2020 is coming to a close soon enough, and so far it has been a monumental year of progress for Valorant and the esports scene. This is a list of the top five North American Valorant players in 2020, and what makes them the best.
#5 Wardell - TSM
Number five on our list goes to Matthew "Wardell" Yu, the Glizzy King with gonads. It is impossible to make a top 5 player list without having Wardell on it, not only because of his undisputed skills but the personality he brings to the game. Wardell is daring and aggressive with his positioning, unafraid to charge forward when the battle gets hot. Most Jett mains will take an Operator shot and Tailwind away, but Wardell says screw that and jumps into the fray. Wardell has personality for days and was instrumental in TSM’s success during the earlier tournaments. He has a clutch mentality and can chain together kills even when the chips are down and the odds are against him. The best part about watching Wardell's play is that even if he misses a shot, Wardell brushes it off his shoulder and goes into the next round with a fresh mindset.
Check out our exclusive interview with Wardell here:
#4 sinatraa-Sentinels
A champion in his right, Jay “sinatraa” Won began his esports career in the Overwatch League, claiming an MVP award, a 2019 Championship title, and an Overwatch World Cup victory. He retired from Overwatch in April and immediately joined the Sentinels to play Valorant competitively. Ever since then, the crew has been a formidable foe to just about every team in the competitive scene currently. It took sinatraa a couple of months to find his footing, but once he did, everything fell into place for the Sentinels. Overwatch is a different game from Valorant and sinatraa brought some of his knowledge of playing Overwatch professionally to his new esport. He normalized the heavy use of abilities, Sova was finally getting some recognition, and for a brief point in time, the Odin was popular. Sinatraa is dedicated to becoming the best and has already proven he is at one esport.
#3 Subroza - TSM
If there is one player that has been the rock for TSM throughout their journey in Valorant so far, it’s Yassine "Subroza" Taoufik. He fills a unique role for TSM, often top fragging on Brimstone or Omen and providing incredible utility in the process. What makes Subroza so great is that he uses these abilities aggressively to conceal his and the rest of TSM’s movements and set up for some sweet plays. He has done the impossible numerous times over, pulling off plays that should not go his way at all. The guy is consistent and more than able to secure kills without the aggressive skillset of Jett and Raze. TSM has done well for themselves so far in 2020, and the smoke placements of Subroza is something that players should be wary of.
#2 mummAy- Envy
This spot was close, but I have to hand it to Anthony "mummAy" DiPaolo, the most consistent and impactful player on Envy. Ever since the pre-organization days of We Are Terrific, mummAy held it together for this squad, not only providing cover on Omen but also claiming more than his fair share of kills. MummAy plays aggressive whether he is on Omen or Jett, and with either agent, he shows up and performs. MummAy uses the smokes to take sneaky positioning and catch the enemy off guard, claiming a few kills before the enemy catches on. Teams that forget to check their corners against Envy get punished by mummAy, and they learn pretty quickly. There is no shortage of star power on Envy’s roster, but in terms of consistency, mummAy holds the title currently.
#1 Tenz- Cloud9 Blue
No top Valorant player list would be complete without Tenz, the uncontested Jett god who put Cloud9 on the map early on. There isn’t much to be said about Tenz that hasn’t already been witnessed by the masses. When you think of Jett players, Tenz is probably the first to come to mind, and for good reason. His Jett play is stellar, and the movement capabilities he showcases with the agent always shocks me. Even more than that, he is proficient in numerous agents, always putting on a showcase that is guaranteed to end up in a frag film. Tenz’s career isn’t filled with tournament wins, but the number of flashy kills he racks up in every series is almost unprecedented. Cloud9 didn’t have the strongest showing early on, and it was the pure skill of Tenz that kept the team in the limelight. Now that he is surrounded by players like Josh "shinobi" Abastado and Skyler "Relyks" Weaver, Tenz is free to take whatever angle he pleases and almost always has backup.
