VCT LOCK IN top 5 most picked agents so far

There are 20 agents in VALORANT, but some are emerging as the favorite picks and hinting at how the meta will turn out for weeks or months to come. In the first three days of VCT 2023 - LOCK//IN, 36 maps were played, and we listed which agents were played the most at the event in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Killjoy

Right now, Killjoy is by far the most useful agent when it comes to utility usage. Especially with her buffed ult, she makes it very easy to defend sites or execute post-plant plays.

Just by looking at her kit, we can see that she has the potential to be very strong on both attack and defense. In ten Haven games, Killjoy was picked eight times, as most of the teams relied on her abilities to hold the C-site. Killjoy’s abilities help players to hold C long while she can take a position between C and B plant sites, mainly holding the double door. We have seen it multiple times when Killjoy players are placed on the defending side.

Killjoy has a 100% pick rate out of four Icebox games that have been played until now. We have seen it on both ends for every team that played Icebox, and she also has a 75% pick rate on Ascent. Only DRX didn’t pick her on Ascent but went for Fade against BBL Esports. She was picked in half of the remaining maps, two on Fracture and Lotus and five times on Pearl.

Killjoy is undoubtedly the best site defender agent in the game. She changed the VALORANT meta by herself, and with the latest patch, Riot is looking to nerf the agent, which will, of course, not affect the teams at the LOCK//IN tournament.

Jett

Jett used to be the game's most famous and picked agent. This year, she is once again the most picked duelist, and teams have restored their faith in the agent. Jett is coming right behind Killjoy on the list with 20 picks over the course of 36 maps played.

She was picked seven times on Pearl with a 70% pick rate. If we look at all the performances of Jett in Pearl matches, none of them are extraordinary, to be honest, except keloqz and BuZz. Most of the stand-out performances were shown by other agents, and Jett players only helped their teams in terms of firepower. Back in the day, we would see 30-kill performances from Jett players, but times seem to have changed.

Every team picked her on Ascent, as she holds a 100% pick rate on the map, four out of four. Jett is still an important pick, especially when the bomb site entrances are tight and your agent needs strong firepower and belly-dancing-style moves. Her jump and dash abilities allow the player to open up bomb sites for her teammates. Jett has a 60% pick rate on Haven, 50% on Icebox, 25% for Fracture, and 70% for Pearl, and none of the teams chose her before the newest VALORANT map, Lotus.

The meta has surely changed a lot, but with Chamber’s absence from the scene, it is possible that we will see more Jett picks in the upcoming days in Sao Paulo.

Sova

Sova is the third on our list, with a 47.22% pick rate. Giants’ Cloud had an incredible performance with the agent on Icebox and Haven, maintaining a 1.48 rating after two maps. His performance on Haven proved why the agent is a hot pick right now. Sova has a 60% pick rate on Haven, as he was played six times out of ten times.

The agent was the go-to pick for the teams for Ascent and Icebox maps. It is nothing new, as Sova has always been a priority pick for these maps. With the angles on attack and defense, Sova’s utility can be effectively used for the team’s benefit. He was picked six times in ten games of Haven. Sova was picked twice on Pearl and once on Lotus; however, none of the teams picked the agent on Fracture.

One of the most important reasons that Sova is a hot pick right now is that he is the biggest counter to Killjoy’s ultimate. With his ult, players can demolish the opposing Killjoy ult to continue or execute their attacking and defensive strategies without the threat of being detained. Sova’s place in the meta mainly relies on that, but of course, the Initiator also brings important utility in terms of damage and scouting.

Breach

Breach is one of the most effective Initiators in the game with a great kit, especially for attack. He was picked 15 times out of 36, with a pick rate of 41.67%. He is great at helping his team with certain objectives while creating more areas for teammates to execute their plays. Right now, Breach brings a lot more than most of the other agents bring to the battlefield, and that’s what makes him the fourth most-picked agent.

Until now, on Fracture, we saw Breach on both teams, and the agent boasts a 100% pick rate on the specific map. We are sure that this stat will not go below at least 95% until the end of the tournament because Fracture fits the agent perfectly. He was also picked nine times out of ten possible picks on Haven, holding a 90% pick rate on the map. Breach was picked twice on Pearl, and none of the teams chose the agent on Ascent, Icebox, and Lotus.

Breach’s abilities are very useful on Haven and Fracture. As long as teams decide to play these two maps, we will see more Breach picks, and the teams will use the agent for their benefit in most scenarios. He has important weapons in his arsenal, especially for attacking plays. However, there are also scenarios where Breach’s utilities were used perfectly for defense.

Omen

The last agent on the list is Omen. It wouldn’t make sense not to have a smoker on the list as they play a huge role in a team's tactics and compositions. Omen is the most picked smoker agent in Sao Paulo right now. Crws had a great performance with the agent, holding a 1.54 rating against mibr in the first round of the tournament.

Omen is an unalterable pick on the new map, Lotus. It was picked four times, with a 100% pick rate in Sao Paulo. The agent was chosen 7 times on Haven and 3 times on Ascent. However, teams went for different team compositions or Controllers on Icebox and Fracture. Normally we are used to seeing Astra on Pearl, but Omen was picked once by Nivera.

Omen is a Controller that also has strong playmaking capabilities. After the release of Lotus, the agent is back on the most-picked lists once again because it fits the map perfectly. With Ascent and Haven being Omen’s strong maps and that those two are still in the map pool, we expect to see the agent picked more by the teams in the upcoming rounds of the tournament.

You can find all the information, statistics, results, and schedule on the events page. Don’t forget to check our VCT 2023 Hub for future tournaments and more!