All 10 teams competing in VCT: Americas League
Following the conclusion of VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, the 30 partnered VCT teams now head to their separate regional leagues to try and qualify for VCT Masters Tokyo.
Here are all the ten teams competing in VCT: Americas League and what you can expect to see from them this season.
The VCT Masters Tokyo favorites
These are the three teams that are the favorites to qualify for VCT Masters Tokyo and who the other teams will be looking to challenge at the top of the VCT: Americas League.
NRG
The OpTic core of Pujan “FNS” Mehta, Austin “crashies” Roberts, and Victor “Victor” Wong is back in 2023 and reimagined as NRG this year. This time, the team will look to make it back to the top of competitive VALORANT with NRG’s longtime star Samuel “s0m” Oh and duelist Ardis “Ardiis” Svarenieks in place of Jimmy “Marved” Nguyen and Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker. Following the team’s strong quarterfinal finish at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, the team is viewed by many as one of the favorites to represent the Americas at VCT Masters Tokyo.
LOUD
The victors of VCT Champions 2022 and finalists of VCT 2023: LOCK//IN are looking to grab their first title in 2023. VCT Americas may just be that opportunity for this talented team, who were just a couple of rounds away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles. Instead, they will have their first opportunity in the VCT Americas League, where they should be the favorite to represent the league at VCT Masters Tokyo.
Leviatán
Leviatán is built around their 2022 core lineup of Fabian “Shyy” Usnayo, Vicente “Tacolilla” Compagnon, in-game leader Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena, and head coach Rodrigo “Onur” Dalmagro. Now, After a strong year in 2022, Leviatán’s new and improved lineup is even better in 2023. After a strong top 8 finish at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, Leviatán is seen as one of the primary contenders to represent the Americas region at VCT Masters Tokyo. With a history of competing at the international level, can Leviatán make it back to the international stage once more in 2023?
The dark horses of the VCT: Americas League
These are the teams competing in the VCT: Americas League that should prove to be quite troublesome in the quest for VCT Masters Tokyo.
100 Thieves
It’s wild to think that less than a year ago, the core of 100 Thieves was not even a thing. The young core of 100 Thieves first made headlines in VALORANT when they qualified for VCT Champions 2022 with only four months of practice together as a team. Now, in 2023, that talented core has been enhanced following their acquisition of Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban in the 2023 off-season. After a decent showing at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, 100 Thieves have an opportunity to usurp the likes of NRG, LOUD, and Leviatán as they attempt to break into the race for VCT Masters Tokyo.
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses proved that the team is much better than the sum of its parts as they enter VCT Americas 2023. The 2022 Geniuses core of Kelden “Boostio” Pupello, Alexander “jawgemo” Mor, and Corbin “C0M” Lee will be led by head coach Christene “potter” Chi in 2023. In addition, the team has been welcomed by the additions of former 100 Thieves’ Ethan “Ethan” Arnold and XSET’s Brendan “BcJ” Jensen, as the team is set on proving doubters wrong. And after a strong top 16 finish at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, Evil Geniuses might just be a dark horse in the Americas league as they look to make it to their second international tournament.
Furia Esports
This team is underrated and much better than VALORANT fans give them credit for. At VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, the team finished in the top 16 and nearly handed Fnatic their first loss at the tournament. Their play was impressive in 2023 and it will be interesting to see how much better this Brazilian squad can get. While they may not be at the top of the VCT: Americas League, they are a team that can easily upset some of the top teams in the League and create chaos in the standings.
Sentinels
Sentinels are much better than their performance at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN would say. First, they were up against the eventual winners in Fnatic, who only lost two maps throughout the entire event. Second, the team is still getting used to playing with a hybrid English-Brazilian team. Additionally, the team has also recently brought on Marved from OpTic Gaming as the team’s sixth man. With another perspective to help the team move through this growing period, Sentinels will have an opportunity to turn some heads in the VCT Americas League. Just give them some time to gel together.
MiBR
VCT 2023: LOCK//IN was not the best showing for the young Brazilian lineup. After receiving a lot of hype around the team’s aiming talents, the team looked lost and nervous in front of the Brazilian home crowd. Nonetheless, this team is led by former LOUD head coach Matheus “bzkA” Tarasconi, who has a history of helping teams become great in VALORANT. If this team can refine their aggression, they should eventually become a very strong team in the Americas league. For now, expect the team to lose a lot of their games early on in the split, as the Americas league is filled with a number of talented teams. Regardless, the experience of getting more reps against the top teams will be enough to help this team develop by the end of 2023.
KRU Esports
Kru Esports are the only team to qualify for every international VALORANT LAN, but that might change in 2023. After a poor showing at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN, expectations are low for the KRU Esports team going into the VCT: Americas League. Regardless, the consistent schedule of weekly games against the top teams in the league will provide some great practice as this team looks to scale up in 2023. For now, KRU fans should keep their expectations low at the start of 2023, as the Americas League may prove to be a challenge for this team.
Cloud9
Nobody is sure what Cloud9’s lineup will look like at the start of the VCT: Americas League. However, something that we can assure you is that the team will have a full lineup of five players in the league. For now, there isn’t really much else to say about them as their lineup that reached the top 16 at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN isn’t fully intact anymore. As of right now, the team is set to be built around the existing trio of Nathan “leaf” Orf, Erick “Xeppaa” Bach, Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, and head coach Matthew “mCe” Elmore. It will be interesting to see who Cloud9 brings on to round out their lineup in the VCT: Americas League.
How to watch VALORANT in 2023
You can watch the action unfold on VCT's Twitch and YouTube channels.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.