Valorant
With the second week of the 2023 VCT Game Changers EMEA Series 1 group stage wrapping up and the clock begins to count down towards the start of playoffs, there have been numerous questions to speculate over. On top of deciding who the region’s best team in the first split of the season, fans and analysts are also discussing which players specifically have been the best in their role.
Despite the fact the group stage has not yet finished, here are the best players in each position for Week 2 in the 2023 VCT EMEA Series 1 group stage per BLIX.GG. All stats below were cited from VLR.gg. It must be noted that the players whose teams played only one series this week due to forfeited games, such as UNtapped, Rebels Velvet, and Alliance Coven, were not considered in the rankings.
Duelist - Maryam "Mary" Maher of G2 Gozen
Although G2 Gozen suffered their first loss of the group stage, their duelist Maryam "Mary" Maher continued performing at the top of her role in EMEA. Against NAVI Celestials and BBL Queens, Mary put up a total KDA of 104/87/15, 274.4 ACS, 175.8 ADR, and 0.93 KPR, all of which rank among Top 3 overall for Week 3 in the league.
On top of recording 30 kills against NAVI on Lotus–which became the third most kills in a single map this season–Mary also put up 29 first kills and 11 Operator kills, all of which came against BBL.Q. While the conversation concerning the best duelist in EMEA GC may continue well into the end of this year, for now, Mary continues to prove why she deserves to be regarded as one of the region’s very best in her role.
Initiator - Weronika "speedowka" Dabrowska, Guild X
New roster? No problem. Guild X continued their fine form in Series 1 by defeating a resilient Team Falcons Vega and Ninjas in Pyjamas Lightining to sit in second place in Group B behind the undefeated Acend Rising. Chief among those responsible for their impressive showing was their initiator Weronika "speedowka" Dabrowska, who played as one of their best fraggers and highest-ranked player for Week 2.
Besides putting up 101 total kills, 63 assists, and a league third-best 1.31 rating for Week 2, she also played with four agents for both ensuing matches (Breach, Sova, Skye, and KAY/O), highlighting her versatility in the server.
Sentinel - Amy "amy" Lai, Acend Rising
Another week, another showing by Amy "amy" Lai of Acend Rising on Killjoy, and another great performance by the team’s starting sentinel. The 18-year-old Dutch player, who started her pro Valorant career with UNtapped more than a year ago, continues to build her claim towards being the region’s best sentinel as she finished Week 2 with the highest overall rating of 1.36.
Additionally, she ranks as one of the best sentinels for that timespan in numerous categories such as ACS, K:D ratio, ADR, and KPR. Also add to that amy being the team’s best fragger, it’s no wonder Acend remains one of the two remaining perfect teams in the league after Week 2.
Controller - Anja "aNNja" Vasalic, Guild X
As most know, when it comes to defining who the best controller player is in a given event, it’s hard to do so with the use of numbers and statistics. As for controllers, their effectiveness stems from how they use their utility and how they obstruct the enemy to allow their other teammates to deal the finishing blow.
By that metric, Anja "aNNja" Vasalic of Guild X takes the distinction as being this week’s best controller. Despite facing a pair of resilient teams in Falcons Vega and NIP.Lightning. With her play on Omen, Breach, and even Gekko for the first time in her career, she helped the team come out of it unscathed. As such, she finished with 69 assists and a 78% KAST for Week 2, both of which ranked second overall among controllers.
Honorable mention - madv, Team Falcons Vega
This week’s honorable mention goes to 20-year-old Saudi player madv from Team Falcons Vega. Though the team ultimately failed to win a series this week, madv shone as one of the best players in all of EMEA for Week 2 by finishing with a rating of 1.21. Followed by a 254.2 ACS, 164.6 ADR, 0.90 KPR, and a 44% headshot percentage while only using Breach.
For both series against Acend Rising and Guild X, it was madv who led as the team’s highest-rated and most productive player. Such play can be seen when looking at the scoreboard across both series she competed in.
Against Acend, madv finished as the player with the highest rating, ACS, ADR, and was one kill away from having the most in that department also. Against Guild X, madv led both teams in rating, ACS, total kills, and ADR. Despite Falcons sitting nearly at the bottom of the group, madv sits at the top of the list when it comes to the most promising players in EMEA.