Players to watch at VALORANT Masters Madrid 2024
The first international competition of 2024 is on the horizon. Featuring the eight winners across the four regions, VCT Masters Madrid kicks off on the 14th March, 2024.
As previously mentioned, the tournament features some of the best players worldwide. Let’s shine some light on some of these 40-odd players.
Superstar Debutants
Madrid will be an inaugural expedition for a lot of players. These debutants have cemented themselves in their regions. They will be looking to replicate the strong performances on the previous stages now on the big stage.
Let’s list some of the players:
Mohamed “johnqt” Amine Ouarid
The new Sentinels’ IGL helped the team reach their true potential after joining during the 2024 off-season.
Playing the most games in the Americas, Sentinels and johnqt took down NRG and LOUD to become the VCT Americas Kickoff Champions.
Sentinels have not lost an off-season tournament since the two new pieces (johnqt and Zellsis) joined them.
Marshal “N4RRATE” Massey
N4RRATE dominated NA T2 in 2023 but could not qualify for Ascension. For 2024, N4RRATE relocated to EMEA, joining the Karmine Corp rebuild alongside EMEA T2 talent in Tomaszy, marteen and veteran MAGNUM.
To say they surprised everyone is an understatement. They dominated Fnatic to qualify for Madrid and followed it with a VCT EMEA Kickoff victory. N4RRATE himself finished the tournament as one of the highest rated players in the region.
Dominykas “Miniboo” Lukaševičius
The younger Boo brother, Miniboo finished the VCT EMEA Kickoff as one of the highest rated players.
The expectations we had from the Benrlitom brothers were fulfilled by the Boo brothers who looked like an unbeatable duo.
But Miniboo won’t be the only superstar debutant in Team Heretics; ReiNs, WoOT, and Fortnite GOAT benjyfishy will also make their international debut at Madrid.
Kim “Karon” Won-Tae
The former Ranked player with little to no playing experience joined Gen.G in the 2024 off-season, and surprised everyone. Karon and the rest of Gen. G took the Pacific by storm by taking down DRX first and then Paper Rex to become the VCT Pacific Kickoff champions.
Karon played multiple agents and displayed proficiency in each of them, helping Gen. G exceed expectations.
The Returning Giants
With the debutants behind us, we will also see some old faces return to the big stage. Some of these players had amazing Kickoffs and seeing them return to the big stage will be a delight for the fans worldwide.
Tyson “TenZ” Ngo and Zachary “Zekken” Patrone
Lebron and Kyrie of the SEN Cinema dumpstered the whole of Americas’ Tier 1 with their mechanical brilliance.
On their way to secure the Kickoff title, they took down 100 Thieves, Leviatan, MIBR, G2 Esports, NRG Esports and LOUD.
Zekken already looks like a dominant world class duelist and TenZ has returned to his former glory in a new role. Both have stats to back up their names, becoming players to watch at Madrid.
Matias “saadhak” Delipetro
What Saadhak might lack in terms of firepower, he makes up for with ingenuity. After creating a double-controller META in 2023. Saadhak is now forcing a flash meta, led by Phoenix.
The new composition that LOUD runs overwhelms the site defenders making it almost unbeatable if they are allowed the space and execution. Combined with the Saadhak’s leadership, LOUD will be a team to watch.
Ryad “sh1n” Ensaad
Sh1n was an upcoming French talent in 2023 and was a crucial part of Karmine’s success in the previous year.
Unfortunately, Karmine was the biggest failure in the previous year. However, after a rebuild, they looked strong. Sh1n helped the team win some unbelievable rounds and now has the big stage to prove that he is here to stay and take French VALORANT to the next stage.
Kim “Meteor” Tae-O and Kim “t3xture” Na-ra
Meteor and t3xture weren’t the best players in 2023, despite producing some highlights in the year, they fell behind the competition. But a new year is a new you and that is true for both these players.
The rejuvenated Meteor and t3xture are a force capable of taking down teams of DRX’s caliber on their own. The sheer mechanical brilliance of the duo is overwhelming.
It will be fun to watch the duo take on Saadhak’s experience at Madrid.
Honorable Mentions:
Additionally, Paper Rex and EDward Gaming always have eyes set on them and will be a treat to watch. The stars of the team have performed on the big stage and will continue to deliver the best games.
VALORANT Masters Madrid starts 14th March, 2024 with the Swiss Stage, you can read about the tournament here.
Follow the upcoming VCT Masters Madrid on Strafe.
Featured Image Credits: Riot Games