Decline of Duelists in VCT: Raze and Jett Dominate the Meta
Many regions in the VCT have shifted away from the duelist class this season, leaving a majority of these agents behind in favor of two specific agents.
Raze and Jett have thrived in the current VALORANT meta, while other duelist agents have been left untouched. According to vlr.gg, the Americas League featured the forgotten duelists in only five out of 55 matches.
Jett has consistently been the top pick in the Pacific, EMEA, and Americas regions, being selected in over half of the matches played. Raze closely follows, chosen roughly 30 percent of the time.
Yoru had a single appearance against BBL Esports. Natus Vincere picked this teleporting duelist on Fracture, and player Mehmet “cNed” İpek led the team to a 13-8 victory. The Pacific region seems to have more strategies that complement Yoru’s playstyle, as they have played him in three different matches.
Reyna wasn’t chosen throughout the EMEA and Americas Leagues, except for one instance when Talon Esports tried their luck against DRX. Unfortunately, Jittana “JitBoyS” Nokngam failed to make an impact against the South Korean roster.
It seems that each region isn’t particularly interested in using Phoenix either. The fire-wielding duelist was only picked once in each VCT tournament. On the other hand, the newest duelist Neon was chosen 10 times across all regions. While these numbers are better compared to other deserted duelist agents, they still pale in comparison to Raze and Jett.
Related: The Best Agents in VALORANT: Ranked Tier List
This could be seen as a plea from the professional scene. The top tier of pro VALORANT is filled with Raze and Jett players, and there’s a strong possibility that this meta could become monotonous quickly.
The odds are either Reyna, Phoenix, Yoru, and Neon receive buffs to level the playing field, or they will continue to be overshadowed and remain at the bottom of the agent selection pool.
esports, VCT, VALORANT, gaming news, professional gaming, duelists, Raze, Jett, meta, agent selection