Cloud9 Are the Best North American Team in VCT

Cloud9 settle at the top of the VCT Americas standings after a dominating victory against Sentinels

Going into VCT Americas 2023, one of the biggest questions was which team gets to hold the title of “Best North American Team” in the tournament. More than halfway through the Regular Season, we have an answer, and it’s Cloud9!

The team under coach Matthew “mCe” Elmore intimated Sentinels on their last series, getting a 2-0 win with a 15-round differential score. As the series progressed to the second map, Cloud9 went 11-1 on the defensive side of Fracture, while Sentinels struggled to find the answer on the map they were “pugging out” against MIBR last week.

Cloud9 VALORANT are qualified for playoffs.

Keep doubting us 😉 #C9WIN pic.twitter.com/Ooo82zVCZw

— Cloud9 VALORANT (@C9VAL) April 30, 2023

This show of domination has currently landed them in the #1 spot of VCT Americas, even above LOUD, who haven’t participated in their Week 5 match yet. Moreover, this victory has made C9’s path to the Playoffs clear, and we will likely see them competing with other top 6 squads from the Regular Season.

So far in the tournament, Cloud9 won 5 out of 6 games, with their only loss being against the Brazilian contender LOUD. They are now the best team in their region before the Playoffs, with victories against all fellow North American rosters.

Cloud9’s Roster Change Has Proved the Haters Wrong

The North American Valorant community was slightly baffled by Cloud9’s decision to let Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker go, considered one of the region's best Duelist players. Moreover, they also said goodbye to their IGL Anthony “vanity” Malaspina.

Credit: Cloud9

Those two spots were filled by collegiate Valorant’s Jake “jakee” Anderson and ex-Soniqs player Dylan “runi” Cade, both lacking the Tier-1 experience of the player being replaced. This major roster change received tons of criticism from the community, especially since the new players had large shoes to fill.

Now, after five weeks of excellent performance in VCT Americas, it’s evident that the roster change has worked out for the better for Cloud9. With runi playing multiple roles, jakee in charge of smokes and, of course, leaf returning to his Duelist roots, the blue jerseys have been dominating in Los Angeles.

Credit: Riot Games

Ranking of North American Teams in VCT So Far

With three more weeks remaining of VCT Americas, Cloud9 are several steps ahead of other North American rosters, coming from a 5-1 record. 100 Thieves and NRG Esports are fighting for second place with 3-3 records. Lastly, things are looking awful for Sentinels and Evil Geniuses, as both squads share the bottom half of the standings with 2-4 records so far.

Here are the rankings of North American squads in VCT Americas right now: