Record breakers and rising stars: The top 10 VCT Kickoff 2026 players

Kickoff has officially ended in all four VCT regions, and it’s time to take a look at the best-performing players across the world. Here are the top 10 players across the regions who made their mark in the first tournament of the year. Many new and veteran players stood out with incredible performances, but shockingly enough, the Americas region is completely missing from this list.

The players are ranked by ACS (Average Combat Score) and have played a minimum of 300 rounds.

1. Marteen

• ASC: 251,7
• Rating: 1.25

The top-performing player is Martin "marteen" Pátek from Gentle Mates. He had an incredible run in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff, playing only one Agent: Yoru. Not only did he carry his team with a 251.7 ACS, but he also broke the all-time VCT kill record in his match against Fnatic, dropping 126 kills in a Bo5.

marteen has a history of filling in on Omen during his time on Karmine Corp. However, he has fully embraced his Duelist role on M8 and will be a massive threat at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026.

2. splash

• ASC: 251,4
• Rating: -

Moses "Splash" Christophe Jonathan from TYLOO holds the second-highest ACS, just 0.3 behind Marteen with a 251.4 ACS. VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - China Kickoff marked his VCT debut, and he did not disappoint. Neon and Waylay are his favorite Agents, and as a Duelist, he hits sites with confidence, often securing the opening frag to give his team the advantage.

Unfortunately, TYLOO fell in the lower bracket, meaning we won’t see splash on the Masters Santiago stage.

3. Meiy

• ASC: 240.3
• Rating: 1.11

In third place is Ibuki "Meiy" Seki from DetonatioN FocusMe. Although his rating isn’t the highest, he made a massive impact with a 240.3 ACS during VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Pacific Kickoff. Like many others on this list, Meiy is a Duelist and has been with DetonatioN FocusMe for two years.

He plays a wide variety of Agents and has no issue taking space on any of them. DetonatioN FocusMe have yet to attend an international event and won’t be heading to Masters Santiago after their lower bracket loss to Paper Rex.

4. Alfajer

• ASC: 236.5
• Rating: 1.11

The second EMEA representative on the list is Emir "Alfajer" Beder from Fnatic in fourth place. With a 236.5 ACS, he did everything he could to push his team toward Santiago. He is the flex player with the highest ACS at Kickoff, playing everything from Sentinels like Killjoy to Controllers like Viper and even Duelists like Raze.

No matter the role, Alfajer consistently puts up elite numbers. However, fan-favorite Fnatic fell short in the Lower Final against Team Liquid and Alfajer will miss out on Masters Santiago.

5. HYUNMIN

• ASC: 234.6
• Rating: 1.10

DRX entered Pacific Kickoff as one of the favorites after their third-place finish at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions. Their Duelist, Hyun-min " HYUNMIN" Song, has built a reputation for explosive, multi-kill performances across several Agents.

He finished Kickoff with a 234.6 ACS, ranking second in the region. HYUNMIN started the tournament slow but turned up when DRX faced three elimination matches in the lower bracket. Despite his efforts, DRX fell to PRX and missed out on a Masters spot.

6. whzy

• ASC: 233.5
• Rating: -

Wang "whzy" Haozhe from Bilibili Gaming is the second and final Chinese player in the top 10. He posted a** 233.5 ACS** over 435 rounds while playing four different Duelists.

He has been with BLG for three years and has earned multiple accolades, including Duelist of the Year 2025. He’s kicking off 2026 strong as one of China’s top Duelists, consistently top-fragging for his team throughout Kickoff. BLG won VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - China Stage 2 but 2026 started differently as they narrowly missed the final Masters slot to EDward Gaming.

7. PatMen

• ASC: 233.4
• Rating: 1.20

Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza from Global Esports takes seventh place with a 233.4 ACS and an impressive overall rating. The Filipino player left PRX in December 2025 and has since shown exactly what his former team is missing.

Global Esports faced PRX twice during Kickoff, and both times PatMen top-fragged against his old squad. He is the second flex player on the list, capable of out-fragging Duelists even while playing Omen. However, we will not be seeing PatMen on the international stage just yet.

8. MiniBoo

• ASC: 232.6
• Rating: 1.11

Dominykas "MiniBoo" Lukaševičius recently transferred from Team Heretics to Team Liquid and finished Kickoff eighth with a 232.6 ACS. He’s thriving on his new roster and, alongside Kamil "kamo" Frąckowiak, has frequently run double-Duelist compositions.

As a longtime Duelist, MiniBoo looks comfortable in the current fast-paced meta and consistently delivered when it mattered most. Team Liquid battled through the lower bracket and secured the final EMEA spot at Masters Santiago.

9. autumn

• ACS: 230.3
• Rating: 1.11

Kale "autumn" Dunne joins his teammate PatMen in the top 10. He finished with a 230.3 ACS and a 1.11 rating. While primarily the main Duelist for Global Esports, he has also been seen on Chamber. Although his ACS isn’t as high as some of the other Duelists on this list, he boasts the highest First Kill percentage among Pacific players and more often than not maintains a positive K/D in his matchups.

10. f0rsakeN

• ASC: 227.3
• Rating: 1.5

Rounding out the list is in-game leader Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto from PRX with a 227.3 ACS. He is the fifth Pacific player in the top 10, and making the list as an IGL is an impressive achievement.

f0rsakeN primarily plays smokes but is comfortable flexing into other roles when needed. During Kickoff, he had standout performances on Yoru on Breeze, even out-fragging his team’s main Duelist, Ilya "something" Petrov, in certain matches.

Conclusion

The Pacific region leads the top 10 with five players on the list. EMEA, however, boasts the single best-performing player across all regions in arteen, thanks to his record-breaking run. China also delivered strong results, highlighted by splash’s breakout debut and whzy’s continued dominance.

One of the biggest surprises is the complete absence of the Americas. The top-performing player in the region was Adam "mada" Pampuch, with a 1.07 rating and 220.7 ACS, numbers which simply weren’t enough to compete with the other regions this time around.

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