Optic Gaming Valorant is North America’s top team in Valorant And is one of the favorites going into any tournament in the last year. Optic Gaming is strong to the core, be it Marved’s insane controller plays, Yay’s Chamber dominance, FNS’s calling, Crashies clutches, or Victor’s entry. Optic Gaming has been looking like a top 3 team in the world.
The team started as Team Envy, who signed “Together we are terrific.” with aKis, c4Lypso, FNS, mummAy, and kaboose. The team was a constant contender in North America but played second fiddle to most teams, never attaining the success they deserved.
Soon after, Victor, aka food and crashies, joined the roster, and the team started to gain momentum, winning the first VCT NA Challengers but coming in fourth place at VCT NA Masters. The team seemed to be doing well but never really won much.
With Yay and Marved joining in August of 2021, Team Envy looked strong, and with the new roster, they managed to upset Sentinels at VCT Masters 2 Berlin to place second in the tournament. This was their top finish in 2021.
Now 2021 came around, and soon after, Team Envy rebranded to Optic Gaming, and with the new name, the team looked unstoppable. They felt unbeatable. With El Diablo on Chamber, the new Optic Gaming looked like they could beat them all.
Even though the second place finishes at Stage 1 VCT NA Challengers, With the first Masters starting, Optic Gaming lost the first match but returned to qualify for Playoffs. The Playoff Optic Gaming was different.
They beat the Guard, DRX, Zeta Division, and LOUD to lift the Reykjavik trophy.
The fate repeated at Valorant Masters Copenhagen, but this time, Optic Gaming fell to the eventual Champions FPX in a close-fought series to place 3rd in the tournament.
But a solid first place at Reykjavik and the two second-place finishes at VCT NA Challengers made Optic Gaming the first team to qualify for Valorant Champions 2022. With their strong performance and synergy, they are sure-shot contenders to become the best team in the world.
The hurdle comes to post that with Victor Wong and Austin “Crashies” Robert’s contract expiring mid-September, it seems the team would need to renew the contract of these players before the Americas 2023 league if they wish to continue playing with the same squad.
The team has confirmed their wish to continue with the same players, but in case of Optic Gaming is not the team selected for the Americas League 2021, the player’s future will be endangered. This is a dicey spot to be in, and the news about selection would come before the Valorant Champions; we hope it all works out well.
