A look at VALORANT Champions 2023 predictions made by NA broadcast talent

VALORANT Champions 2023 is slowly approaching and some of the broadcast talent have dished out predictions. If you're familiar with NA VALORANT, then the names making these predictions are people you've watched all year long. Let's dive into their thoughts for the upcoming tournament.

There are plenty of stories to watch as we reach Champions. Teams considered longshots, repeat championships to win, and dynasties to build are at the forefront of the biggest VALORANT event in the game's history.

So, naturally, everyone wants to say their piece when it comes to how they think things will unfold. From pick 'ems to hot takes on social media, VALORANT Champions 2023 is the talk of the town.

Of the NA talent making predictions, you have Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez, Brennon "Bren" Hook, Josh "Sideshow" Wilkinson, Doug "EsportsDoug" Cortez, Arten "Ballatw" Esa, Mimi "aEvilcat" Wermcrantz, and Sean "sgares" Gares. Here's what they predicted:

All but two went with FNATIC as their pick to win the entire thing. If that proves to be accurate, they'll be the only three-time international VALORANT winners and the only back-to-back-to-back winners. If Bren and Balla are right, however, it means we'll see EDward Gaming improve upon their Tokyo performance or Paper Rex finally W-Key their way to a world title.

When it comes to the team that is most likely to be sent packing without a single map victory, many of the VALORANT broadcast talent predicted Chinese teams. Two went with Bilibili Gaming and four imagine it will be FunPlus Phoenix. The odd one out is aEvilcat, who has the suspicion that we'll see EMEA's Giants Gaming head home in this fashion.

There's no overwhelming favorite here. But Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev leads the pack with votes from Goldenboy, Sideshow, and Sean Gares. Two other FNATIC players are in the running as Doug picks Leo "Leo" Jannesson and aEvilcat goes with Emir Ali "Alfajer" Beder. Then you have Balla believing Ilya "something" Petrov will be the difference maker PRX needs at Champions after missing Tokyo and Bren ready to see Zheng "Kangkang" Yongkang receive the honor.

There's no surprise that the NA broadcast talent who spent their time in VCT Americas is picking that region. They all firmly believe Americas will have the most teams in the Top 5 of VALORANT Champions 2023. Except for Balla, who feels there will be a tie at two a piece between Americas and EMEA. Which leaves Pacific or China open for an upset as a potential third Top 5 region according to him.

Lastly, we have the Dark Horse of Champions 2023. The broadcast talent predictions are almost all in sync with this one. Five of the seven believe KRU Esports, who just had an incredible LCQ run, will be the Dark Horse. That could very well happen, but Sidshow and Sean Gares believe it will be EDG. Can the best Chinese VALORANT team really be called a Dark Horse, though? Especially after their performance at Masters Tokyo?

Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and VALORANT coverage as Champions 2023 kicks off.