This article is part of our VALORANT series.
The final week of VCT Stage 1 is upon us and everything is still in play for both North America and EMEA. With nearly two full months completed the best have separated themselves from the rest, and it's time to look at some players to target and players to fade for the final matches.
Players to Target
Bang
100 Thieves have been laughably bad so far in VCT Stage 1, and yet bang finds his way into the target section simply due to his opponent, perhaps the one team that has been worse, Evil Geniuses. Bang has shown plenty of individual talent, and with how bad Evil Geniuses have been, there is every chance that bang will be able to simply take over the match and put up some huge individual numbers. If 100 Thieves can't beat EG, then it's entirely unsurprising that they navigate through open qualifiers once more.
cNed
cNed is likely the best player in the world, and if he isn't he's certainly in the top five. He gets to close out the first stage with some stat-padding against BBL Esports who have been simply horrific so far. The Jett main offers immense fantasy value with his role and his playstyle, add to that his ability to take over any match and some weak opposition, and this is shaping up to be a huge week for cNed. Acend look like one of the best teams in the world and cNed is a top play against anyone, with a 1.12 rating and 238 ACS over the past three months.
Chronicle
Chronicle has taken his play to a whole new level in 2022 as he was playing second fiddle to nAts and struggling to get the recognition he deserved. Now Chronicle has shown he is one of the best in the world and perhaps the strongest player on Gambit. With a 1.28 rating and 253 ACS in the last three months, Chronicle has been absolutely incredible, add to that a clash against LDN UTD, who have struggled recently, and Chronicle is shaping up to be a huge play in the final week. The only worry for Chronicle is that the match is too low-pressure for Gambit considering they could mentally just take the week off in preparation for a grueling playoffs.
Players to Fade
Dreamas
Dreamas comes into the final match against Gambit, one of the very best in the world, after being blown away by Team Liquid in his last game. It's just a rough run for Dreamas, who has shown the individual talent to shine in the second tier of competition, but has struggled to bring that level to the top tier. Dreamas isn't a bad player, but Gambit is one of the hardest opponents in the world, and can make any player look like a poor fantasy play.
hazed
Stage 1 has been an unmitigated disaster for hazed, who has struggled across the board and has a 0.96 rating over the last three months. The veteran in-game leader for the win-less NRG team is looking more and more like he's going to end up on the chopping block moving forward. The final game against Rise is certainly winnable, but with his absolutely dreadful individual form, it's unlikely that hazed and a demoralized NRG will get over the line in the final week, with an 0-5 stage looking more-and-more likely.
Frosty
It's tough to single one player out as the problem on a team, but for the Pittsburgh Knights it's hard to look past Frosty, who has a 0.82 rating and only 173 ACS in the last three months. Those numbers simply won't cut it with a tough match against OpTic Gaming coming up next. Frosty offers some decent value to his team as an anchor player on Killjoy or Cypher, but nothing he offers even remotely translates to fantasy value and Frosty is best left out of all rosters. Pittsburgh Knights have been surprisingly strong in their first VCT season, but Frosty simply isn't the fantasy asset some of his teammates are, largely due to role.
