Previously given little regard, Riot has provided the region greater opportunities in the coming 2022 Valorant Oceania Tour. In 2021, Oceania players lacked the opportunity to compete in Masters level tournaments as the region had been too small to host its own.

Additionally, the only tournament that seeded OCE teams had been the 2021 VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier. Unfortunately, while two teams qualified, they had been forced to be disqualified due to the event requirements for physical attendance being in opposition to Australia’s strict international border policies. However, with the 2022 Valorant Oceania Tour, teams will now have a pathway to compete in the APAC Playoffs and subsequently Masters tournament, increasing the importance of the coming Valorant Oceania Tour 1.

Valorant Oceania Tour Teams

The Valorant Oceania Tour 1 will feature two invited teams and the top six teams from the preceding open qualifier event.

Order are the defending champions of the 2021 Valorant Oceania Championship. While the Oceania region does have strong internal competition between its teams, Order have managed to secure a first-place finish in two of the three finals stages in 2021. This positions them as one of the favourites considering their lack of roster movement heading into 2022, and a key team to count on in Valorant betting contingent on decent odds.

Mindfreak – formerly known as PEACE and Chiefs EC, were one of two teams that qualified for the 2021 VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier. The organization was just announced days ago, after Chiefs EC decided to release their entire Valorant roster. The new acquisition of soju is their key for the current roster to push them slightly further to take the crown, given their narrow loss 3-2 against Order in the Valorant OCE Champions event.

Sadly, the other six teams are relative unknowns to us: Honey Badgers, Crimas Disciples, MEOW MEOW, Bonkers, Iconic, Funcrew will have to build up their street cred from scratch before we have enough gameplay footage to make our assessments, and even feature Valorant odds in their matches.

VOT Opening Match Predictions

Iconic vs. Chiefs Esports Club

Given Iconic’s 5^th place finish in the open qualifiers, only narrowly qualifying to the Valorant Oceania Tour 1, they certainly face a disadvantage against Mindfreak. They retained 4/5 of the roster that placed 2^nd in the 2021 OCE Champions event, putting them in a prime advantage over a newer team. However, while Mindfreak are favored, considering their new roster addition brings uncertainty, along with the high odds of Iconic, a small-medium bet should be placed on Iconic.

Prediction: Iconic 31% l Mindfreak Club 69%
Odds: Iconic x3.48 l Mindfreak 1.33

Funcrew vs. ORDER

Funcrew had placed 6^th place in the open qualifiers, also narrowly qualifying for the OCE Tour 1 event. Considering ORDER is the region’s defending champions, have retained their 2021 roster, and have long provide themselves as a top OCE team, they have a major advantage over Funcrew. With the overwhelming chance of ORDER’s victory and comparatively good Valorant betting odds, a large bet should be placed in favour of ORDER.

Prediction: Funcrew: 16% | ORDER 84%
Odds: Funcrew 3.66 | ORDER x1.21