Ranking all the teams at VCT Masters Copenhagen

July 5, 2022

by Nerd Street

Masters Copenhagen is the second international tournament of the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 schedule. For the first time in VCT history, an audience will be in attendance for an international tournament. It’ll be a new factor for all the teams competing in Denmark, though some of the teams have competed in front of small crowds during their respective regional playoffs. To get you ready for the tournament, we ranked all 12 teams that will be competing by aggregating rankings from our editorial and Press 4 to Defuse teams. With so many upsets happening at Masters Reykjavík, these rankings might look ridiculous by the end of Masters Copenhagen, but until then, here’s how we think the teams stack up.

12. XERXIA

APAC

VCT 2022 record: 29-7 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 1-2

XERXIA might be at the bottom of these rankings, but they’ve become known for beating the reigning Masters champions OpTic Gaming. At Champions last year, the team formerly known as X10 Crit knocked OpTic (then known as Envy) out of the tournament. At Masters Reykjavík earlier this year, XERXIA beat OpTic in their initial matchup. The two rosters are 2-2 against each other, but they won’t be in the same group in Copenhagen, so Round 5 would have to take place in the bracket stage.

Photo credit: Riot Games

11. KRÜ Esports

LATAM

VCT 2022 record: 18-5 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 0-2

They’re the only team that has qualified for every international tournament in the VALORANT Champions Tour. Unfortunately for KRÜ, the fact they are Latin America’s second seed means they will have to compete in the group stage rather than going directly to the bracket stage. And for the second Masters in a row they’re in a tough group -- a group that contains both Masters Reykjavík finalists, OpTic and LOUD. As KRÜ showed at Champions though, they can compete with the best teams in the world, and if they make it past the group stage they will have certainly earned it.

10. Leviatán

LATAM

VCT 2022 record: 15-6 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: NA

Masters: Copenhagen will be Leviatán’s first international tournament. It wouldn’t be surprising if this team crashed out of the tournament early the way The Guard did at Masters Reykjavík given the lack of international experience. Like The Guard, they’ll make their debut in the bracket stage, so they’re guaranteed a top-eight finish, but that won’t make their tournament run any easier. One advantage they do have is their coaching staff. Rodrigo "Onur" Dalmagro and Martín "Betony" Bourre coached KRÜ last year, so they’ll help the team know what to expect.

9. NORTHEPTION

Japan

VCT 2022 record: 14-4 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: NA

After ZETA DIVISION’s third-place finish at Masters Reykjavík, it was shocking that NORTHEPTION beat them to secure Japan’s slot at Masters Copenhagen. Like other teams making their international debut, NORTHEPTION will likely need some time to adjust to the level of play and different playstyles from around the world. One thing they won’t need help adjusting to is playing in front of a crowd. They played in front of tens of thousands of people at the Saitama Super Arena during Japan’s Stage 2 playoffs.

8. Guild Esports

EMEA

VCT 2022 record: 17-7 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: NA

Guild are another team making their international debut. Unfortunately for them, they’re in a group with teams that have a ton of experience on a global stage. Their initial matchup is against OpTic Gaming, and their next matchup will be against either LOUD or KRÜ. Being EMEA’s third seed, there aren’t high expectations for Guild, especially based on how poorly EMEA teams did at Masters Reykjavík 2022. However, if the EMEA teams prove to be as strong as they were last year, then watch out for Guild to be the big surprise in their group.

7. DRX

Korea

VCT 2022 record: 24-3 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 3-2

There have been high expectations for DRX (formerly Vision Strikers) going into every international tournament for which they have qualified. They haven’t exactly delivered on the hype, but they also haven’t been disappointing. DRX have been competitive at Masters and Champions, and achieved their best finish at an international tournament a few months ago, a top-six placement at Masters Reykjavík. They should make it out of their group and be a difficult opponent in the bracket stage.

Photo credit: Riot Games

6. Paper Rex

APAC

VCT 2022 record: 30-3 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 2-2

Paper Rex proved at Masters Reykjavík that they’re a threat to win Masters Copenhagen. Although they were overshadowed by upstart teams like LOUD and ZETA DIVISION who finished ahead of them in Iceland, Paper Rex were one of the best teams at that tournament. After a fourth-place finish in Iceland, they trounced through the APAC region during Stage 2, only dropping one match. Once again the Singaporean team will start Masters in the bracket stage.

5. FunPlus Phoenix

EMEA

VCT 2022 record: 23-6 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: NA

FPX qualified for Masters Reykjavík but didn’t actually go due to travel restrictions for their Russian and Ukrainian players. A report from Dexerto indicates Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky, Dmitry "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin and Kyrylo "ANGE1" Karasov once again might not be able to make it, though the team would be allowed to field substitutes in their place. Dot Esports reported the team is optimistic ANGE1 will go and gave the two Russians a 50/50 chance. FPX’s place in these rankings is a reflection of how good this team is at full strength -- they could be one of the best in the world. However, if they do have to use multiple substitutes, then they’ll probably fare about as well as Fnatic did in Reykjavík when they went 0-2 while playing with two subs.

4. XSET

VCT 2022 record: 18-6 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: NA

Although XSET are making their debut on the international stage, they have been consistently one of the best teams in North America with a lot of firepower from Matthew "Cryocells" Panganiban. Plus, they just beat reigning Masters champs OpTic Gaming. However, The Guard did beat OpTic in the North America Stage 1 playoffs grand final and still went 0-2 in Reykjavík. The Guard’s performance in Iceland is a cautionary tale that XSET should learn from in order to avoid crashing out of their first global event.

Photo credit: Riot Games

3. LOUD

Brazil

VCT 2022 record: 24-1 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 3-1

LOUD’s only loss this year was the Masters Reykjavík grand final. Let that sink in for a bit. It was in a rematch with OpTic Gaming, whom they had beaten in the grand final, so we know they can beat them. LOUD continued to dominate during VCT Stage 2 in Brazil -- they didn’t even drop any maps. LOUD might be even better now and it would not be surprising at all if they went undefeated and won Masters Copenhagen. Like the two teams ahead of them in these rankings, they have a strong case for being No. 1.

2. OpTic Gaming

VCT 2022 record: 18-7 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 6-2

Will OpTic Gaming become the first team to win back-to-back VCT international events? So far, no team has even made back-to-back finals. The reason OpTic might actually get back-to-back titles is because the double elimination format is a huge benefit for them. They learn so well from their losses, and we saw in Reykjavík that they just don’t lose twice in a row to the same team. They beat XERXIA and LOUD after losing to them the first time they faced them in Iceland. They even beat The Guard after losing to them in the NA Stage 1 grand final. It helps when you have one of the best players in the world too. Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker had the second-best ACS and best K/D of any player in Reykjavík, and he did it with OpTic playing way more maps and rounds than any other team at that tournament.

1. Fnatic

EMEA

VCT 2022 record: 14-4 | Masters Reykjavík 2022 record: 0-2

Despite crashing out of Masters Reykjavík, Fnatic might be the best team in the world. Why? They had to play with two substitutes in Reykjavík so we didn’t see how good they could be against international competition when they’re at full strength. Plus, through the end of last year, their region was considered the strongest in the world. As EMEA’s No. 1 seed, they’ll start the tournament in the bracket stage and should be primed for a longer tournament run than last time. With one of the best IGLs in the world in Jake “Boaster” Howlett and one of the best duelists in the world in Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, Fnatic have come close to winning Masters before, and they are one of the favorites this time around.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games