North America Lead Alpha Bracket at Valorant LOCK/IN

North American teams Cloud9, NRG Esports, and Evil Geniuses have advanced to the next round at 2023's Valorant LOCK/IN event.

The Alpha bracket of the Valorant LOCK/IN is on the precipice of seeing its first eight leading teams rally forth to the Round of 16, a deadlock 1v1 that will go on to determine the best teams fit for the quarter finals. In light of this, North America clearly seems to be making a statement, as proven by the 2-0 victories against international teams KOI, Paper Rex, and Team Heretics. As for whether or not this will culminate in a homecoming parade for the region, of course, is still anybody's guess.

It's early days yet, as the Grand Finals won't actually commence until the round-robin event has played its entire Round of 32 and Round of 16 brackets, neither of which will end until Feb. 27th, at which point the Omega matches will reveal their final teams. Until then, it's still a somewhat level playing field—though one that North America clearly has some influence over at the time of writing.

Masters Tokyo 2023 Edges Nearer

In case you missed it, the winning team at Valorant LOCK/IN will automatically secure a spot for their respective region at the Masters Tokyo event, which is scheduled to take place this coming June. At present, ten of the league's best teams will advance to the Masters, whereas the eleventh additional spot will only come to the team that conquers LOCK/IN. So, evidently there's a lot hanging on the line, and it goes without saying that every team over in São Paolo will be wanting a slice of it right about now.

So, what's your take? Are you rooting for any teams in particular? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.