This article is part of our VALORANT series.
Week 4 of VCT is here as Stage 2 concludes it's first month of play. With upsets throughout the event it's time to look at what is set to be one of the most chaotic weeks of VALORANT yet.
Players to Target
Cryo
When looking at the top players in North America it would be easy to overlook Cryo. The sniper has been grinding with XSET and the team has been consistently coming up just short when everything is on the line. Individually he is a top three players in the region, with a 1.27 rating and 256 ACS over the past three months. Those type of numbers make him an instant target in all fantasy formats and one of the strongest options in North America. Cryo is more than a fantasy sleeper, he is one of the strongest options in the world.
ScreaM
ScreaM might not be the player in Europe anymore, but don't let his "fall" cloud your judgement. This is still one of the top players in the world and a 1.15 rating and 1.17 KD make that clear. ScreaM is absolutely brilliant and takes on a Na'Vi team that should have no answer for his firepower this week. The rifler has been averaging over 150 ADR (154) and has been consistently leading the charge for Team Liquid as they look to return to the international stage at the end of this stage. While he struggled in a disappointing win against Guild Esports, this is a prime spot for a major bounce back for ScreaM and Team Liquid as a whole.
Derke
Derke might just be the player in the world, and the impressive bit is he is just now switching to the star agent, Chamber. The sniper is in immaculate form with a 1.24 rating and 258 ACS, as well as a 1.27 KD in the past three months. Taking on FOKUS, a team that essentially relies on JUGi carrying, and this should be a prime match for Derke to dominate. The Finnish sniper should have the edge over JUGi and should be set to pad his stats with Fnatic having already secured a spot in Stage 2 playoffs. This Fnatic roster is looking like far and away the best team in the world at the moment.
Players to Fade
YaBoiLewis
YaBoiLewis has struggled in the opening matches for FOKUS and it's hard to see him taking any sort of meaningful step forward with FOKUS facing off against Fnatic, the only undefeated team sitting atop the group currently. While his stats over the past three months are relatively average, headlined by his 1.02 rating, his overall form isn't great, and Fnatic is the toughest match in the group. YaBoiLewis might offer plenty to FOKUS as a whole, but this isn't the match to target that.
dapr
Any member of Sentinels being down here in the 'Players to Fade' section is still odd, but this team simply isn't the world beater they once were. In fact this team has started VCT Stage 2 going 0-3, winning only one map. dapr has struggled with this new-look roster, sitting with a 0.94 rating and making little-to-no impact on the map in any match. This roster has some fundamental flaws and doesn't seem particularly close to fixing any of them. Sentinels take on FaZe Clan, a roster that has had their own struggles, but both recent form and the most recent head-to-head between these two rosters points to a comfortable FaZe Clan win. All of that put together knocks dapr out of fantasy contention in all formats.
mitch
Cloud9 made a roster change when Xeta wanted to depart the team and it hasn't worked out for the roster, as they have struggled to put together any sort of consistent form since his departure. mitch has been particularly impacted by the loss and has fallen below a 1.00 rating (0.96) since Xeta has departed the team. This uncertainty around the roster and the addition of curry makes it hard to trust them against Luminosity Gaming, one of the most in-form teams in North America. leaf and Xeppaa may still have some value, but mitch is best left out of fantasy rosters this week.
Stats courtesy of Thespike.gg
