T1, with the help Nerd Street Gamers, hosted VALORANT 's largest event to date on Monday, which showcased legendary names such as Jay "sinatraa" Won, Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek, Fpthoughts.com Spencer "Hiko" Martin and more facing off against a multitude of professional gamers, including many who have already declared their intention of playing VALORANT professionally.
The event, which featured shout casters Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez and Chris "Puckett" Puckett, had a total prize pool of $25,000. Gen.G, to the surprise of many, took home the first place prize of $20,000 and Team Brax, which featured T1's own Braxton "brax" Pierce, Keven "AZK" Larivière and Austin "crashies" Roberts, finished second overall.
The tournament was chock-full of excitement, with no shortage of head clicks and insane clutches that kept viewers on the edge of their seats the whole way through. But it wasn't just the crazy plays that made T1's tournament so significant. The community learned a lot about VALORANT as an esport through watching the game's top talent square off. Here are five of those things that we learned.
1. Gen.G, T1 and Sentinels Are Running The Show
The T1 Invitational was VALORANT 's most competitive tournament yet. For the first time, fans got watch fully formed teams battling against each other in a double-elimination format. Gen.G, the event's champions, proved themselves as one of the top VALORANT teams in the world on Monday. Originally a CS:GO squad called French Canadians, the team was acquired by Gen.G shortly after switching to VALORANT. In their first tournament playing under the Gen.G brand, the young team showed up big. Led by their captain, Keven "PLAYER1 Champagne, they beat every team they faced off against, dropping a map only to Team Brax in the finals. Anthony "gMd" Guimond showcased his skills on information specialist Sova while Danny "Huynh" Huynh had sniper duties on Sage.
Initially, many fans and analysts gave the edge to Sentinels, who recently constructed a roster of former CS:GO pros Shahzeeb "ShahZaM" Khan, Hunter "SicK" Mims, former Overwatch MVP Jay "sinatraa" Won and former Apex Legends pro for Sentinels Jared "zombs" Gitlin. Popular streamer Coby "Dizzy" Meadows stood in for the team's fifth spot. Even with Sentinels' stacked roster, they were taken down by Team Brax in the second round of the winner's bracket and were defeated for good by Team Shroud in the loser's bracket. Despite their struggles this tournament, Sentinels flashed their potential multiple times, and the organization's willingness to go out and sign big name players is a positive sign for the team's future.
The trio of crashies, AZK and brax, along with CS:GO stars Tyler "Ska" Latham and Jonathan " EliGE " Jablonowski dominated their opposition this tournament, proving themselves worthy of being some of the first pro VALORANT players signed to a team. As the competitive scene becomes more and more clear, T1, along with their rivals Sentinels and Gen.G, are looking as though they may be the early teams to be beat.
2. The Best VALORANT Player Is Likely Someone We've Never Seen Before
Via: techspot.com
Despite the tournament being loaded with legendary names and top talent, Gen.G proved that as spectators, we've seen nothing yet. The young squad in their first major VALORANT tournament went out and beat some of the most accomplished players in esports.
Even with the game's similarities to CS:GO , Riot designed VALORANT to be a unique experience. Although it's possible an established pro from another game will come and prove themselves the best, it's more likely that some fresh young talent will emerge and find his calling in VALORANT.
3. We Know Nothing About The VALORANT Meta
Via: beta.playvalorant.com
Similarly, we know nothing about VALORANT's meta. If you thought you were already an expert on VALORANT and its tactics, guess again. Viewers of the tournament saw what were considered the "stronger" teams lose to "weaker" teams who had a better grip of the game's early meta.
Gen.G, seemingly had the greatest understanding. Despite being arguably outclassed mechanically by Team Brax, Gen.G's defense often seemed impregnable and their offense would steam roll through teams caught off guard. Michael "MkaeL" De Luca's Cypher play was masterful, and the information he gained allowed Gen.G's defense to become a brick wall.
The core four of Sage, Cypher, Brimstone, and Breach dominated the event. Mostly every team ran this composition, choosing Sova for the fifth spot if they wanted more information, Omen if they wanted utility or a duelist (Pheonix, Raze, Jett) if they wanted more damage.
The event also saw some teams lose their matches due to the mismanagement of their economy. Even for pro players who have been spending the last month or so playing the game non-stop, VALORANT is hard. It's a game that's easy to grasp and hard to master. As the game matures, we as a community will increase our understanding of it, and the meta will change with us.
4. Bidding Wars Over Top Names Might Not Be The Way To Go
Although fans did get to see some of their favorite players showcase their skills, it were the lesser-known teams that made names for themselves. Gen.G will likely be one of the favorites in every tournament they play now. MouseSpaz took down Team Shroud twice, and traded punches in a very close game against Team Brax in the loser's bracket final.
Players like sinatraa and brax, who were both high-profile signings, did shine but so did lesser known players like mouseSpaz's Yassine "Subroza" Taoufik and Prospects' Ryan "Winsum" Johns. It's possible that the rush for organizations to start bidding wars over big name players may be misguided. It could prove beneficial for teams to do their own scouting, and sign lesser known players for less money.
5. More Insane Head Clicks Are Coming
It's not an overstatement to say that T1 and Nerd Sreet Gamers' tournament was incredibly fun to watch. From Hiko's insane 1v4 clutch to EliGE popping off at every possible moment, VALORANT proved that it can live up to the hype as an esport.
With Riot unveiling their early plans for VALORANT esports, we know there will be more tournaments to come in the near future. As teams fill their rosters with players both known and unknown, the tournaments will become more competitive and more exciting, following in the footsteps of the T1 x Nerd Street Gamers Invitational.
Next: VALORANT vs. Overwatch: An Early Comparison
