Valorant was fully released on 2nd June 2020 and suddenly gained a lot of traction from professional players and streamers. While the game still has a long journey ahead, the best Valorant players are beginning to emerge across different competitions and regions.
Due to a vast variety of roles, unique playstyles, and agents, simply selecting the best Valorant players overall can be a tough task to accomplish. But it is no surprise that the former Overwatch and CS:GO professionals are achieving new heights in this FPS game. With the VCT Master Reykjavik and Masters Berlin concluded, we have enough data to form an opinion.
Without further ado, let’s find out as to who are the best Valorant players in 2021.
Best Valorant Players
1. Jett – Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo
Some deemed him as the Counter-Strike prodigy but after the unsuccessful series of events in the game, TenZ switched over to full-time Valorant streamer for Cloud9. Ever since TenZ achieved the Valorant (now Radiant) rank and in doing so became the first player to achieve it as well, all eyes have been on him.
While doing all the heavy lifting during his time in the Cloud9 Valorant team, TenZ decided to step down from the team to pursue streaming once again. Upon getting the chance to join Sentinels, the best team in North America at the time, he quickly rose to the center stage once again. Stepping up when it mattered the most, TenZ was awarded as the MVP for the grand finals between Sentinels and Fnatic and had a godlike KDA of 1.87 for Valorant’s first international LAN.
2. Reyna – Adil ‘ScreaM’ Benrlitom
Popularly known as the “Headshot Machine”, ScreaM is a Belgian star player for Team Liquid. ScreaM is renowned for his precise aim and thus creating nutty plays. He was the only player to come close to TenZ in terms of KDA during the VCT Masters Two Reykjavik, securing a KDA of 1.77.
3. Raze – Peter ‘Asuna’ Mazuryk
Asuna is an American star player for the 100 Thieves Valorant team. The organization took a gamble on the pub star with the shaky aim and insane movement mechanics and it paid off. Asuna had a great showing at the VCT Masters Berlin and with him turning 18 just this year, the star player has a long journey ahead of him in the world of Esports.
4. Phoenix – Vinícius “noted” Mancinni
This Brazilian player has a unique playstyle and utilizes the Phoenix’s ability kit in a more controller agent style. He recently played for Team Secret and was a former Apex Legends pro.
5. Yoru – Alen ‘Ethos’ Ruan
While this agent is not seen much in the professional scene, Ethos makes everyone question if that should be changed. Ethos combines his mechanical gift along with Yoru’s unique abilities to outmaneuver the opponents time and time again.
6. Brimstone – Jared ‘Zombs’ Gitlin
Zombs is an American controller player for the Sentinels team. Having competed professionally in both Apex Legends and Overwatch, zombs has a deep understanding of the game along with the ability to pop off at any given moment.
7. Viper – Ayaz ‘nAts’ Akhmetshin
Usually, the duelists turn out to be the star players of a team but this Russian player during the VCT Masters Berlin blew the minds of everyone. It can be argued that he was the best Cypher in the tournament as well but his Viper antics on his stream and professional matches cannot be overlooked. He was the primary reason behind Gambit winning the VCT Masters Berlin.
8. Omen – Nicholas ‘nitr0’ Cannella
The star IGL of the dominant Team Liquid in CS:GO stepped into the Valorant scene not too long ago and already made a name for himself. He is highly regarded for his bombsite holds and support as a controller.
9. Astra – Anthony “vanity” Malaspina
Formerly part of the Version1, one of the two teams that qualified from the NA region to VCT Masters Reykjavik, vanity was highly praised for his Astra plays and timings.
10. KAY/O – Joshua ‘Steel’ Nissan
The highly regarded IGL and player Steel has a wide agent pool and can play other agents with just as much ease. The player is known for his big brain plays and the ability to completely outplay the opponents, making him an amazing KAY/O player.
11. Breach – LMNTRIX
This multi-cultural streamer is a Breach main and makes space for his teammates in unique ways. Breach as an agent is not seen in professional play a lot but LMNTRIX’’s plays make a case for that to change.
12. Skye – Tanner ‘TiGG’ Spanu
TiGG is an American player representing Luminosity Gaming in the Valorant professional matches. He is a versatile player best known for his quick Skype plays.
13. Sova – Spencer ‘Hiko’ Martin
This “Inhuman reaction” player currently plays for 100 Thieves. Hiko is a veteran of the Counter-Strike scene and switched over to Valorant after lackluster final years of his CS:GO career. The player is known for his baiting and Sova is a perfect fit for his playstyle and clutch gene.
14. Sage – Hunter ‘SicK’ Mims
SicK is an American professional Valorant player and is the definition of consistency. The player constantly makes match-winning plays and puts out great numbers consistently.
15. Killjoy – Pujan ‘FNS’ Mehta
All is good when FNS steps up for Team Envy. Regarded as one of the great IGLs in Valorant, Team Envy is known to destroy the opposition during scrims. FNS perfectly deploys the Killjoy kit and always remains unpredictable.
16. Cypher – Michael ‘dapr’ Gulino
Known for tea-bagging his opponents in the server, dapr currently plays for Sentinels. His intelligent Cypher kit usage makes him a great anchor on the bomb sites.
So there you have it. Our picks for the best Valorant players of 2021. Let us know if you agree with our picks and if you ever run into a match against these professionals,you will need to learn how to surrender in Valorant.
