Time to celebrate VALORANT's best players
At the end of a year marked by multiple offseason tournaments following an already dense competitive calendar, Riot Games introduced and launched the 2025 VALORANT VCT Season Awards. This new initiative creates a distinct break in the season, providing a dedicated moment to recognise players and coaches across tier-one regional leagues and international events.
In VCT Americas, VCT EMEA, VCT Pacific and VCT China a similar pattern emerges, with established superstars, rewarded and supported by stable organisations, capturing the major individual titles. At the centre of this landscape, three names in particular attract most of the attention: Erick "aspas" Santos, Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski, and Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto, each of them standing as one of the pillars of their respective regions.
VCT Americas
In VCT Americas, the voting confirms a clear hierarchy: MIBR, NRG and G2 Esports dominate the conversation, with aspas as the focal point. The 2022 World Champion, already an established star of the circuit, adds another line to his résumé with a Duelist of the Year and Player of the Year double, emblematic of a season in which his consistency and individual impact once again carried MIBR through crucial moments, particularly at Champions Paris.
Behind him, NRG is rewarded for the strength of its structure, with Brock "brawk" Somerhalder imposing himself both as the best rookie and as the standout Initiator, while Ethan "Ethan" Arnold secures the IGL of the Year title for having led a team capable of steadily raising its level over the course of the season.
G2 Esports, for their part, arrive at these awards on the back of a three-peat in the Americas league and secure further recognition through Nathan "leaf" Orf and Jacob "valyn" Batio, underlining how stability on Sentinel and Controller remains central in a region where offensive game plans are often built around highly aggressive superstars. Taken together, the picture is that of a league in which aspas continues to embody the primary threat, but where the decisive edge increasingly lies in the systems constructed around him.
2025 VCT Americas Awards Results
- Rookie of the Year: Brock "brawk" Somerhalder (NRG)
- Duelist of the Year: Erick "aspas" Santos (MIBR)
- Sentinel of the Year: Nathan "leaf" Orf (G2 Esports)
- Controller of the Year: Jacob "valyn" Batio (G2 Esports)
- Initiator of the Year: Brock "brawk" Somerhalder (NRG)
- In-Game Leader (IGL) of the Year: Ethan "Ethan" Arnold (NRG)
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Gabriel "cortezia" Cortez (MIBR)
- Coach of the Year: Malkolm "bonkar" Rench (NRG)
VCT EMEA
In EMEA, the results read almost like a complete tribute to Fnatic, so consistently does the organisation convert nominations into trophies. At the centre of these victories stands kaajak, whose season closely resembles a dream scenario for a rookie. He accumulates the titles of Rookie of the Year, Duelist of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, and Player of the Year.
Around him, Emir "Alfajer" Beder once again secures Fnatic’s defensive backbone in the Sentinel role, while Jake "Boaster" Howlett confirms his status as the region’s most creative and most consistent in-game leader. On the staff side, Milan "Milan" de Meij is rewarded for his ability to integrate a new primary carry while keeping Fnatic in contention for every international trophy, even when the final step slips away from them. Only Uğur "Ruxic" Güç with NAVI and Enes "RieNs" Ecirli with Team Heretics manage to crack the orange armour, on Controller and Initiator respectively.
2025 VCT EMEA Awards Results
- Rookie of the Year: Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski (Fnatic)
- Duelist of the Year: Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski (Fnatic)
- Sentinel of the Year: Emir "Alfajer" Ali Beder (Fnatic)
- Controller of the Year: Uğur "Ruxic" Güç (NAVI)
- Initiator of the Year: Enes "RieNs" Ecirli (Team Heretics)
- In-Game Leader (IGL) of the Year: Jake "Boaster" Howlett (Fnatic)
- Most Improved Player of the Year: Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski (Fnatic)
- Coach of the Year: Milan "Milan" de Meij (Fnatic)
- Player of the Year: Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski (Fnatic)
VCT Pacific
In VCT Pacific, these Season Awards, much like in EMEA, take on the appearance of a large-scale showcase for Paper Rex, such is the organisation’s presence on all fronts. Every member of the starting five, except Wang "Jinggg" Jing Jie, departs with at least one individual prize, and Alexandre "alecks" Sallé is duly elected Coach of the Year for having shaped, consolidated, and brought to maturity a hyper-aggressive style of play that has become widely referenced around the world and has finally been crowned by a major title. f0rsakeN, long perceived more as a highlight machine than as the clear figurehead of a region, ultimately secures the Player of the Year title at the end of a season marked by the triumph at Masters Toronto and an unprecedented level of consistency in his performances.
Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza makes a spectacular entrance with a Rookie of the Year / Initiator of the Year double, while Ilia "something" Petrov confirms his status as a key Duelist and Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee establishes himself as one of the most reliable Sentinels on the circuit. In parallel, DRX and Rex Regum Qeon ensure that the league does not reduce itself to PRX alone: Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan is named Controller of the Year, Song "HYUNMIN" Hyun-min secures the Most Improved Player title, and Ngô "crazyguy" Công Anh is recognised as IGL of the Year after transforming RRQ into a genuine contender at major events.
2025 VCT Pacific Awards Results
- Rookie of the Year : Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza (Paper Rex)
- Duelist of the Year : Ilia "something" Petrov (Paper Rex)
- Sentinel of the Year : Khalish "d4v41" Rusyaidee (Paper Rex)
- Controller of the Year : Kim "MaKo" Myeong-kwan (DRX)
- Initiator of the Year : Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza (Paper Rex)
- In-Game Leader (IGL) of the Year : Ngô "crazyguy" Công Anh (RRQ)
- Most Improved Player of the Year : Song "HYUNMIN" Hyun-min (DRX)
- Coach of the Year : Alexandre "alecks" Sallé (Paper Rex)
- Player of the Year : Jason "f0rsakeN" Susanto (Paper Rex)
Taken together across the three regions, a clear trend emerges: the 2025 Season Awards reward the superstars and the systems surrounding them in equal measure. The Player of the Year titles for aspas, kaajak, and f0rsakeN confirm their status as the emblematic faces of their own leagues, but the IGL, Coach and Most Improved awards also highlight the collective progression required to remain competitive at the summit of an increasingly contested VALORANT ecosystem.
Header Credit Photo: VALORANT/ Riot Games







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