Is NA better than EU at VALORANT?

It's a question many have been asking for over a year since the pandemic kept the regions from having fair competition against one another. This week's VCT Reykjavik LAN is the first time we have finally been able to test the might of the two regions against each other on an even playing field and early signs are pointing to NA being the superior region over EU. Though that is far from being set in stone.

The North American region came out on top in both of Tuesday's matches between NA and EU region teams. Darkhorse NA team Version1 proved their worth against Team Liquid in a very impressive display of skill, followed by America's top-seeded Sentinels trouncing Fnatic in the next match. The two matches were the first time NA and EU teams have played on LAN in pro-VALORANT history, and as of now, North America is 2-0.

"After seeing Team Liquid play Version 1, and after playing Fnatic, it wasn't as impressive as the legacy is told," said Sentinels player Tyson "TenZ" Ngo in a post-match press conference. "I feel like the narrative [that EU is better than NA] was passed through because of Counter-Strike. VALORANT is a brand new game, and NA has produced some amazing individuals and some fantastic teams." 

"Looking at it on paper, I thought EU would be dominant, but now both the EU teams are in the lower bracket," the player continued. "I would say EU and NA have similar styles, just NA is doing more duel stuff. I think the overly tactical gameplay that EU is trying to produce with zero duelist comps isn't as effective as you think, it might sound good on paper, but individuals can obviously pop off on duelists such as Pheonix and Jett."

"We are definitely the favorites by general consensus, there is pressure there representing your region," Sentinels IGL Shahzeb "ShahZaM" Khan said in a post-match interview. "If anyone is going to represent NA here, it's gonna be us since we have been the most consistent team. That also means all eyes are on us, other teams are prepping for us. We really took our time in the quarantine to reinvent ourselves, build some new comps, people still have a lot to see from us."

Two matches aren't a significant sample size, so there is plenty of time for both regions to adapt and come into their own during this tournament. But it was NA who drew first blood and left a strong first impression. Fnatic and Team Liquid are both very much alive and dangerous in the losers bracket, so NA fans shouldn't count their eggs quite yet. There is still plenty of VALORANT left to play.