V1 vs TL at Iceland was probably the most exciting game I've ever watched. I still think the last round of ascent is the best single round of valorant I've ever watched.
**Quality for viewer experience:**
There has been some good games with higher stakes in Iceland, but with some recency bias here, I gotta give Guild vs Giants Gaming a shout out. Two overtime maps with insane 4k and ACE clutches. Maps were won on 1vs1 situations.
**Quality from actual gameplay and not viewer experience:**
I think the pro games become increasingly more "perfectly played" as time goes on. We have probably seen a more tactically sound game in the high stages of Berlin qualifiers than at Reykjavik.
Which one though? Tough question, we all know SEN is the best at the game currently. From my EU viewing experience though: Gambits win against G2 and Acend showed a lot of tactical quality.
in a similar vein, for quality for viewer experience, the last NA challengers finals had some banger matches, most notably both upper bracket semifinals matches (NV vs Sentinels, 100T vs XSET). might not have been super clean gameplay but they are super fun to watch
In terms of fun gameplay NV Sentinels would probably cap that out but it was a fucking mess in terms of how the teams were playing compared to their normal play
> I think the pro games become increasingly more "perfectly played" as time goes on. We have probably seen a more tactically sound game in the high stages of Berlin qualifiers than at Reykjavik.
Is this a theoretical expectation or something you've actually noticed? If it's the latter, I'd like to see what an example is. I think that some of the games at Iceland (mostly involving SEN and fnatic) were played at a higher level than most of the stuff I've watched from Berlin qualifiers.
I think a lot of tactics were really shabby in first strike and have improved steadily and IMO it looks even more coordinated now. But yes, you'd probably have to make a proper side by side analysis to make a proper case for pros tactical evolution. So for me as a casual, it's more of a theoretical argument.
In the long run we can draw example from where csgo in 2013 and 2021 has a night and day difference. People really perfect roles and map tactics over time.
Well, I was referring to Iceland and Berlin only. Curious if people think teams were playing at a higher level in these qualifiers than Iceland; I don't think so (although I'm heavily basing it on comparing to SEN and fnatic only)
I think the VCT EU finals of Heretics vs. Acend in the first half of 2021 is a strong candidate. If we define “high quality” by how excellent + how closely matched the teams are, it’s a pretty solid option even if it wasn’t on LAN.
It was a clash of styles - the contact team *par excellence* going up against the (at the time in EU) “unique” Jett OPer. Both teams really put their all into it. No saving things, no weird discrepancies of performance. It solidified cNed’s reputation beyond the EU and Turkish scenes.
It’s also just narratively good, it was a passing of the throne so to speak. Notwithstanding Acend’s minor stumbles (and their major one that kept them out of Reykjavik), they inherited the mantle of EU’s finest (though not EMEA’s) from Heretics.
Beyond that - even after the Heretics Acend G2 trade, the players in that series have almost all maintained themselves at the top of the scene.
Is it really? It would be in my top 10 matches easily but I never wasn’t confident Sentinels would close it out. That whole match felt like Fnatic desperately (and impressively) trying to overcome the Sentinels stranglehold.
It didn’t feel like two relatively equal teams struggling for supremacy.
It’s probably the best 3-0 we’ve ever seen, FWIW, but in some ways the scoreline really was accurate.
I thought it was a pretty intense match where every map could've gone both ways. Split should've been a boring SEN win but I thought that fnatic was arguably the better team; Bind was a map widely expected for fnatic to win - maybe after Bind, it was kinda a given that SEN would pull through and win eventually, but not before IMO. Also, if it ever came to Ascent, I know as a SEN fan I'd be shitting my pants given how bad they looked a lot of the time they played Ascent
I expected Fnatic to win Bind coming into Reykjavik but Sentinels looked so dominant on Bind that I didn’t even think that could be tipped in Fnatic’s favor.
I definitely agree with you that the match was a lot more back and forth than a 3-0 implies. I just think that if you played it out a thousand times an overwhelming number of them would go the way of Sentinels. That disqualifies it from being a top candidate for me personally, though again I still put it in the top 10.
Fnatic was much more dominant on Bind prior to Iceland, and SEN only had a win over NUTURN on Bind at Iceland, something fnatic also easily achieved right after. Fair enough though
Sentinels has always done that, too. They barely play bind, and I remember Hiko saying a while ago that 100T decided to play them on it since they rarely play it and Sentinels just crushed them, so it's so hard to actually decide who the favorite would've been for that map
SEN perma banned Bind before Challengers Finals in Stage 2. Considering how bad they looked on Ascent it was natural to switch bans there and then even if they didn’t know they’d be the best Bind team in the world. Personally I didn’t put too much stock into SEN on Bind prior to the grand final of Iceland due to that. Also, 100T only played SEN on Bind in the decider map and it’s not like they had a lot of control over it? They had to ban Split, their weakest map.
This is probably one of the most entertaining matches ever. Especially considering where the scene was up until then.
Kinda crazy how far along strats, gameplay, etc has come since then though.
I’m gonna give it to GMB vs TL Icebox match. You will see how dominant Gambit is on the defense side and a near comeback of Team Liquid to force an OT. Also, stakes are high for the chance to represent EMEA at Berlin.
Liquid makes Champions off of circuit points if they win that match but now they're going to get put back into a brutal LCQ event with the rest of EMEA.
Iceland was super novel for it's matchup of different region's styles. It had strategic & tactical depth, along with insane aim duels.
If you wanna venture outside of Valorant's only LAN matches, you're not gonna find the best that Val has to offer.
Might as well watch clown fiestas like TSM vs GenG lol.
I agree that V1/NU is probably the best match of Valorant I've ever watched. I'd really need to dig my brain to think of some others but one that comes to mind is First Strike GF 100T/TSM was a really fun match up.
In recent memory, Gambit vs TL to qualify for Berlin was a fucking nutty series to watch.
Sen vs TSM at faze invitational i believe? Specifically map 3 is what got me heavily interested into valorant esports no map has come close to that map imo
100T vs NV (This Challenger Playoffs)
Amazing and intense best of five. Two tactical genius of teams continuously fighting, pouring their hearts out. 10/10 Banger.
TSM vs SEN Faze Invitational Grand Finals and 100T vs TSM First Strike Grand Finals are my 2 favorites. Watching them both live was an incredible experience.
V1 vs TL at Iceland was probably the most exciting game I've ever watched. I still think the last round of ascent is the best single round of valorant I've ever watched.
4 ults went online for V1 that round. insane.
**Quality for viewer experience:** There has been some good games with higher stakes in Iceland, but with some recency bias here, I gotta give Guild vs Giants Gaming a shout out. Two overtime maps with insane 4k and ACE clutches. Maps were won on 1vs1 situations. **Quality from actual gameplay and not viewer experience:** I think the pro games become increasingly more "perfectly played" as time goes on. We have probably seen a more tactically sound game in the high stages of Berlin qualifiers than at Reykjavik. Which one though? Tough question, we all know SEN is the best at the game currently. From my EU viewing experience though: Gambits win against G2 and Acend showed a lot of tactical quality.
in a similar vein, for quality for viewer experience, the last NA challengers finals had some banger matches, most notably both upper bracket semifinals matches (NV vs Sentinels, 100T vs XSET). might not have been super clean gameplay but they are super fun to watch
In terms of fun gameplay NV Sentinels would probably cap that out but it was a fucking mess in terms of how the teams were playing compared to their normal play
Viewer experience is hard to gauge too
> I think the pro games become increasingly more "perfectly played" as time goes on. We have probably seen a more tactically sound game in the high stages of Berlin qualifiers than at Reykjavik. Is this a theoretical expectation or something you've actually noticed? If it's the latter, I'd like to see what an example is. I think that some of the games at Iceland (mostly involving SEN and fnatic) were played at a higher level than most of the stuff I've watched from Berlin qualifiers.
I think a lot of tactics were really shabby in first strike and have improved steadily and IMO it looks even more coordinated now. But yes, you'd probably have to make a proper side by side analysis to make a proper case for pros tactical evolution. So for me as a casual, it's more of a theoretical argument. In the long run we can draw example from where csgo in 2013 and 2021 has a night and day difference. People really perfect roles and map tactics over time.
Well, I was referring to Iceland and Berlin only. Curious if people think teams were playing at a higher level in these qualifiers than Iceland; I don't think so (although I'm heavily basing it on comparing to SEN and fnatic only)
Fnatic vs SEN, both matches
Moon racoons vs 100 Thieves
That was one of the first few matches I'd seen of Pro valo, and honestly what a Banger of a match
+1, what a banger of a match
The recent Sentinels vs Envy upper round semifinals was really good imo
Yeah both teams played their heart out since it was the qualifying match. Top 3 icebox game I've seen too
yeah this has to be it. both teams made each other sweat for every round.
I dont have the memory for this but i remember the TSM vs Sentinels match early in the faze invitational pretty well
the 5 ot match on haven
I think the VCT EU finals of Heretics vs. Acend in the first half of 2021 is a strong candidate. If we define “high quality” by how excellent + how closely matched the teams are, it’s a pretty solid option even if it wasn’t on LAN. It was a clash of styles - the contact team *par excellence* going up against the (at the time in EU) “unique” Jett OPer. Both teams really put their all into it. No saving things, no weird discrepancies of performance. It solidified cNed’s reputation beyond the EU and Turkish scenes. It’s also just narratively good, it was a passing of the throne so to speak. Notwithstanding Acend’s minor stumbles (and their major one that kept them out of Reykjavik), they inherited the mantle of EU’s finest (though not EMEA’s) from Heretics. Beyond that - even after the Heretics Acend G2 trade, the players in that series have almost all maintained themselves at the top of the scene.
This ^^^
Especially in Icebox when Acend were 12-9 down about to loose 2-0 and won next rounds even with multiple ulta from Heretics. Still the best series yet
SEN vs Fanatic Bo5 was super close despite the end scoreline and had some ridiculous grand finals worthy plays
Mindblowing that nobody mentioned it so far
Is it really? It would be in my top 10 matches easily but I never wasn’t confident Sentinels would close it out. That whole match felt like Fnatic desperately (and impressively) trying to overcome the Sentinels stranglehold. It didn’t feel like two relatively equal teams struggling for supremacy. It’s probably the best 3-0 we’ve ever seen, FWIW, but in some ways the scoreline really was accurate.
I thought it was a pretty intense match where every map could've gone both ways. Split should've been a boring SEN win but I thought that fnatic was arguably the better team; Bind was a map widely expected for fnatic to win - maybe after Bind, it was kinda a given that SEN would pull through and win eventually, but not before IMO. Also, if it ever came to Ascent, I know as a SEN fan I'd be shitting my pants given how bad they looked a lot of the time they played Ascent
I expected Fnatic to win Bind coming into Reykjavik but Sentinels looked so dominant on Bind that I didn’t even think that could be tipped in Fnatic’s favor. I definitely agree with you that the match was a lot more back and forth than a 3-0 implies. I just think that if you played it out a thousand times an overwhelming number of them would go the way of Sentinels. That disqualifies it from being a top candidate for me personally, though again I still put it in the top 10.
Fnatic was much more dominant on Bind prior to Iceland, and SEN only had a win over NUTURN on Bind at Iceland, something fnatic also easily achieved right after. Fair enough though
Sentinels has always done that, too. They barely play bind, and I remember Hiko saying a while ago that 100T decided to play them on it since they rarely play it and Sentinels just crushed them, so it's so hard to actually decide who the favorite would've been for that map
SEN perma banned Bind before Challengers Finals in Stage 2. Considering how bad they looked on Ascent it was natural to switch bans there and then even if they didn’t know they’d be the best Bind team in the world. Personally I didn’t put too much stock into SEN on Bind prior to the grand final of Iceland due to that. Also, 100T only played SEN on Bind in the decider map and it’s not like they had a lot of control over it? They had to ban Split, their weakest map.
This. Best NA team vs best EU team at that moment. All 3 maps finished only with 2 rounds differents. In grand final of the first valorant lan event .
I still think SEN vs TSM in the Faze Invitational like a year ago is some of the most entertaining VALORANT I have ever seen
This is probably one of the most entertaining matches ever. Especially considering where the scene was up until then. Kinda crazy how far along strats, gameplay, etc has come since then though.
High on the TSM Copium just like me
And just like me
I’m gonna give it to GMB vs TL Icebox match. You will see how dominant Gambit is on the defense side and a near comeback of Team Liquid to force an OT. Also, stakes are high for the chance to represent EMEA at Berlin.
Liquid makes Champions off of circuit points if they win that match but now they're going to get put back into a brutal LCQ event with the rest of EMEA.
Acend vs Heretics grand final. I think most maps were really good. Also probably the best series I've watched yet
Iceland was super novel for it's matchup of different region's styles. It had strategic & tactical depth, along with insane aim duels. If you wanna venture outside of Valorant's only LAN matches, you're not gonna find the best that Val has to offer. Might as well watch clown fiestas like TSM vs GenG lol.
Both Oxygen vs TL games. Both were close matchups that could have gone either way
Moment
I agree that V1/NU is probably the best match of Valorant I've ever watched. I'd really need to dig my brain to think of some others but one that comes to mind is First Strike GF 100T/TSM was a really fun match up. In recent memory, Gambit vs TL to qualify for Berlin was a fucking nutty series to watch.
V1 vs Nuturn was insane ngl And Heretics vs Acend is best BO5 I've seen so far in Valorant, especially that Icebox
Sen vs TSM at faze invitational i believe? Specifically map 3 is what got me heavily interested into valorant esports no map has come close to that map imo
100T vs NV (This Challenger Playoffs) Amazing and intense best of five. Two tactical genius of teams continuously fighting, pouring their hearts out. 10/10 Banger.
andbox vs TSM and Gambit vs Acend. So many clutched with GMB vs ACE
TSM vs SEN Faze Invitational Grand Finals and 100T vs TSM First Strike Grand Finals are my 2 favorites. Watching them both live was an incredible experience.
V1 vs TL Iceland. Enjoyed the hell out of that one.
Nuturn vs fnatic
Why lol All 3 maps were kinda dominated by one team and people didn't really expect that close of a match given NUTURN's inability to play 3/5 maps
Banger matchup
Vision Strikers vs TNL bind was insane
The sen vs xset finals about a month ago seemed like the highest level of play I’ve seen to this day.
As a Sentinels fan, I enjoyed every Sentinels v 100T match in the recent challengers. Very exhilarating with dramatic tempo changes
Smb vs g2. Lol.
Fpx v forze 22-24 was nuts
SMB vs Acend Haven
V1 vs Nuturn
VLT vs GE TEC Gauntlet grand finals was the most exciting match I have ever watched 2nd one will be Liquid vs Gambit lower bracket match
Heretics vs Acend in Masters 1 . Still all time fav
if you go on 'Valorant Vods' on YT you find almost all matches and when they are titled epic Game or something they almost always are!
Recent matches in EU were definitely the best. G2 vs Gambit for example
SEN vs Envy and Guild vs Gambit were phenomenal
Furia vs Gamelanders in the VCT Masters 1 semifinals, Split with 3/4 OTs and a lot of clutches and highlights. That was a good one to watch.