Top 10 Best Valorant Players of VCT Americas 2023 Regular Season

We took a look at the best Valorant players of the VCT Americas 2023 from each roster who stood as the shining beacon for their teammates in the Regular Season

After over a month of round-robin matches, the Regular Season of the VCT Americas 2023 has concluded, showing us the best talents from North America, Brazil and Latin America. From aggressive Jetts to talented flex players, each squad had someone to count on consistently. Before we head into the Playoffs, here are the best member from every roster of the Americas League –

Erick “aspas” Santos – LOUD

Credit: Riot Games

• Role: Duelist
• VLR Rating: 1.19
• Average Combat Score: 248.3
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.30
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 74%
• Average Damage per Round: 157.0

It’s no surprise to see this 19-year-old on top of every other player in the Regular Season. The Brazilian’s incredible performance in VCT Champions 2022 paved the way for LOUD to win the biggest trophy of the year in Valorant. That wasn’t it for aspas, as he continued to be one of the best Duelists in LOCK//IN and the Americas League.

With Operator and rifles in hand, aspas regularly had been the shining knight every week except for the series against NRG, where his underperformance led to LOUD’s only defeat. So far, we have seen his best look facing FURIA, especially on the second map, where he delivered 26 frags with only 10 deaths, achieving a 1.73 VLR rating.

Nathan “leaf” Orf – Cloud9

Credit: Riot Games

• Role: Duelist
• VLR Rating: 1.13
• Average Combat Score: 249.1
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.16
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 72%
• Average Damage per Round: 157.7

After Jaccob “yay” Whiteaker parted ways with Cloud9, many fans started to garner doubts about the roster’s ability without their star Duelist. However, “one singular leaf” proved the doubters wrong, along with the new additions to the squad. 

leaf started his Ameircas journey by mostly playing Intiator roles, which proved to be a waste of such a great talent considering his performance in the remainder of the tournament on Jett. Right after he was given the role of Duelist, we saw the rise of a new king in North America, as he dominated nearly every game and helped C9 get an 8-1 record. The match against Sentinels was the 19-year-old’s epiphany, securing a 1.53 VLR record playing flex roles.

Victor “Victor” Wong – NRG Esports

• Role: Flex
• VLR Rating: 1.03
• Average Combat Score: 221.8
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.05
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 72%
• Average Damage per Round: 141.1

While expected to see Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks be the most valuable member of NRG in this event, Victor stole the glare of attention with his stellar display. The former Envy player has been one of the most consistent names in North America after joining OpTic Gaming alongside Austin “crashies” Roberts, attending several LAN tournaments and winning 2022’s Stage 1 Masters – Reykjavík.

Similar to most of his career, consistency has been the mantra for Victor in this event, starting strong and outperforming ardiis in many games. The most remarkable rendition of this 26-year-old was against LOUD, a game that ended with a major upset in NRG’s favor, thanks to the member having one of his career’s best looks. The first map was Victor’s playground, as he dominated the best Americas team with an incredible 27-9 K/D and a 1.97 rating.

Agustin “nzr” Ibarra – Leviatán

• Role: Flex
• VLR Rating: 1.12
• Average Combat Score: 214.5
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.21
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 77%
• Average Damage per Round: 139.4

After a short and unsuccessful career in Apex Legends, nzr switched to Valorant under Estral Esports in 2020, helping them win the Latin American First Strike event. The Argentinian quickly got noticed by FURIA, a Brazilian organization under which he participated in two Champions but failed to reach Masters tournaments. The 25-year-old signed with Leviatán on October 2022 after the Chilean team became a franchised roster.

While nzr failed to shine in LOCK//IN, we saw a different look from the 25-year-old in this event, as he was one of the guiding lights for the squad alongside Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena. This duo made Leviatán look like one of the best names in the Americas League, starting hot with a 2-0 victory facing NRG. His best performance, however, came from the series against MIBR, where the Initiator had a 33-11 K/D, scoring a 1.62 VLR rating.

Ethan “Ethan” Arnold – Evil Geniuses

• Role: Initiator
• VLR Rating: 1.04
• Average Combat Score: 207.0
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.04
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 73%
• Average Damage per Round: 133.2

The former Counter-Strike player was a talented name in the Global Offensive scene, winning several S-tier events for EG’s core roster. He switched to Valorant after signing with 100 Thieves, winning only a VCT Challengers under the organization. Even though Ethan didn’t have massive tournament victories under his name, his skill didn’t go unnoticed, especially considering how quickly he got used to the professional atmosphere of a new game.

After a short few months with NRG, the 23-year-old found a new home in Evil Geniuses’ roster in last year’s November. Ethan hasn’t been the most consistent player in this tournament, reflecting the haphazard look of his squad in the first few weeks. However, the games where he popped off allowed EG to get the most crucial victories to reach the Playoffs – and among them, the series against MIBR was the Initiator’s highlight with a 1.88 rating on the second map where he overpowered the Brazilians with a 21-8 K/D.

Zachary “zekken” Patrone – Sentinels

• Role: Flex
• VLR Rating: 1.10
• Average Combat Score: 235.5
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.15
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 73%
• Average Damage per Round: 153.4

Unlike many professionals in the top-tier competition who had a career in CS:GO or Overwatch, Valorant is this young American/Philippine player’s first FPS game, and in a short two years, he has become one of the best Duelist players in North America. After over a successful year in XSET, zekken joining Sentinels came as great news for the roster and its fans, as the squad needed an experienced Raze alongside their star player Tyson “TenZ” Ngo.

The 18-year-old had an incredible run in this VCT, becoming the MVP in 5 out of 9 matches, helping his squad get a 4-5 record. While Sentinels, unfortunately, couldn’t make it to the Playoffs, zekken’s performance nearly made it possible. The Week 3 series against Leviatán was the youngster’s standout delivery, where he led his team to a win on the second map, scoring a 1.63 rating with 29-15 K/D playing Sova.

Matthew “Cryocells” Panganiban – 100 Thieves

• Role: Flex
• VLR Rating: 1.15
• Average Combat Score: 236.1
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.24
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 73%
• Average Damage per Round: 147.7

Mr. 4K was arguably the best member of XSET during his time on the roster, leading the charge of victory for his team as a Duelist. Unlike players like aspas or Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, Cryo is a patient, non-aggressive Jett who fits perfectly in the 100 Thieves lineup after joining the squad only a few months ago.

The first 3 weeks of the Regular Season didn’t show us the best side of Cryocells, as he was trying to find his groove in this VCT. The 20-year-old started to frag out from the Superweek and become more consistent since then. Sadly, 100 Thieves’ 1-2 defeat on their final game against MIBR was the end of the run for the North Americans, a series where Cryo had his most notable performance on Pearl with a 33-17 K/D and 1.52 rating.

Douglas “dgzin” Silva – FURIA

• Role: Duelist
• VLR Rating: 1.03
• Average Combat Score: 233.9
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.11
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 70%
• Average Damage per Round: 142.5

Before joining FURIA’s lineup, dgzin made waves in Brazil’s Tier-2 scene with Gamelanders Blue, and his skills transferred to the franchised league, as the 22-year-old Duelist had been one of the most dependable performers in the roster. However, despite his outstanding contribution, FURIA failed to go far in Champions 2022 and LOCK//IN.

It took the Brazilian a few games to start showing his true potential in the Regular Season. He has enjoyed a great run in the last four weeks of the games, even though all of it didn’t result in victories for his squad. The ex-Crossfire player had a standout delivery facing Sentinels on Haven, a map where his 24-12 K/D and 1.46 rating allowed FURIA to dominate the North Americans. 

Santiago “Daveeys” Ruiz – KRÜ Esports

• Role: Flex
• VLR Rating: 1.08
• Average Combat Score: 239.0
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.19
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 73%
• Average Damage per Round: 154.9

KRÜ had the worst performance of all teams in the Regular Season with a winless 0-9 run, and in all of these losses, Daveeys didn’t lose hope and continued to be one of the best players for his squad. He was one of the only few people in this event to play Initiator, Duelist, Controller and Sentinel roles.

The 22-year-old Colombian had a great look from the very start. However, his best game has to be the series against Cloud9, where Daveeys took control of the second map and defeated the second-strongest VCT Americas team with an excellent 20-10 K/D and a 1.59 rating. 

Matheus “RgLMeister” Rodigoli – MIBR

• Role: Controller
• VLR Rating: 1.08
• Average Combat Score: 239.0
• Kill/Death Ratio: 1.19
• Kill/Assist/Trade/Survive: 73%
• Average Damage per Round: 154.9

Unlike the Pacific League, where many Controller players were on top of the ranking in terms of pure stats, the Americas League was mostly dominated by Duelists. RgLMeister’s story is different as he was MIBR’s best talent in this event while playing Controller roles.

While the Brazilian wasn’t the MVP in most of the games, he was consistently on the top half of the server. Unfortunately, MIBR’s 3-6 record didn’t allow them to reach the Playoffs, but RgLMeister said goodbye by dominating 100 Thieves and disqualifying the North Americans from the Playoffs. In that Best of 3, he led his squad to victory with a 1.37 rating and a 55-38 K/D. 

The Playoffs for VCT Americas 2023 will be starting soon, with 6 of these players continuing their run. Make sure to keep an eye on ESTNN to get exclusive previews, news and rankings of all VCT Leagues.