| Flag: | United States |
| Registered: | June 15, 2023 |
| Last post: | August 4, 2025 at 11:47 PM |
| Posts: | 867 |
Yeah he did. Like 3.5 years ago during the games infancy, before he joined the NA scene in 2021 where he was made into the player he is today. He wasn’t born an American but he’s definitely an Americas player.
Edit: I know he’s technically considered an import on the GCD but his playstyle and community is NA.
While I agree that not having a dedicated Cypher is problematic, I think Abyss and Sunset are both maps that Sage would be exceptional at. They’re both stack-strong retake-weak side maps with spam heavy postplants — just reference the PRX comp.
How do they mess up such a simple tactic as jumping off the map? They gave TH 3 orbs, a kill and plant money. I just don’t see how FNC win in elimination match playing like this.
The KJ seems really lackluster compared to LEV’s Cypher and they kept getting flanked regardless of trips. Thoughts on them swapping it out for a Sage for plant securing and retakes? Sliggy seems to think it could work.
All of you are rushing to shit talk G2 but I don’t see enough appreciation for Champs c0m.
I just think it’s the best storyline and it’d be good for a T2 team to win and throw a wrench into Riot’s current system.
Valyn is a better midrounder and has matched Aspas for the kill record while maintaining Mako level consistency. The only think you could argue is that Boaster has a slightly more impressive comeback feat: Lock-In GF 3-11 vs. Shanghai Playoffs vs TH 2-11.
No viper means less A Default pressure on attack and a weak B anchor on defense. Maybe you’d have to swap out KJ for cypher to fill those roles?
Three versions then (Flaw):
Gekko | Sova | Astra | Viper | KJ (B Executes)
Gekko | Sova | Harbor | Viper | KJ (A Anchor)
Gekko | Sova | Astra | Harbor | Cypher (Post Plants)
I love this.
Gekko | Sova | Harbor | Viper | KJ
Makes me wonder how important pop flashes are when you can just use a Dizzy and Cascade to get the same effect.
Edit: you could swap out Harbor for Astra for a better A anchor and global presence and then use her recall stars instead of a cascade to get the same pop flash effect. A bit clunkier though.
The G2/FNC comp has the best coverage and flexibility but requires a team with exceptionally strong attack-side defaults.
Thanks! I didn’t want to make it a popularity contest — Clout is not the same a skill.
That’s a fair point. I do think G2 would then fall back on their Lotus which looks world class. JonahP looks like death incarnate on that map.
I considered placing him fifth but he’s too much an Op crutch and often overheats, leading to him throwing man advantages. You can argue that KK has a higher peak but he’s equally inconsistent. EDG needs him red hot to win while Icy perfectly fills the sacrificial entry role his team demands of him. Look at their H2H on Bind for reference.
G2 probably. They’ve been on an upward trend with Icy gaining immense confidence while LEV looked extremely shaky against TE. I think their Ascent is exploitable and G2 has anti-statted their Icebox before. Even the most recent H2H was close with the first two maps close OTs and G2 taking the third — that 1-3 could have easily been a 3-0. G2 also has a massive advantage when it comes to Pistols with a record of 21-7 across the year.
Map Veto: G2 | Lev
Sunset | Bind | Ascent | Icebox | Haven | Lotus | Abyss
Hopefully it’s a close 2-1 for entertainment but it could be a 2-0 if LEV aren’t in form.
He’s lowkey a flex at this point but his stats tank on anything other than Raze/KJ. I had a hard time justifying Hiro on the list (Cypher/Viper) and the choice was either Alfajer or Flashback and the H2H was clear. Alfa went +17 in a match his team lost 0-2 on KJ.
Duelist
Initiator
Flex
Smoker
Sentinel
IGl
Sayf | Trexx | Patitek | Hiro | Cender
Strong roster but I just don’t seem them winning an international — perpetual 2nd/3rd in region at best.
Pretty sure diamond still constitutes low elo. Players only dip their toes into macro at mid Ascendant. Everything below that is tdm with a bomb minigame.
Icy turns up and G2 slides into GF effortlessly
Don’t forget to emphasize the right words in that sentence: Choked and lose.
We’re talking BO3s my guy. G2 is favored and has been looking more consistent.
There’s a non zero chance that the top 3 teams all end up being Americas teams. Both Sen and G2 are slight favorites on their respective sides of the bracket and I could see LEV making a lower bracket run when things get muddy. I’m definitely not biased.
Then we’d get 4 regional matchups in the first round of the biggest International tournament of the year!
G2. It’ll show you how to appreciate good Valorant.
My money is on G2 but DRX have home crowd buff and Sen look revitalized. Does TH/FNC have a realistic chance?
Yep, G2 permabans PRX’s best map (Sunset) and they play so disciplined, emphasizing anti-strats to the extent that they expose every flaw in non-meta comps. This is especially true against no sentinel comps that G2 can starve of info. They also excel in late round retakes where PRX tend to have utility deficits because of their tendency overextend before bomb is down.
Recency bias goes hard. Would be hilarious if EDG make a comeback and eliminate PRX.
Their only real competition was TH and GenG. They have a really strong chance to take the trophy.
He’s just a bit inconsistent. He has the makings of an A+ Duelist but he disappears some maps and it’ll take some more experience for him to comfortably let loose and make those explosive hero plays we expect from world class duelists.
G2 is undoubtably good. They excel at incredibly disciplined teamplay without centering their plans on a star player. You’ll often see a completely even scoreboard across all five players because they bait and trade for each other. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say they have the best synergy and trade spacing.
Their player quality is nothing to scoff at either:
As long as Icy continues to gain confidence and they let him off the leash a bit like they did for that EDG Bind Map, they could win Champs.
12 Sheriff and 15 Vandal. I play low sens and rely on movement if I ever find myself in a situation where I’d have to do a crazy flick.
Current A3 with a 22% HS and 1.01 KD. I guess I’m bad.
It’ll be close with OXG though. Oderus is by far the weakest player of the 10 and Flyuh and Dapr tend to fall in the same range.
It’ll be a question as to whether MxS can compensate for their weaker parts.
He’s putting up higher numbers than N4rrate last year albeit with 240 fewer rounds. There’s no world where a T1 team doesn’t pick him up. NRG, G2, and 100T could all benefit especially since his contemporaries (Jawgemo, Aspas, Zekken, and Oxy) will all have higher asking prices. Brazilian teams could also consider him but Sato and Blowz look nice.
I could see EMEA teams looking into xeus, Izzy, and Kajaak, so I don’t think importing Mada makes sense. APAC is also unlikely to import any duelists after Bleed.
Sova is pretty balanced so there’s nothing to change.
The Skye buff is odd. I think Riot prefers to have agents slot into their own niche instead of seeking out an even “power level.” It’d make more sense to make her dog the recharging signature and have her buy flashes instead. This gives her a stronger presence as the only agent with potentially 3 drones in a round. Your change would force her to decide whether to use the flash for info or to initiate fights which would just make her weaker than Gekko who can do both at the same time.
Gekko already has his own niche and your buff makes him oppressive during pistol rounds but weaker on gun rounds due to the windup. I think a better change would be to remove the possibility of teamflashes and increase his ultimate by one point since that’s what makes him noticeably stronger than his peers.
I like Fade’s prowler buff but it nearly makes Skye’s dog obsolete. The windup for the seize is also necessary because it forces intelligent usage for maximum value — lineups with re-activation for vertical drop — instead of just chucking it down a lane every round. Near 0 windup makes the seize more oppressive than any molly for stalling pushes making it nearly as bad as a deadlock seize but with the added bonus of instakilling anyone caught with a nade/molly combo.
Kayo fragment buff makes it strong enough to break KJ lockdown alone. It needs to be tweaked. I’m cool with the suppress nerf though.
I think a Breach wind up duration buff is the right direction but done in the wrong way. Instead of making it harder to dodge, add an alt fire option that sends out a delayed flash by 0.75 seconds, allowing you to better play off of it with your gun out ready. This gives you the option to swing as the flash is being dodged, allowing for solo playmaking.
Yeah he looks like Wo0t material. EMEA has some ridiculous Flex Talent
I don’t know about sayonara or zeddy but isn’t it kinda insane to rate b1sk over MxS Mada, APK Kaajak, and SUP Izzy?
I just realized they’re eligible for Play-ins offf circuit points. Wouldn’t that make them heavy underdogs?? Also, Kiles is a bit of a fraud no?
I haven’t been able to follow all of the VCLs but I’m aware of OXG, APK, and I’ve heard Türkiye has some notable talent. Who are the favorites for Ascension in their respective regions? And who are players that should definitely be picked up in T1 if they don’t win?
Looks like EMEA teams get a free first win in groups while Pacific and Americas have to duke it out.
I’m a G2 fan but I don’t like frauds. Shave please.
It’s really close. G2 have the better macro but they’re not matching Lev’s firepower so they aren’t consistently converting advantages.
Be caught baiting his teammates and stat padding.
They’re inconsistent.
If they had G2’s micro-teamplay and Valyn level mid rounding, they’d win Champs easily. Part of it is a lack of trust in their teammates so they over-value their lives (Aspas Stat Padder Allegations) and part of it is a weaker understanding for some maps.
Trexx and Primmie seem high to me but it’s good otherwise. Wish you included Tex though.
All of you Sen haters are welcome to change your flairs to G2 now that we’re NA’s last hope. Except for Dort — you’re weird.
I’ll see you LATAM brothers in the GF after you crush Boostio in the LF.
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