This article is part of our VALORANT series.
VCT Masters is back and it's perhaps the most exciting iteration yet for one big reason: Europe is actually sending it's three best teams, and those three best teams have all five of their players. With Fnatic, FunPlus Phoenix and Guild all looking to avenge the disappointing title defense shown by Europe in VCT Masters: Reykjavik, here's a look at some players to target, and fade at VCT Masters: Copenhagen.
Players to Target
MaKo
Coming into VCT Masters: Reykjavik there was a general sense that VALORANT would continue to be dominated by Europe and North America. MaKo dispelled that sentiment then and he's gone back to Korea to somehow get even better. The Smokes player has a 1.23 rating over the past three months with 230 ACS. Those numbers come in a hyper-competitive Korean region and put MaKo immediately among the top superstars in the world. DRX VS finished in the top six of VCT Masters: Reykjavik but they could be coming for the crown in Copenhagen.
aspas
When people talk about the best players in the world names like yay and marved come up, or my personal pick: Derke. Here's a stat line to look at when that conversation comes up: 1.27 rating, 263 ACS. That comes from aspas competing in Brazil for LOUD, the VCT Masters: Reykjavik finalists. This player has shown an absurd level of late and could be set to lead his team to another deep run in VCT Masters. aspas averages a 1.44 K/D ratio over the last three months putting him among the top players in the world heading into VCT Masters: Copenhagegn.
Leo
Guild have finally qualified for an international event and that means we get to see Leo on the big stage taking on the top players in the world. Leo opens the tournament against the reigning champions, OpTic Gaming, but still finds his way into this portion of the list simply due to his incredible level in EMEA. Leo has a 1.20 rating and 232 ACS over the past three months, and to put in perspective just how good that is in a major region, those numbers compare nearly identically with yay. Leo might not be the biggest name in the world of VALORANT, but he's not someone to sleep on.
Players to Fade
ANGE1
What is there to say about ANGE1? He isn't a bad player but he offers next to nothing for fantasy purposes. Even opening his tournament against XERXIA it's more likely than not that he is a non-factor even in a potential sweep. ANGE1 has led FunPlus Phoenix to a first-place finish in VCT EMEA Stage 1 and now a second-place in Stage 2, but despite that he finds himself firmly in the red section. ANGE1 has a 0.82 rating with only 171 ACS over the past three months of Stage 2.
FNS
FNS has been horrific individually as OpTic Gaming once again fell to a second-placed finish in North America. The in-game leader is brilliant at what he does, often making his teams some of the hardest to play against internationally. There's no points for brilliant strategies though and on the stat sheet FNS compares favorably to just about nobody. OpTic is the favorites for the VCT Masters: Copenhagen title alongside Fnatic, but FNS isn't likely to be a fantasy option.
BlackWiz
BlackWiz comes into VCT Masters: Copenhagen with a 0.99 rating and 183 ACS over the past three months. In normal circumstances those numbers wouldn't be great, but they certainly wouldn't throw someone into the 'Players to Fade' section. The issue for BlackWiz is simply his region. Japan hasn't shown much in VALORANT and subpar numbers in a subpar region don't project favorably to the international stage. BlackWiz and Northeption are the underdogs of the tournament in Copenhagen so there's a chance they could come in with no pressure and shock the world, but that's a risky chance to bet on.
Stats courtesy of Thespike.gg
