VALORANT Masters Tokyo: Agent pick rates of the group stage

The first phase of VCT 2023 - Masters Tokyo is over, and now it is time for some Playoffs action. Are you curious about which agents dominated the tournament during the group phase? In total, 25 maps have been played so far, and some Agents kept their places on the leaderboard moving on from the initial international tournament of the year, VCT 2023 LOCK//IN. Here are the VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo Agent pick rates of the initial group stage!

One of the most anticipated tournaments of the year, the VALORANT Champions Tour 2023: Masters Tokyo features 16 teams from around the globe vying for a portion of the $1 million prize pool and an opportunity to compete in the VALORANT Champions event later this year. Over the course of seven different maps—Ascent, Bind, Fracture, Haven, Icebox, Lotus, and Pearl—the competition featured a range of playstyles, tactics, and Agent compositions.

KILLJOY

Honestly, it has been a very long time since Killjoy became one of the best Sentinels in VALORANT. Actually, it wouldn’t be right to narrow it down to “Sentinels” as Killjoy is surely one of the best Agents in VALORANT. Thanks to the recent buffs, the Agent is still sitting at the top of the Agent Pick Rate leaderboard.

As expected, Killjoy’s best maps are Lotus, Fracture, and Pearl. The Agent is also a great pick for Ascent and Haven too, with 83.33% and 75% pick rates, respectively. However, none of the teams decided to pick anything other than Killjoy on Lotus so far in the tournament as she sports a 100% pick rate on the newest VALORANT map.

Bind is probably the worst map to have a Killjoy on your team, as there are much better alternatives. None of the players have picked the Agent on Bind so far, and the Sentinel is sitting at a 25% pick rate on Split, which is also pretty low in comparison to other maps.

JETT

Just like VCT LOCK//IN 2023, the first two are still the same. Jett is right behind Killjoy with a 68% pick rate overall. After Chamber’s nerf, players started prioritizing the Agent once again, and there are some famous names like Yu "BuZz" Byung-chul and Zheng "ZmjjKK" Yongkang who are currently the best-performing Jetts in Tokyo, with a 1.47 and 1.40 Rating, respectively.

Jett is a perma-pick on Haven, Ascent, and Pearl. All of the teams have preferred to use the Agent’s firepower on these maps, and as long as the player had a “decent” performance, all teams benefit from Jett’s ability to open up bomb sites and get early first kills.

The Agent has a 75% pick rate on Split, which is also quite high, but Jett is not that popular when it comes to other maps. The VALORANT Duelist has a 50% pick rate on Fracture, 37.50% on Lotus, and 16.67% on Bind. Jett’s total pick rate is 68%, second on the list after Killjoy.

SKYE

To be honest, you wouldn’t expect Skye to be this high on this list, but teams used the Agent’s abilities almost on every map so far in Tokyo. Skye is the most-picked Initiator in the tournament right now, with a total pick rate of 46%. You can see the difference compared to the first two Agents, which shows how strong Killjoy and Jett are right now.

Skye’s best map is Split, with a 100% pick rate, followed by Pearl with 87.50%, Bind with 83.33%, and Lotus with 62.50%. Skye is a full package that can heal up teammates, get intel, and also blind enemies.

Haven and Ascent are the only maps that none of the VALORANT Masters Tokyo teams preferred Skye on their 5-man lineup. There are obviously much better Agents for these maps, and as expected, the best teams in the world set their tactics accordingly.

OMEN

Fourth on our “VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo: Agent pick rates list” is Omen. Omen is one of the most-picked Controllers so far in the tournament, with a total pick rate of 44%.

Omen’s strongest maps are Haven and Ascent, as all teams preferred the primary smoker instead of others. Omen’s ability to defend bomb sites, on top of the his kit's potential to make plays by teleporting to different places, is a solid pick to consider both on defense and offense. All the teams preferred the Agent on these two maps. Omen also holds an 87.50% pick rate on Lotus.

Split is not one of the best maps to pick Ome as they only have a 25% pick rate on the map. While the Agent at least had one appearance on Split, we haven’t seen Omen on Bind, Fracture, or Pearl.

VIPER

Viper is sharing the 4th/5th spot with Omen, with a total pick rate of 44%. Just like Omen, Viper is also a great weapon to keep in the arsenal to execute sneaky attacks and defend the bomb sites with smokes and mollies.

Viper has a 100% pick rate on Bind and 87.50% on Pearl. However, the Agent is also a solid pick to consider on Lotus and Split, with a 75% pick rate for each. Teams relied on Viper on these maps and used the Agent’s abilities to get the upper hand in the match.

While Viper has a fairly high pick rate on these maps, none of the teams preferred the agent on Haven, Ascent, and Fracture. There were 24 instances where teams had a chance to pick the Agent on these maps, but they preferred other Controllers or strategies.

OTHER AGENTS

These are the top 5 most-picked Agents in the first phase of VCT 2023 Masters Tokyo. There are some honorable mentions, too. For example, Breach is sixth on the list with a 40% pick rate, while KAY/O and Raze are right behind the Agent with 30%. One of the best Initiators in the game, Sova is sharing the next spot with Brimstone, both sitting at 26% pick rate, and Harbor is the last on this batch thanks to the 87.50 pick rate on Lotus; the Agent’s overall pick rate is 22%.

Fade, and Neon are sharing the next spot with a 12% pick rate for each, and Cypher is right behind them with 10%. Gekko’s first international tournament is not going so well, as the Agent was picked only four times so far in Tokyo.

Lastly, Astra was also picked only four times throughout the second international tournament of the year, but that is not the most surprising news. Considering the Agent’s recent popularity since the launch of the game, Sage is the most disappointing stat with only a single pick so far. Ardis "ardiis" Svarenieks picked the Agent once and held a 0.80 rating.

If you want to learn more about the tournament and take a look at the full Agent pick rate list, check out the tournament page!