The finals of VALORANT's Regional Leagues 2022 are upon us and over the course of the next week the winners of each of EMEA's seven regional leagues will battle it out.
Although it is not associated with the VALORANT Champions Tour, this year's VRL Finals feature some top sides from Excel Esports to Team Vitality, and there could be plenty of surprises in store over the next several days.
The event begins with a group phase - there are four teams in Group A and three in Group B - with the top two sides in each section advancing to the double elimination playoffs. All playoff matches will be best-of-three events with the Grand Final a best-of-five match.
Excel fancied to show their class
| What | Case Esports v Excel Esports |
| Where | Online |
| When | 15.00pm, Thursday 28th July 2022 |
| How to watch | VALORANT Esports Website |
| Odds | Case Esports 5/2, Excel Esports 2/7 |
The opening match at the VRL Finals 2022 pits VRL Spain: Rising winners Case Esports against VRL Northern: Polaris champions Excel Esports, who are considered one of the most likely sides to go the distance.
Excel Esports were ruthless in the VRL Northern: Polaris Stage 2 this year, winning six of their seven regular season matches before bulldozing their way through the playoffs, in which they dropped only one map on their way to glory.
They have been a consistent force on the VRL Northern: Polaris all season, winning the first stage earlier this year as well, and should run out winners in this match.
Case Esports have given a good account of themselves in Spain, topping the standings with a 13-5 record, but they are less established than Excel, who are a bigger name in VALORANT and have been more consistent throughout 2022.
All things considered, Excel are the best bet in this one and are worth selecting at -1.5 on the match handicap at 10/11.
Team Vitality are worth keeping an eye on
| What | Team Vitality v TENSTAR |
| Where | Online |
| When | 18.00pm, Thursday 28th July 2022 |
| How to watch | VALORANT Esports Website |
| Odds | Team Vitality 1/10, TENSTAR 11/2 |
Things did not go to plan for Team Vitality in the VRL 2022 France: Revolution Stage 1 at the start of the year as they missed out on a place in the top four and the consequent playoffs with a 1-5-1 record.
But in the second stage of what is considered one of the toughest regional leagues in VALORANT, they turned on the style, finishing second in the regular season standings, before flying through the playoffs and thrashing MAD Lions 3-0 in the Grand Final.
Unfortunately for them, they have been drawn in arguably the tougher of the two groups at the VRL Finals 2022 with Case Esports, Excel Esports and TENSTAR, although they are fancied to open with a win against TENSTAR.
Vitality's roster is fresh with Finnish talent Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi leading them and consistency may be of concern in the long run, but their form in stage 2 cannot be ignored and they are worth a bet at -1.5 on the match handicap at 1/2.
Falcons can run Titans close
| What | Team Falcons v Angry Titans |
| Where | Online |
| When | 18.00pm, Friday 29th July 2022 |
| How to watch | VALORANT Esports Website |
| Odds | Team Falcons 5/2, Angry Titans 2/7 |
Although Group A looks tougher at the VRL Finals, there is less margin for error in Group B, which is a single-elimination round-robin rather than a double-elimination.
That means both Team Falcons and Angry Titans will have to hit the ground running in this opener.
And it could be a closer match than the prices suggest, given the Titans finished the regular season of the VRL Dach Evolution with a 2-4-1 record, placing third, before coming into their own in the playoffs.
Team Falcons should not be entirely written off given they won their final two regional play-off matches by two-map margins and the best bet in this one could be over 2.5 maps at 5/4.
