same also helped them secure a win over their rivals in Paper Rex. Unfortunately, it might not be enough when they play teams that have a more experienced IGL and a much deeper strat book.
G2 Esports
G2 Esports is the most surprising strongest team of the year. The ‘Ascended’ squad led by Valyn with a singular leaf and a rookie icy has been one of the best teams to come out of the Americas, especially in terms of International performance.
The team also out-performed Paper Rex and EDward Gaming to secure the first seed out of the group. They aren’t a team of overperforming superstars, similar to Trace, but they are very fundamentally strong players that perform exceptionally well together.
With their strong performance in the group stage, the squad will be a contender to make a deep run in the Playoffs.
Leviatán
The home of the final boss Aspas is doing well, despite their loss to Trace Esports, they look like a strong squad. While Aspas is performing well, he hasn’t been taking over the game and they are still coming out on top of most games in Stage 2.
But if the game against Trace told us anything, it is that LEV is easily defeatable and with them taking on G2 Esports, a team very well-versed with them, it’d be a very tough road for Leviatán and they face either Team Heretics or Fnatic, who both can easily take them down.
Leviatán’s reliance on individuality will likely be a reason for their downfall against teams they might face.
Team Heretics
Despite the three representatives of Americas in the Playoffs, EMEA currently has a strong shot of taking it all home. One of these representatives is Team Heretics, a team that, similar to Sentinels, took down Gen.G to secure Playoffs.
Especially for their first international tournament together, the win over the Korean tigers will massively boost the confidence that will come in handy for defeating the EMEA #1. The team has a making of a team that will definitely make a deep run in the tournament.
They are strong contenders and favorites to win it all in the tournament, along with their peers in Fnatic.
Fnatic
The former best team of the world’s resurgence is only second to Sentinels. Despite the weak start to the year, Fnatic has been looking on the upwards. While they did lose their first seed, they have put up a strong performance against the two teams they defeated in their groups.
Coming into the Playoffs, Fnatic will be looking to fix the small mistakes and capitalize better on the strong performances by the individuals to make a deep run.
Fnatic making a strong run is the unlikeliest but they have been making many surprising runs and their resilience makes them a strong contender.
With the teams explained, here are our VALORANT Champions 2024 Playoffs pick'ems:
Check out the detailed preview and predictions of the Opening Playoff Games: VALORANT Champions Seoul 2024: Opening Matches Preview and Predictions
Catch the Playoffs action live on Twitch and YouTube. You can also watch the tournament on VALORANT Esports Website. You can also follow the games on Strafe.
Follow Valorant Champions Tour on X/Twitter for latest updates on Champions 2024.
Stay tuned on Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conference and more.
Featured Image Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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VALORANT Champions Seoul 2024: Opening Matches Preview and Predictions
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