It’s been a huge year for Valorant, with plenty of CSGO players making the switch to the up-and-coming esport. It looks like 2021 is going to be even bigger as rivalries heat up and audiences grow.
But who are the cream of the crop? We’ve handpicked the 8 Valorant players that you should be keeping an eye on ahead of the Champions Tour!
Despite only having been released in 2020, Valorant is already shaping up to be the hot esport of 2021 and beyond.
Below are our top 8 players that are bound to make waves in the New Year:
Christian ‘lowel’ Garcia Antoran
Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom
Kirill ‘ANGE1’ Karasiowo
Domagoj ‘doma’ Fancev
Aleksander ‘zeek’ Zygmunt
Yassine ‘Subroza’ Taoufik
Joshua ‘steel’ Nissan
Hunter ‘SicK’ Mims
The reigning champ, Heretics’ lowel, captained the Spanish organization through to a fantastic First Strike Europe win. Alongside this, he’s also claimed the MVP for his phenomenal individual performance – dominating as Sage with unorthodox playstyles and utility usage.
Undoubtedly Sentinel’s unsung hero, SicK is also one to watch. Always able to quickly adapt and mold his playstyle to the shift of the Valorant meta, the pro is continuously proving that he’s got what it takes to do it all, and more.
To find out why we think all 8 of these stars are worth a watch during 2021’s esport season, make sure to check out our video above!
The LCS has kicked off 2021 not with the Spring Split, but with a new tournament called Lock In. Similar to the KeSPA Cup or Demacia Cup, NA’s top teams will duke it out in a pre-season event right before the main season. Here’s what you need to know.
LCS Lock In 2021 is a new pre-season tournament for all 10 teams.
$150,000 in prize money is up for grabs for the winner.
TSM vs 100 Thieves are first up on Day 1.
LCS Lock In: Stream
The LCS Lock In tournament is the 2021 starter for League of Legends in North America. All 10 LCS teams will take part in the two-week competition that gives fans a taster of the year to come.
They’re not playing for pittance either. The winning team will take home $150,000 USD, and a lot of confidence heading into the start of Spring 2021 in February.
LCS Lock In 2021: Teams & groups
As we mentioned earlier, all 10 of the LCS teams will be taking part in the Lock In tournament. Some teams may choose to field their academy rosters instead of their main rosters, but with $150,000 on the line, there’ll definitely be some teams gunning for the flag.
Among them, Summer 2020 champions TSM would be favorites. Having made a number of moves in the off-season, only keeping jungler Mingyi ‘Spica’ Lu, the new squad will have a hard task in front of them. Team Liquid, CLG, and Cloud9 also made some big moves in the off-season to catch back up.
