THESPIKE.GG Rankings Update: October 23rd, 2020

Last week, we released rankings that the community was quick to point could be vastly improved. Here’s our second-look at rankings as well as a chance to explain why some teams have moved, or even disappeared. The most important addition will be the results from A.W EXTREME MASTERS ASIA INVITATIONAL, as well as Renegades x NSG VALORANT Invitational, and adjustments based on the lull the VALORANT scene has found itself in waiting for First Strike. This update also means the previously released one, shouldn't be taken into consideration, as it's completely excluded from the history of the teams in our rankings.

##North America

Some noticeable teams are missing or have fallen well down the rankings, Immortals and FaZe Clan, who are quite promising simply haven’t played enough for us to properly rate them, at least not with a three-player core, though their strong showings in the Renegades x NSG VALORANT Invitational should see them back on the list soon. They simply need to play more events to qualify. That is especially true for Immortals, who impressed massively in their first tournament with a new-look lineup and will look to climb back towards the top of the rankings. NYFU find themselves in an odd situation, a poor showing at Nerd Street Gamers - Monthly September, keeps them out of the top three despite their strong performance in the Renegades x NSG VALORANT Invitational. Sentinels retain the top spot, and are the early favorites in North America, though they risk falling down the rankings with no tournaments played in almost two months. TSM find themselves in a similar boat, with both teams making the choice to sit out from Renegades x NSG VALORANT Invitational, a choice that opened the door for Andbox, Immortals and Cloud9. 100 Thieves are quite promising, though don’t make our rankings, again due to their completely new lineup and lack of results.

##Europe

Europe has been less volatile than North America, and houses a clear number one in G2 Esports, who are far and away the top team in the region. The top five in Europe looks about how one would expect: FunPlus Phoenix, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid fill in after G2 Esports, with Fnatic rounding out the top five. FPX is trending in the right direction, and will look to contest the top of rankings, while SUMN FC and Ninjas in Pyjamas have been in fine form as well. Those three teams could quickly find themselves competing with G2 at the very top of the rankings as we head towards First Strike. The lack of events in Europe before First Strike has led to some stagnation in the rankings, especially at the top end, though forZe have jumped on every opportunity and shot up the rankings. Heading into First Strike, Europe looks to be the most contested region, with what appears to be a six-way brawl for second behind G2 Esports.

##Asia

The Asian regional rankings, now expanded outside of just Japan, feature a top two that you could have guessed from a mile away: DRX and ZETA DIVISION who both sit comfortably atop the region, especially following A.W EXTREME MASTERS ASIA INVITATIONAL where they finished first and third respectively. REJECT and T1 Korea round out the top four, as the second best teams from Japan and Korea. Cloud9 Korea join the top 10 after their excellent performance in A.W EXTREME MASTERS ASIA INVITATIONAL that saw them take home the fourth place in what was an all-around stacked tournament. The Asian rankings below the top five are incredibly close, and nearly impossible to separate as we head into First Strike, though weekly tournaments, such as the Clan Battles, could play a big part in splitting the best from the rest.

Moving forward we will look to release the rankings more frequently and give you a better idea of the trends of the various regions. We are also working diligently to add more regions, and work towards providing rankings for every region in the VALORANT competitive scene. This iteration of the rankings sees the departure of the World Rankings as well, as much as we would love to provide those to you, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic we feel that it is much harder to properly rate teams inter-regionally. As always, if you disagree we’d love to hear your feedback in the comments down below. Who do you think tops each region?

Click here to see a full list of all teams in the Regional Rankings!