New Agent, immediate impact: Veto’s VCT Kickoff breakdown

Right as the 2025 VCT season came to an end, a new Agent entered the game. The Sentinel Veto was released on October 7, and Kickoff was the first event where he made an appearance in the VCT. Here’s a walkthrough of Veto’s usage across the different regions and which maps he was utilized on the most.

Veto seen in all regions

Pacific

Veto was picked in all four VCT regions, but some favored the Sentinel more than others. The Pacific region chose Veto the most, locking him in 19 times in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Pacific Kickoff. In total, five different teams ran a Veto comp, but one squad leaned into the new Agent more than the rest. Global Esports played a Veto comp on every single map during Kickoff. Their Sentinel player, Go "UdoTan" Kyung-won, locked Veto in for every matchup, favoring him over any other Sentinel.

Other teams, however, only played Veto once or twice during the tournament. In the Pacific, Veto shared the second-highest Sentinel pick rate with Chamber at 12% and even surpassed Cypher.

Americas

In second place was the Americas, where Veto was played 13 times in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Americas Kickoff. More than half of those picks came from Matthew "Cryocells" Dylan Panganiban on 100 Thieves, who locked Veto seven times across three different maps. Three other teams—Cloud9, G2 Esports, and Evil Geniuses—also utilized Veto during Kickoff, but not to the same extent as 100T. Instead, Chamber topped the Sentinel pick rate in the Americas at 20%.

China

China nearly matched the Americas in total Veto picks. Five teams played the new Sentinel a combined 12 times in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - China Kickoff. The distribution was fairly even, with no single team heavily prioritizing the Agent. The favorite Sentinel in China remains Killjoy at a 21% pick rate, with no other Sentinel coming close to that number.

EMEA

EMEA saw the least amount of Veto play across all Kickoff events. He was only brought onto the server 6 times by four different teams in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff. Team Vitality ran a Veto comp three times, with Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov testing out the new Agent. One standout performance came in their matchup against GIANTX, where Vitality secured a dominant 13–0 win on Abyss and Chronicle finished the map with a 20/5 K/D.

Popular on Abyss

Across all regions, Veto found the most success on Abyss. In China, for example, 10 of the 12 Veto picks were on Abyss. The trend was similar in other regions, as most teams that played Veto on Abyss only used him on that map, opting for other Sentinels elsewhere. In EMEA, four of the six Veto picks were on Abyss, often in double Duelist comps. Both China and EMEA picked Veto on three of the seven maps in the pool.

As previously mentioned, Global Esports in the Pacific experimented with Veto on every map in a variety of comps. They not only played him extensively on Abyss but also on Split and Breeze. Meanwhile, 100T used Veto on several different maps, none of which were Abyss. They most frequently utilized him on Corrode in a double Sentinel comp alongside Sage. The Americas did not play any Veto on Split, Breeze, or Bind.

Conclusion

For his VCT debut, Veto saw significant playtime at Kickoff. While some regions leaned into him more than others, he still made an appearance across all four regions. The Pacific, led by Global Esports, favored him the most, while EMEA used him the least. Abyss was clearly Veto’s strongest map of the event, though teams like 100T tested him across multiple battlegrounds.

The type of comps Veto was slotted into also varied by team. Some used him as a solo Sentinel in aggressive double Duelist or double Initiator setups, while others paired him with another Sentinel like Sage for added defensive stability. Veto’s versatility makes him a flexible pick across different comps and maps and based on his Kickoff showing, we’ll likely be seeing a lot more of him as the season progresses.

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