The long-standing rivalry between the Phantom and Vandal rifles in VALORANT has entered a new phase as the Phantom takes the lead for the first time as the most popular weapon in the Pacific pro league. Historically, the Vandal has been considered the superior rifle in all ranks, from Iron to professional play. However, Dot Esports has been monitoring a trend that shows the Phantom’s pick rate steadily increasing.
The recent restructuring of the VCT into three circuits has seen the Pacific league break the Vandal’s dominance, with the Phantom emerging as the top weapon in that region. While the Vandal remains more popular in VCT Americas and VCT EMEA, Pacific league players have slightly favored the Phantom.
The choice between the two rifles has typically been a matter of personal preference, but an increasing number of players are now opting for the Phantom. In the first three weeks of the Pacific league, the Phantom was picked just 14 times more than the Vandal, as reported by The Spike.gg.
This shift in preference is likely due to the current competitive map pool and meta, which features agents with shorter-range capabilities and maps that encourage close-quarters engagements. The Phantom excels in these situations with its superior spray control and noise reduction.
However, Europe’s EMEA players appear to disagree with this trend, as The Spike.gg reports that the Vandal has been picked over a thousand times more than the Phantom in that region. As Bind re-enters the competitive map pool, Vandal pick rates may increase in the Pacific league. The VCT’s three-tier structure is promoting diverse gameplay, with regional variations likely to continue evolving as the weekly matches progress.
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