Ranking all the teams at VCT Masters: Reykjavík

The best VALORANT teams in the world are headed back to Iceland. Just like in 2021, the first international event in the VALORANT Champions Tour 2022 schedule is Masters: Reykjavik – but a lot has changed since then.

Fnatic, runners-up at last year’s Masters: Reykjavík, are making the return trip. The 2021 champion Sentinels did not qualify, however. In fact, none of the teams that won international events last year have qualified.

A new world champion will rise for the fourth consecutive international event. So, who’s even considered the favorites heading into this tournament?

To get you ready for Masters: Reykjavík, here’s a peak at how all 12 teams stack up, as ranked by members of Nerd Street’s editorial staff and the Press 4 to Defuse hosts.

1. The Guard

Six months ago, The Guard did not exist. Now, they might be the best team in the world. From leveling up in Nerd Street’s Winter Championship circuit to qualifying for Masters: Reykajvík, this roster has come a long way in a short amount of time.

It’s a credit to stars like Ha "Sayaplayer" Jung-woo and Trent "trent" Cairns, a great IGL in Jacob "valyn" Batio, and the superb supporting cast of Michael "neT" Bernet and Jonah "JonahP" Pulice. Perhaps above all, it’s the amazing job Matthew “mCe” Elmore has done in scouting and coaching these players who were either unknown or afterthoughts in VALORANT a year ago. Regardless of how well they do in Iceland, this team is already a success story, and winning Masters: Reykjavík would be the cherry on top of their remarkable run.

2. OpTic Gaming

Photo credit: Riot Games

This roster reached the final of Masters: Berlin last year while playing under the Envy banner, then failed to make it out of groups at Champions. Despite watching other teams in North America make changes in the offseason, this roster remained untouched and emerged once again from NA to reach their third straight international event.

While they looked a little shaky during the group phase of Stage 1 Challengers, OpTic beat every team they met in the playoffs, including The Guard. Of course, they turned around and dropped the rematch, showing NA’s two top teams are fairly evenly matched. OpTic were also one of the few teams that experimented with Neon, the newest VALORANT agent, so their adaptability might be a strength in Iceland.

3. G2 Esports

G2’s path to Masters has been a roller coaster ride. They nearly missed out on qualifying for Stage 1 Challengers group stage entirely – then, they see-sawed back and forth between having Oscar "mixwell" Cañellas Colocho and Wassim "keloqz" Cista.

Ultimately, G2 veteran mixwell won out and the team made an impressive lower bracket run in the playoffs that included wins over M3 Champions (the Gambit roster), Team Liquid and Fnatic without dropping a single map. It can be difficult to evaluate G2 at times, but they certainly look like they’re on the upswing now.

4. Team Liquid

Photo credit: Riot Games

Despite only making it in because FunPlus Phoenix could not travel to Iceland, Team Liquid are a worthy representative for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. This roster reached the semifinals of Champions last year and were only one spot away from qualifying for Masters: Reykajvík regardless of the FPX situation.

Team Liquid have a talented group led by brothers Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom and Nabil "Nivera" Benrlitom, and they are certainly of making a deep run in this tournament.

5. KRÜ Esports

The only org that has qualified for every international tournament in the VALORANT Champions Tour since last year is KRÜ. Although the Latin American team looked overmatched at Masters: Reykjavík in 2021, they beat Sentinels and Fnatic to reach the semifinals of Champions.

The KRÜ roster is the strongest of any outside of North America and Europe, with the only difference from last year to today being a new coach.

6. Fnatic

It’s really unfortunate that two of Fnatic’s players will not be making the trip to Iceland. They are expected to be without their star duelist, Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, who tested positive for COVID just days before the team needed to travel to Iceland – though, the org revealed there’s a chance he could join Fnatic in Iceland later.

Fnatic have also suspended Russian player Andrey "BraveAF" Gorchakov after screenshots emerged on Twitter that showed him voicing his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The team’s place in the rankings would likely be higher if they weren’t missing these two. Alliance’s Enzo "Fearoth" Mestari and KOI’s Joona "H1ber" Parviainen will be subbing for Fnatic in Iceland.

7. DRX

Photo credit: Riot Games

The Riot players are from the old Vision Strikers roster that won over 100 series in a row at one point and qualified for Masters: Berlin and Champions. After dominating the Korean VALORANT scene, they entered both international tournaments with high expectations, only to finish 5th-8th at Masters: Berlin and 9th-12th at Champions. They’re still a highly regarded roster, but enthusiasm is tempered this time around.

8. Paper Rex

This squad didn’t win a game at Masters: Berlin last year and failed to qualify for Champions. However, Paper Rex look much stronger this year, as they had a relatively easy run to the Asia-Pacific (APAC) playoffs grand final, where they met – and overcame – their biggest challenge, XERXIA, 3-2. Their roster is largely unchanged from a year ago, and given how much better Southeast Asian teams looked at Champions, their expectations are in line with the region as a whole.

9. XERXIA

This is the group that competed as X10 last year at Masters: Reykjavík and Champions, where they knocked off Envy in the group stage. The one big change to the roster is the loss of charismatic Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong, who has moved on to play Overwatch. At Champions, XERXIA proved they can compete with the best teams internationally, but entering Masters as APAC’s second seed knocks them down a peg.

10. LOUD

Photo credit: Riot Games

Is this the team that finally gets Brazil over the hump on the international stage? Brazilian orgs entered Masters: Reykjavík 2021 with high hopes, given the region’s prowess in other FPS titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rainbow Six: Siege. However, the country disappointed at both Masters events last year before starting to show signs of improvement at Champions.

The members of LOUD are undefeated and have only dropped two maps since first coming together under the name Pancada e Amigos in January. They have some experience on their side, as well, as both Matias "Saadhak" Delipetro and Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi competed at Masters: Reykjavík last year with Team Vikings.

11. Ninjas in Pyjamas

NIP enter Masters as the No. 2 seed from Brazil, beating Leviatán in a best-of-five playoff series to determine the 12th and final team going to Iceland. Given how well KRÜ did at Champions and how poorly Brazilian teams performed on the international stage last year, it’s a little surprising they beat Latin America’s second-best team to qualify. Nonetheless, they’re the clear-cut second best team coming from Brazil, slotting in just below LOUD.

12. ZETA DIVISION

Only Japanese teams have performed worse than Brazilian teams on the international stage, which is why ZETA are ranked last. ZETA lost both of the games they played at Masters: Berlin last year. However, they defeated Crazy Raccoon – the only Japanese team to appear at all three international events last year – in the grand final of Japan’s Stage 1 playoffs to book their ticket to Iceland.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games