The first stage of VALORANT Champions 2024 has come to a close. The sixteen teams have been reduced to eight, as playoffs are right around the corner. There were many surprises during the group stage, including the fall of the favorites to win the entire event.
Gen.G’s Year Ends Early
Coming into VALORANT Champions 2024, no team was perceived as stronger than Gen.G. The VCT Masters Shanghai champions were coming off of a four-match win streak to sweep through the Pacific Playoffs and claim their second regional title of the year. That, combined with appearances at every VCT Masters Grand Final this year, made Gen.G look like an overwhelming force.
Yet, ten days after they took the stage on their home turf in Seoul, Gen.G would have to pack their bags and take the train home. Things started well for the favorites, sweeping Sentinels in their opener without breaking a sweat. In the winners match, Gen.G faced off against Team Heretics. The Korean squad took the first map and looked to be on their way to closing out a playoff berth. However, EMEA’s third seed was able to win back-to-back maps in tight fashion for a reverse sweep.
Already, this was a disappointment for Gen.G. Surely; they would at least be able to stomp Sentinels again in the decider match to book a ticket to Incheon for playoffs. Instead, the unthinkable happened. Sentinels played their best game since their win at VCT Madrid many months ago. Not only did they completely change their draft strategy to catch Gen.G off guard, but every player showed up significantly on the server with a 1.14 rating or higher.
Just like that, Gen.G was swept out of the tournament. To have the defending VALORANT LAN champions and best team of the year knocked out this early is a major shock. This result alone ruined most of the pick-’ems for the tournament. It’s truly a heartbreaking end to the year for Gen.G. Hopefully, they come back stronger in 2025.
[VenatusAd]Pacific Down for the Count
While Gen.G’s exit was the most surprising one of the tournaments, Pacific also dealt another major blow with the loss of Paper Rex. The region’s third seed has always been a staple at VALORANT LANs and has made as many top threes as the most successful teams in the world. It always seems inevitable that PRX makes it to the playoffs. This time, however, they would join their biggest rivals in exiting Champs before schedule.
With losses to G2 Esports and EDward Gaming, Paper Rex lost out on the final playoff spot, breaking their streak of LAN Playoff attendances that they held ever since 2022. And with fourth seed Talon Esports clocking in a last-place finish, Pacific has the least playoff-bound teams of any region here at VALORANT Champions 2024.
Only DRX remains in the hunt for Pacific’s first Champs title. The original hope for the region impressed in Group A. They took first seed over Fnatic, EMEA’s number one team. The caveat is that Fnatic has been playing with a different fifth member than usual, but they still are a force to be reckoned with.
Now, DRX carries the torch for the entire Pacific region. In 2023, DRX made every single playoff at VALORANT LAN events. This will be their first playoff appearance of 2024. After missing both VCT Madrid and Shanghai, it is a big chance for DRX to show that Pacific is not just Gen.G and PRX.
China Steps Up
Last year, EDward Gaming made history by becoming the first Chinese team to make playoffs at a VCT Masters or Champs tournament ever. Many expected this to be the real break-in point for China in VALORANT esports. However, results didn’t improve as 2024 rolled in. They missed the playoffs at Madrid and got booted from the Shanghai playoffs without winning a map.
Here at Champs, however, China has made history again. Not only has EDward Gaming qualified for the VALORANT Champions 2024 playoffs, but China has a second team present in Trace Esports. This is easily the most surprising advancement of the group stage. Prior to this, China’s second seed was lucky to even win a map at an international event. Now, their third seed has not only qualified for the next stage but did so by topping Group C.
Due to the upcoming first-round matchup between EDG and Trace, China has already tied its best finish ever at a VALORANT international tournament. The question is if it can break that record and make the top four. Chinese VALORANT is still in its infancy, as it just got its fully implemented regional league this year. If it can show good results and improvement here, it may catch up to the rest of the world very quickly.
Americas On Top
This year, VCT Americas sent a very different core of teams to Champs than we’re used to. There is no OpTic/NRG core, no LOUD or Brazilian core. The league’s Pundits pointed out this because the Americas League was evolving and improving fast. Newer teams and rosters were catching up to the top performers of years past. As the Group Stage carried on, any doubt about whether these teams could perform on the biggest stage in the world was dispelled.
G2 Esports, the second seed, topped Group D with wins over PRX and EDG. Leviatán, the first seed, returned from a loss in the Group C winners match to qualify over EMEA’s Vitality. Even Sentinels, the fourth seed and borderline tiebreak qualifiers, managed to beat the top team in the world to earn their place in the playoffs. As if that wasn’t enough, their third seed, KRÜ Esports, was just one map away from upsetting Fnatic in the Group A decider to steal that playoff spot.
Americas is the best region overall right now in VALORANT. They constantly perform at the highest level, no matter who gets sent to LAN. Now, they have three teams with a shot at claiming America’s second straight VALORANT Champions title. And with Gen.G and PRX out of the way, the road looks clearer than ever.
Of course, the likes of Fnatic, Heretics, and DRX cannot be underestimated. It would take multiple stand-out performances to beat every team that America has to offer. Still, you can never really know what will happen on the stage.
The VALORANT Champions 2024 Playoffs begin on August 14 at 4:00 AM ET / 1:00 AM PT.
