The VCT North America (NA) Last Chance Qualifiers is scheduled to begin in the next few hours. Eight teams from the North American region will battle it out against each other, and the winner at the end of the tournament will book themselves a berth at the Valorant Champions 2022, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul during the month of September later this year.
Two teams from the North American region, namely OpTic Gaming and XSET, have already made it to the finals. The remaining eight teams will battle it out in the VCT NA LCQ 2022 for a chance at joining OpTic Gaming and XSET in the grandest Valorant tournament of them all.
The eight teams that will be participating in the VCT NA LCQ 2022 are as follows:
- Sentinels
- Evil Genuises
- 100 Thieves
- NRG
- Shopify Rebellion
- Cloud9
- The Guard
- FaZe Clan
As expected, all the teams on this list have a power-packed roster. However, here's a list of five talented players that everyone must keep an eye on during the tournament.
Note: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.
Five exceptionally skilled players that everyone needs to look out for in the VCT NA LCQ 2022
5) Asuna - 100 Thieves
Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk is a deadly force to be reckoned with, especially in tactical shooters like Valorant. Asuna will be seen competing in the VCT NA LCQ 2022 as part of the 100 Thieves roster.
Mazuryk has been fairly consistent in his performances over the past couple of months in Valorant. Although 100 Thieves failed to make it through the NA Challengers Stage 2 after losing to FaZe Clan, they definitely should not be counted out with regards to the upcoming tournament.
Asuna was recently involved in a debate on what was the better gun between the Phantom and Vandal. While many other professional players voted for the Vandal, Asuna stuck with the Phantom. Hopefully, we may get to see him put the Phantom to good use in the NA LCQ.
4) Babybay - FaZe Clan
Andrej "babybay" Francisty is an American esports athlete, currently on FaZe Clan's strong roster. Interestingly enough, he's also one of the most experienced players on this list.
Before moving to Valorant, babybay used to be a professional Overwatch player. He's definitely got experience when it comes to participating in high stakes professional tournaments such as the VCT NA LCQ 2022. His experience is certainly something that makes him an asset to the FaZe Clan roster.
It will be interesting to see what plays he comes up with over the course of the tournament. Although he's generally calm and composed, babybay has a surprisingly aggressive playstyle, something that's stuck with him since his Overwatch days.
3) Boostio - Evil Geniuses
Kelden "Boostio" Pupello is yet another Overwatch player who transitioned to Valorant during the second half of 2021 and made quite a name for himself while playing on Skyfoxes' Overwatch roster.
He's been on a few different teams since his shift to Valorant. Before joining Evil Genuises, Boostio was a part of the OTW Esports roster. Despite not seeing much success in tournaments, it would be unwise to disregard Boostio and this team, when it comes to performing at a grand stage.
It will be interesting to see how Boostio and his team perform at the VCT NA LCQ 2022. Evil Geniuses has managed to make a name for themselves in almost every major esports title and will certainly be looking to make a name for themselves in Valorant as well.
2) curry - Cloud9
Rahul "curry" Nemani is an American national who currently plays for the Cloud9 roster in Valorant. Compared to some of the players on this list, curry is fairly new to the Valorant scene.
After retiring from Counter Strike Global Offensive, curry made the transition to Valorant. Following his transition, curry joined the T1 roster first. After a few interesting performances during tournaments, curry was later picked up by Cloud9 to join their roster.
Interestingly, he did represent Cloud9 on an international platform before. He made his debut against OpTic Gaming during the VCT NA Stage 2 Challengers, but didn't see much success. This can be attributed to the fact that he was rather new to the team. However, it's now been quite some time since he's been playing on the Cloud9 roster, so fans could expect an explosive performance from him in the upcoming VCT NA LCQ 2022.
1) Shroud - Sentinels
Gaming legend Michael "Shroud" Grzesiek will be making his Valorant debut alongside the Sentinels roster. Shroud is quite possibly one of the most popular professional players in the esports industry. He's known for his insane performances in Counter Strike Global Offensive, and has always displayed stellar aim.
The entire esports community went into a frenzy when Shroud signed up with the Sentinels roster and decided to compete in the VCT NA LCQ 2022. Thanks to his incredible popularity, all eyes will likely be on him during the tournament.
In fact, it can be safely assumed that the entire Valorant community will be rooting for Shroud and Sentinels. Obviously, the final outcome of the tournament will be something that only time will tell, but Shroud is expected to pull off some stellar performances in the upcoming tournament.