5 Teams to Look Out For in 2023 in Valorant

Who are the top teams to look out for in the 2023 Valorant season?

Did you know? VCT Americas League 2023 peaked at 407,000 concurrent viewers during the Sentinels vs 100Thieves match in Week 1. The 2023 Valorant Champions Tour started recently after the conclusion of LOCK//IN in Brazil. The all-new franchise league format means the regular season comprises three main leagues.

All the previous regions were combined into three to promote better competition and make it easier for viewers to follow. North America, Latin America, and Brazil were combined into the Americas League. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa formed the VCT EMEA League. And all the Asia Pacific teams made the VCT Pacific League.

If you want to know who to watch this season, check out our quick list of 5 teams to look out for in 2023 in Valorant.

Valorant Champions Tour 2023

After the Valorant Champions 2022 tournament, Riot Games started the process of transitioning to a franchise league where only teams with approved franchises can compete. From the dozens of teams that previously joined VCT competitions, Riot now limits it to 10 franchised teams per league.

The Valorant Champions Tour 2023 format comprises a single round-robin elimination round, with the three top teams in each league qualifying for the next VCT Masters event. Those nine qualified teams, combined with a bonus slot from the LOCK//IN competition and two invited teams from China, make up the VCT Masters competition.

The 5 Teams to Watch in VCT 2023

There are a total of 30 teams in the Valorant Champions Tour 2023 franchised leagues. However, it can take a lot of effort to watch every game of every league, especially with varied schedules based on time zones.

To make your viewing experience more comfortable and entertaining, we have chosen the five best teams to look out for in this year’s Valorant Champions Tour. When you watch these teams play, you can witness the best talents and most efficient teams in the world of Tier 1 Valorant.

DRX

DRX has consistently been one of the top teams in the world that have yet to win a championship. Known as the top team in Korea, DRX currently has a six-player core made up of MaKo, stax, BuZz, Rb, Zest, and Foxy9.

The team placed 5th-6th in the 2022 Masters Reykjavik and the 2022 Masters Copenhagen. In Valorant Champions 2022, they reached their peak international placement, achieving 3rd in that competition. DRX duplicated that success in LOCK//IN 2023 at Sao Paulo, placing 3rd again after losing to LOUD in the semifinals.

Currently, DRX are competing in the Valorant Champions Tour Pacific League, where they are at the top of the standings with a 5-0 record.

They have dominated every series so far, so it will be interesting to see if any other Pacific teams can challenge them in their regional league. When Masters Tokyo comes, DRX will try to break their curse to finally win their first Valorant championship.

Fnatic

Fnatic has been a very successful team since the very first big Valorant event, placing 2nd in the 2021 Valorant Masters Reykjavik. After that, they struggled slightly, only placing 5th-8th in Valorant Champions 2021 and 5th-6th in Valorant Champions 2022.

They finally won their first chip in LOCK//IN 2023, defeating world champions LOUD after an incredible comeback. Now that Fnatic has broken their own curse, it is exciting to see if they can have a repeat performance in Masters Tokyo.

Fnatic is currently leading in the Valorant Champions Tour 2023 EMEA League standings with a 4-0 record. They are still led by coach mini with a core of in-game leaders Boaster, Derke, Alfajer, Leo, Chronicle, and kamyk.

NRG

After Valorant Champions 2022 runners-up and Masters Reykjavik champions OpTic Gaming failed to qualify for franchising, NRG took their core with the exception of Yay and Marved. They already had their star player, s0m, and picked up ardiis from free agency to form one of the superteams in the Valorant Champions Tour 2023 Americas League.

NRG are currently struggling in the standings with a 1-3 record but is one of the most dangerous teams in the league nonetheless. Their current roster is made up of coach Chet, in-game leader and sentinel FNS, crashies, Victor, ardiis, and sixth man content creator ethos.

Paper Rex

Known for their wild playstyle of “W gaming” where they claim to hold the forward key to just run up on their opponents and kill them, Paper Rex is one of the most exciting teams to watch in the world.

Paper Rex has dominated the APAC region for a while and peaked at 2nd place during VCT 2022 Masters Copenhagen. In the Valorant Champions Tour 2023 Pacific League, PRX currently holds a 3-2 record, but their win-loss record does not reflect the level of their play.

PRX has been experimenting with incorporating their new sixth man, something, in their matches. They usually sub him in for different players in one or two maps in each series. This adds an element of unpredictability to Paper Rex’s performance, but it may become very scary very quickly for their opponents once they figure things out.

The team’s roster is currently made up of coach alecks, in-game leader Benkai, mindfreak, f0rsakeN, d4v41, star duelist Jinggg, sixth man something, and seventh man CigaretteS.

Sentinels

Sentinels are by far the most popular team in the world, but most of their popularity was earned through their incredible success two years ago in VCT 2021 Masters Reykjavik. Of that original roster that dominated the Valorant scene, TenZ is the only remaining active player on the Sentinels roster.

After a streak of shaky performances in the competitions after Masters Reykjavik, Sentinels rebuilt their team for the new franchised league. They picked up world champions Sacy and pANcada from LOUD, dephh, and zekken from XSET, and recently got superstar controller Marved from free agency to be their sixth man.

Sentinels are currently at the middle of the pack with a 2-3 record but still consistently get top viewership in all their matches. They currently hold the record for the three most-watched matches in Valorant history.

Now that you have learned who the most exciting teams in Valorant are right now, watch the different Valorant Champions Tour 2023 leagues to find your new favorite team to root for in the buildup to Valorant Masters Tokyo.