After the bracket ends we can 100% say every single storyline here is now insane to witness for whover wins
Lemme break it down:
DRX: come in as APAC 4th seed, get knocked down by Fnatic after throwing away a win, if they make an absolutely insane lower bracket run and win it would cap off APAC's year as well as solidify mako's position as the GOAT apac smokes, finally having a trophy to show for all his struggles
TH: kings of coming in 2nd, after getting knocked to the lower bracket in a pretty embarrassing fashion, with not a single one of their fraggers firing except riens, pulling out a mircale run to win champs after losing last year in 5 maps would be an insane run, and would finally give them a real trophy to be proud of
G2: the "golden era" has been getting doubted more and more by everybody, and with everyone calling them "americas farmers" and saying that they've got no real accomplishments, pulling out a lower bracket run, and winning it all after that insane PRX game would be magical for them and finally be able to have a real trophy to make their golden era come true
GX: ara dropped a 0.17 rating today, which I'm pretty sure is literally the worst any player has ever done in a series internationally. To have a comeback from here would be the most insane turnaround we've seen mid international ever, and another one of the most incredible underdog runs we've ever seen
PRX: the team that went from barely making playoffs to winning a masters, being able to lock in a 2nd trophy in the same year tnat people were doubting if they'd even qualify to toronto would be a year exaclty like EG 23, but better. Forsaken with 2 trophies and a masters mvp would finally stop being called "overrated", and something with a tournament that we haven't seen since 2022 yay would eclipse everyone else as the best tournament by a single player ever. Need I say more?
Fnatic: boaster, the man who's been there in every stage of valorant, always at champs playoffs, but never able to capture even a top 3 at the event. This is his white whale, and although he's accomplished anything that you could hope for outside of champs, topping his legacy off by winning champs after replacing derke with a tier 2 rookie, and leo with a man who didn't even make the americas regional playoffs last year would solidify him as the GOAT igl, and chron and alfa would have literally completed VCT in its entirety. Alongside that, crashies would have the completion of his redemption tour on fnatic, and win the champs trophy that his right click on ascent b box denied him in 2022.
MIBR: Dread it, run from it, aspas always arrives. How many Masters 2 tournaments where his teams bomb out do we have to watch and predict that he's washed and doesn't got it will it take before we accept that it doesn't matter who, when, or how, he will always win champs. If mibr wins, it would be on the back of a tier 2 rookie initiator who got kicked off the next team on this list turned igl, and is STILL FRAGGING. Verno is insane, and if they win this event it only shows how good he is as a player to make this work with a team (including himself) with 3 rookies.
NRG: If NRG wins this event, Ethan is the greatest NA player of all time and it's not even close. 2 champs wins on 2 completely different systems, as an IGL one time and as the best initiator in the world the other, with completely different rosters. This team went through a complete structual rebuild with shifting from FNS to ethan and bonkar, and the fact that they're even this far shows how fucking insane bonkar is as a coach, and thank god because he's deserved his praise for so long now. s0m being able to finally get the trophy we've known a player of his caliber can get would be an amazing ending to his career (if he chooses to retire) and skuba and brawk being called up and being 2 of the most deadly players on this roster after not even having a full year together would be incredible. Also, mada. I don't even need to say anything, this guy is just a fucking nuclear bomb. The fact that this team has so many aimers is just insane, and to win champs after not even having a full year together would be an incredible cinderella story.
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