After the conclusion of the first big professional VALORANT<\/em> event of the year, VCT LOCK\/\/IN, the regional seasons began in earnest with their internal circuits, many of which include Challengers events for non-franchised teams.<\/p>
As the North American Challengers tournament moves ahead with its first split, fans are getting an even clearer look at the new meta developing so far in 2023. And there is one statistic in particular that may come as a surprise.<\/p>
In 2022, the Vandal was the<\/em> weapon of choice in professional play. With its strong one-taps and excellent performance at long ranges, the he AK-47-styled rifle had a 72-percent pick rate in full buy rounds at last year’s Masters Copenhagen tournament<\/a>.<\/p>
In contrast, we have seen the number of Phantom purchases drastically increase in professional lobbies in 2023. This was already a trend even before the most recent North American Challengers tournament<\/a>, but the gap between the pick rates for the Phantom and Vandal continues to shrink.<\/p>
So why is the Phantom suddenly coming back in style?<\/p>
There is also consensus that the Phantom has significantly higher first bullet accuracy<\/a>, even at long range, than the Vandal. For professional players with an immaculate aim, this slight difference could make all the difference.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
