TheSpike.gg has been acting much as HLTV does for the Counter-Strike scene, offering analysis, statistics, and forums for users interested in the world of Valorant esports to stay abreast of how everything seems to be shaking out at the moment, along with tracking when matches are happening and how to view them.
Much like the CSPPA did in Counter-Strike, their initial attempt with rankings were a bit confusing for everyone who viewed them. Granted, they weren’t as bad as CSPPA‘s, but they included a few things that had players and fans alike scratching their heads, such as the inclusion of world rankings when Valorant has yet to pit teams against each other on an international scale.
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Everybody, say ‘thanks, pandemic!’
This doesn’t mean that teams aren’t competing against each other, just that they’re doing so as other esports have taken to: regionally, to ensure that ping isn’t a massively contributing factor that benefits a single team as organizations around the globe attempt to find a singular server.
Yesterday, TheSpike brought out their new rankings based on regions, and it’s hard to argue that they’re not far more accurate than the first pass.
In North America, the Sentinels continue to reign supreme with Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won continuing to shred everyone that dares oppose his team; TSM and Cloud9 are close on their heels as invitational tournaments continue.
It’s worth noting that, as there is yet to be an official esport league coming from Riot, invitationals are the best that we can figure rankings with at the moment, and even those tourneys can be spotty. Consider these placeholders for the moment based on play.
T1, an organization that began extremely strong within Valorant by dominating the first few NA invitationals, is currently found in tenth.
In Europe, G2 Esports holds the temporary crown with NiP and Liquid hot on their heels; FunPlus Phoenix holds the number two spot currently, while forZe is currently in eighth. Bear in mind that, within Europe, Valorant is a bit harder to get to, much in the same way that Counter-Strike isn’t as popular in NA as it is in Europe.
Thus, if and when these two leaderboards are matched head-to-head, Europe could likely succumb to pressure from NA teams.
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Finally, in the region of Asia we have a few unknown names all battling it out, holding much the same pedigree within Valorant that Europe is continuing to struggle with; at the top is Vision Strikers, followed by Jupiter and REJECt. T1 Korea is in fourth, while C9 Korea holds sixth.
Ideally, we can get an organized tournament coming from Riot sooner rather than later which would offer, as Counter-Strike does, specific tournaments that can then relay directly into point systems and more accurate analysis of strengths and weaknesses. Until then, however, this must suffice.