Teams To Look Out For During VCT 2022 Stage 1

We all expect teams like Acend, Sentinels, Gambit, and 100 Thieves to win their matches in VCT Stage 1 – but what about the other twenty participants? Are any of them able to knock out the teams we listed above? In our opinion, yes, absolutely! Here are 4 rosters that we expect to shake things up in the coming weeks.

Version1

The first team that we think has a great chance of qualifying for a Major and becoming one of the top teams on the NA scene is Version1. In the first NA Open Qualifier, they managed to take first place without losing a single map. Sure, at first, they played against relatively fresh teams for whom this was one of the first tournaments, but then teams like Complexity and Rise came their way… and that didn't break a sweat; they didn't even lose a total of 10 rounds against them.

enny. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/dfccAmvPYy

— Version1 (@version1gg) January 30, 2022

1v3? Not a problem for @zander_fps.@version1gg | #VCTChallengersNA pic.twitter.com/PgCX6Fa4al

— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) January 29, 2022

Luminosity Gaming

After Luminosity Gaming fell short during the Last Chance Qualifiers, we knew they still had a lot of work ahead of them. However, it looks like they've been training hard over the past few months as they showed a really high level of teamplay at the NA Open Qualifiers, which earned them a slot in Stage 1 Challengers. We feel that this team has been given new life, especially with the addition of two new players to the roster – Adam "mada" Pampuch (ex-Andbox) and Brandon "bdog" Sanders (ex-TSM Academy), who added some freshness to the team.

.@bdog2916 clutches the round!@Luminosity | #VCTChallengersNA pic.twitter.com/HXB0stc6OA

— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) February 7, 2022

.@dazzLeGO closes out Fracture with a 3k!@Luminosity | #VCTChallengersNA pic.twitter.com/ompffkUxlf

— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) February 5, 2022

Guild Esports

Guild Esports had some significant roster changes earlier this year, including signing "koldamenta" from G2 Esports. And well, they absolutely rocked the first EMEA Qualifier; no one can take that away from them. They lost only one map in the entire qualifier and won the final against Team Vitality 3:0 in beautiful style. And fun fact – Guild Esports will be in a group with G2 Esports and Acend, two teams "koldamenta" played for in 2021, so get ready for some exciting and emotional games.

SAYF WITH THE TWOFERWe're live https://t.co/jMRJHGuRVr@DSajoof #VCT pic.twitter.com/4kEi9mCi0D

— GUILD (@guildesports) January 15, 2022

They thought it couldn't be done Watch now https://t.co/jMRJHGuRVr#VCT pic.twitter.com/IHWmbt2nzx

— GUILD (@guildesports) January 15, 2022

LDN UTD

British organization LDN UTD formed a new Valorant roster at the end of 2021 that has been doing quite well in online cups, even winning matches against organizations such as Natus Vincere and Tenstar. Although the team is not yet experienced in official tournaments, they really showed off their skills in the Stage 1 EMEA Qualifier #2, taking second place behind G2 Esports. We have to admit that we hadn't heard of these players before, but to be honest, they showed us some really high-quality Valorant in the Qualifiers, especially in terms of teamplay, which is why we think they can be a “dark horse” of this tournament and qualify for Masters at the first attempt. Here's our favorite LDN UTD game from the qualifiers; if you have some spare time, be sure to check it out, as there are some fantastic games being played: