This is why consistency is usually a very big indicator of a high skill player, rather than a low skill player that randomly has a good game. I doubt a player like TenZ is going to be affected enough by these factors to cause him to perform so poorly. Most players play within a range of skill, and if a player is burnt out they can severely underperform or get tilted. Your skill, how you're performing, how you read your opponent, how your playstyle may clash, how your random teammates may work in sync, your mental, etc. Not a very fair comparison since TenZ wasn't playing against pros or in a team environment.
Valorant pro player rankings pro#
When I was in pro play we went from beating the #1 team in the world, and the very next day losing to a 32 seed team. In terms of why they may lose against low skill players, it happens. I think it is better to focus the discussion on TenZ's individual performance instead: how is the most skilled player in the world not just losing matches but getting dominated by players way below their skill level? No one can win 100% of their matches in a game like Valorant with so many variables outside of any single player's control. I know OP's post mentions winning specifically but I think it is important to make the distinction between individual performance and match outcome while discussing this topic. If you look at the top players they are very consistent, and while they may drop games they are consistently winning more than losing.
![valorant pro player rankings valorant pro player rankings](https://cdn1.dotesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/12095349/Wardell-Team-Solomid.jpg)
You'll remember the streams where TenZ gets killed by an immortal 1, but he's still winning most of his matches.
![valorant pro player rankings valorant pro player rankings](https://oneesports.azureedge.net/cdn-data/2021/04/Valorant_100Thieves_tierlist-1024x576.jpg)
I think it may be a mix of confirmation bias, and the fact that at the end of the day our time to kill on lots of weapons is instant along with skill variance. You can look at the top players in Radiant and most have a 60+% winrate.(of course because how MMR works winrate isn't always the best indicator of high ranking player, a high ranking player is worth more then a low ranking player when you win) If you beat those around/above you, you climb. Ranked, while complex in math, is simply a ladder. This is an interesting comment, but when we investigate pros(or high ranking players) they are on those spots in the leaderboard because they do win against low ranked players.