This article is part of our VALORANT series.
VCT Masters is in the final four and it's time for the best to separate themselves from the rest. With everything on the line here's a look at some players to target and fade for the final week of VCT Masters.
Players to Target
aspas
Talk about a statement. Coming into VCT Masters many questioned if Brazil could really hang with the best teams in the world. It turns out the question should have been "Can the best teams in the world hang with Brazil?" Aspas looks like one of the best players in the world, and his stats over the last three months are simply ridiculous. A 1.30 rating, including a 1.30 on Jett, his most played Agent. Many, myself included, would tip LOUD as the favorites for the VCT title, and I'd go a step further and say the MVP is aspas' to lose. He takes on OpTic Gaming and yay in the upper bracket final, in what could be the toughest match left in the tournament for the brilliant Brazilian.
f0rsaken
Who saw Paper Rex and f0rsaken being this good coming into VCT Masters? Certainly not me, and it looks like his dominant level is going to keep going. The Jett player has started to bring out Yoru on occasion and it's been an absolutely incredible pick. On Yoru, f0rsaken now has a 1.49 rating, 182 ADR and 304 ACS. Those will do two things: win maps, and win fantasy crowns. f0rsaken and Paper Rex might be in the lower bracket, but they might be one of the best teams left in the tournament and a clash with ZETA DIVISION should be another chance for f0rsaken to shine once more.
Players to Fade
crashies
Credit where credit is due, OpTic have made it further than any other team from North America and have tallied some impressive wins. That credit won't be going to crashies though, as he has been largely mediocre in VCT Masters. As an entry and information player his numbers will always be volatile, but series such as the one against The Guard, where he produced ratings hovering near 0.5 makes crashies a fantasy non-factor. OpTic have the toughest match on the calendar up next, a clash with the red-hot LOUD, and crashies will have to be at his absolute peak to have any chance of competing in the match.
crow
It's really hard to put an exact label on a player's role, but crow's role as an in-game leader is abundantly clear and he makes no qualms about it. On Skye and Breach, crow is often at the front lines and more often than not he ends up dying early and often. While that clearly works for ZETA DIVISION, it makes crow hard to trust for fantasy purposes. Against Paper Rex in the lower bracket it will be hard to trust crow as a fantasy asset, especially with a 0.87 rating and only 165 ACS in the last three months. crow and ZETA DIVISION are, on paper, the weakest team left in VCT Masters, but one thing this tournament has shown us: anyone can beat anyone in VALORANT.
