Top 10 Valorant Players from Champions 2023

Here are the top 10 Valorant players who shined the most at the biggest event of the game this year

Champions 2023 Los Angeles has concluded with Evil Geniuses winning the event as the first-ever North American roster to do so, and we have seen some incredible players show us their talent at this tournament. One of the best parts of this Champions was the domination of rookie players who outperformed the likes of LOUD’s Erick “aspas” Santos and Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev from Fnatic. Moreover, we have seen incredible moments from players who improved a lot this year, especially the older members of EG. 

With all that being said, let’s have a look at the top 10 Valorant players from Champions 2023 according to VLR– and to make this list more interesting, we only picked one player per team who played at least 150 rounds. Let’s begin.

10. Kim “MaKo” Myeong-kwan – DRX 

• Role: Controller
• VLR Rating: 1.06
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 190.5
• Kill-Death Ratio: 0.97
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73%
• Average Damage Per Round: 120.1
• Headshot Percentage: 31%

It’s not a surprise to see MaKo being on top of his team as this Controller was our best player of the Pacific League’s Regular Season. Through his incredible leadership and the masterclass smoke plays, DRX made out of the most brutal group in the Group Stage with a dominating 2-0 run, defeating LOUD in the process.

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Unfortunately, the South Koreans once again failed to go far in the Playoffs, losing to NAVI and Fnatic to end their run. The 21-year-old IGL still performed excellently even through all the struggle of his team, and his best stats come from the Bo3 against Fnatic, where he got the highest kills in the server, with 47-38 K-D and 247 ACS. 

9. Wan “CHICHOO” Shunzhi – EDward Gaming

• Role: Sentinel/Controller
• VLR Rating: 1.07
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 197.9
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.04
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72%
• Average Damage Per Round: 132.5
• Headshot Percentage: 22%

When we are talking about EDward Gaming, their star player Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang or KangKang’s name would naturally come into the minds of many as the best in the team. However, CHICHOO gets to hold that title. 

While the 19-year-old wasn’t the top fragger of his roster in any of the games, his consistency throughout the event allowed the Chinese squad to make it into the Playoffs of their first Champions.

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CHICHOOS’ most notable performance was against the tournament winner EG, where his superior Viper plays allowed EDG to secure Split and start the series with a 1-0 lead. The Viper and Killjoy player ended the Bo3 with the highest ACS (199) in his team and 42-45 K-D.

8. Wang “whzy” Haozhe – Bilibili Gaming

• Role: Duelist
• VLR Rating: 1.08
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 254.3
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.17
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 71%
• Average Damage Per Round: 160.1
• Headshot Percentage: 19%

Before KangKang became popular as arguably the best player from China, whzy was the one to hold the title, and he proved why he deserves to be part of the bigger conversation through his debut at Champions. 

The Duelist helped Bilibili Gaming secure the tournament’s biggest upset by defeating NRG twice, eliminating one of the North American favorites from the Group Stage, and getting his team to the Playoffs.

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BLG’s first match against NRG was whzy best performance of the event, where he did the unthinkable by absolutely demolishing the North Americans on Split with 31-15 K-D. The 20-year-old continued his incredible form, even through BLG’s short Playoffs run.

7. Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee – Paper Rex

Credit: Riot Games

• Role: Flex
• VLR Rating: 1.08
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 192.8
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.07
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 77%
• Average Damage Per Round: 127.9
• Headshot Percentage: 30%

Paper Rex had a wonderful run this year, and players like Wang “Jinggg” Jing Jie and Ilya “something” Petrov from the roster fueled the team’s momentum greatly to secure the Grand Final. However, the best member from the Singaporean group was none other than d4v41, who, through his commendable clutches, kept the squad afloat in potential defeats.

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Unlike something or Jinggg, d4v41 didn’t top frag for the roster as he was in charge of Agents like Viper and Skye, but his consistency made him the best out of the talented members. 

The Pearl game against FUT was the best from this 24-year-old, where he got 20-9 K-D on Skye and led PRX to a dominating 13-4 win.

6. Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin – Natus Vincere

• Role: Sentinel/Controller
• VLR Rating: 1.10
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 193.5
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.20
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 75%
• Average Damage Per Round: 130.2
• Headshot Percentage: 32%

NAVI once again disappointed by failing to go past the Group Stage at Champions 2023, but even during all the hardships, SUYGETSU continued to prove why he is an excellent asset to the team. 

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The 21-year-old had a great start in the NAVI opening duel against Team Liquid, where his prowess helped the squad defeat the EMEA Champions. In that Bo3, SUYGETSU secured an ACS of 192 through 41-28 K-D.

5. Furkan “MrFaliN” Yeğen – FUT Esports

• Role: Initiator/Sentinel
• VLR Rating: 1.11
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 209.7
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.12
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 72%
• Average Damage Per Round: 141.6
• Headshot Percentage: 25%

FUT – the first Turkish team to ever make it to a Champions Playoffs – must thank their in-game leader, who consistently secured the highest number of kills even while calling for the group. MrFaliN had the most impact out of his team, and he even out-fragged the roster’s Duelist in multiple series.

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MrFaliN’s best numbers come from the T1 encounter, a Decider match where winning means securing the Playoffs. In the game, the 22-year-old captain made miracles happen on Pearl, stopping T1 from a comeback with 28-13 K-D and 281 ACS.

4. Kirill “Cloud” Nehozhin – Giants

• Role: Initiator
• VLR Rating: 1.14
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 216.3
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.11
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 75%
• Average Damage Per Round: 139.9
• Headshot Percentage: 35% 

After having a great run in the EMEA LCQ, Giants disappointed in the Group Stage with a 1-2 record. During this fruitless run, the 19-year-old Russian Cloud had commendable form, and after providing consistent performance, he really shined the brightest in the loss against EDward Gaming.

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While his team was lagging behind, Cloud did his utmost best facing the Chinese favorites, securing an ACS of 278, the highest in the server, in the 0-2 series. He had 39 kills and 29 deaths, even more than KangKang from the opposing squad. 

3. Felipe “Less” Basso – LOUD

Credit: Riot Games

• Role: Sentinel/Controller
• VLR Rating: 1.16
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 227.7
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.21
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73%
• Average Damage Per Round: 149.5
• Headshot Percentage: 24%

There’s no doubt that Less has been the best player of LOUD this year, as his incredible consistency allowed the Brazilians to secure the third spot in the event even though many counted them out considering their disappointing Masters Tokyo run. 

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Maps where aspas couldn’t have the team’s back, Less stepped up and dominated the server to keep LOUD alive and defeat Fnatic twice. 

His best moment comes from the victory facing NAVI, where the 18-year-old got 68-37 K-D, surpassing his team’s star player in frags, and secured 254 ACS.

2. Leo “Leo” Jannesson – Fnatic

• Role: Initiator
• VLR Rating: 1.17
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 206.1
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.37
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 82%
• Average Damage Per Round: 138.3
• Headshot Percentage: 20%

Unlike the previous tournaments where Emir “Alfajer” Beder from Fnatic’s lineup reigned supreme, it was Leo who had the best numbers at Champions. 

Like LOUD’s Less, this 19-year-old provided consistency for the squad, allowing Fnatic to secure the fourth spot in the event.

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The Lower Bracket match against LOUD was the best performance out of this Initiator, as he managed to get a K-D of 45-36 and 230 ACS. Sadly, even such an excellent performance wasn’t enough for Fnatic to keep their glory alive, as they lost the series 1-2. 

1. Max “Demon1” Mazanov – Evil Geniuses

Credit: Riot Games

• Role: Sentinel
• VLR Rating: 1.23
• Average Combat Score (ACS): 246.0
• Kill-Death Ratio: 1.39
• Kill/Assist/Survived/Traded: 73%
• Average Damage Per Round: 166.4
• Headshot Percentage: 40%

The best rookie player of 2023, Demon1, has been a gift from the heavens for Evil Geniuses. 

When he replaced Brendan “BcJ” Jensen in the team’s active lineup back in the Americas League, questions started to arise about the decision from the head coach, Christine “potter” Chi, and many people agreed to have her removed from the position. However, it turned out to be the best decision of the North American team, as this newly-found talent continued his glory at the Champions, becoming the MVP of the event.

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This player dominates; it doesn’t matter if he is on Jett or Astra. Out of all the matches, his best numbers come from the Playoffs series against EDG, where he secured a 301 ACS with an incredible 67-42 K-D.