- Here are our picks for the top 10 Valorant teams of 2020 from all regions.
- Our picks were based on their performance in First Strike, Ignition Series and vlr.gg rankings.
- Sentinels and G2 are the two biggest teams in the world and we might see them face off at Champions tour.
Valorant shook the global esports scene in 2020 with Riot marketing the game aggressively and hosting some of the biggest esports events of this year. First Strike was the first major esports event for Valorant where we saw the best teams across all regions compete against each other. Valorant esports will go global with the Champions Tour set to be a year-long global esports event. Here are our picks for the top 10 Valorant teams of 2020 who proved themselves at the Valorant Ignition Series and First Strike events.
Asia
Absolute Jupiter
Absolute Jupiter is the best team in Asia currently with two Ignition Series wins and a win at the Galleria Global Challenge 2020. They also won First Strike Japan and have been at the top of the APAC leaderboard ever since. They have a staggering 91% winrate across all competitions, and fans expect them to perform well at the global stage when the Champions Tour kicks off.
Vision Strikers
Vision Strikers is a Korean team formed by former CS:GO team MVP PK. They won two Ignition Series tournaments this year and took home the First Strike Korea title. They compete in both Korea and SEA and have secured a total of 15 titles in Valorant in just 8 months. They have a 100% winrate so far across all major competitions with a 44-0 streak in 2020.
ahq e-Sports Club
ahq e-Sports Club won First Strike Taiwan and Hong Kong and among the top teams in SEA. The team has also secured first-place finishes at the Cyber Games Arena Pacific Open, AfreecaTV Asia Invitational Fall, Valorant Flames Cup 2020 and Taipei Cup 2020.
Europe
G2 Esports
G2 Esports is the most dominant team in Europe and they won 18 out of 18 tournaments they participated in prior to First Strike. Ever since their first Valorant Esports Invitational win, they have been an unstoppable side, but their streak came to an end at First Strike Europe with Team Heretics beating them and going on to win First Strike Europe. Despite not claiming the European championship, they have been the most consistent team across all of Europe this year.
Team Heretics
Team Heretics is a Spanish team that took the world by surprise when they beat G2 Esports and went on to become the First Strike Europe champions. They have an incredible record of 10 tournament wins in just three months. They beat Liquid, G2 and SUMN FC at First Strike and will be looking to take down global heavyweights from NA and Asia at the Champions Tour next year.
FunPlus Phoenix
Chinese organization FunPlus broke into the European Valorant scene out of nowhere with signings from FABRIKEN and ParryParots. Since their inception, they have beaten every top-tier Valorant team out there and ended up winning the first Valorant Contenders Cup. Their performance in First Strike Europe was commendable, but they were unable to secure the win. They are currently third in terms of rankings in vlr.gg, behind G2 and Heretics.
North America
Sentinels
Sentinels and TSM are the two biggest teams in North America, and their rivalry in Valorant is just getting started. The team has pulled off some of the most dominating wins in Valorant with a clean 13-0 victory against Team Dignitas earlier this year at Pop Flash. Ex-Overwatch pro Sinatraa is considered by many to be the best Valorant player in the world with him having some of the best stats in all of the Ignition Series. The team is currently ranked #1 in the vlr.gg leaderboards.
TSM
Sitting at number two on the North America leaderboard is TSM. With eight tournaments in the bag in 2020 and a First Strike 2nd place finish, TSM is shaping up to be one of the best teams in NA. Their win against Sentinels in the Faze Clan Invitational hyped up the TSM-Sentinels rivalry, and we will be seeing them and Sentinels a lot more next year at the Champions Tour.
100 Thieves
100 Thieves headed into First Strike NA tournament with high expectations, but they faced fierce opposition along the way. The team had to beat the top two teams in NA to win the First Strike championship, and they successfully took home the title. They took Sentinels out of contention at the semifinals and beat TSM at the finals to take home the First Strike NA title. The team surprised everyone with their performance at the stage it mattered the most and climbed to the third spot on the NA leaderboard.
Other Regions
Gamelanders
Unlike the other teams on this list, Gamelanders is an org-less team, and yet they managed to become the best in Latin America. The team won 11 championships including the First Strike Brazil, AORUS League and Gamers Club ultimate. They hold the number one spot in the Latin America leaderboards and are the current First Strike BR champions.
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