Pros preferred one rifle over the other at VCT Masters Tokyo

Competitors at VCT Masters Tokyo preferred one main Valorant rifle over the other throughout the tournament.

Rifle choice is a personal preference in Valorant as players either get a feel for the Vandal or the Phantom. The rifles do have their own use cases for when one is more optimal than the other, but generally, comfortability is the main factor for using one or the other.

At the professional level, pros do pick weapons situationally, like the size of the map or their role in the game. But, they also have preferences toward one rifle or the other.

At VCT Masters Tokyo, pros preferred the Vandal over the Phantom as players chose the non-silenced rifle in 58% of rounds played at the event, according to rib.gg. This seems to be a part of a larger trend in the professional space as past competitions have also shown players have a tendency to pick the Vandal over the Phantom.

VCT Masters Tokyo players preferred one rifle over the other

At VCT LOCK//IN, pros also preferred the Vandal but to an even more extreme extent. Players picked up the Vandal in 61% of rounds compared to 39% for the Phantom.

That tournament was longer than Masters Tokyo and featured a more diverse set of competing teams so the numbers could be a little inflated. But this trend can be seen across the VCT international leagues, as well.

During the VCT Americas regular season, players picked up the Vandal in 7,422 rounds, compared to 6,973 picks for the Phantom. The numbers hold true in VCT EMEA and VCT Pacific as pros picked the Vandal in 63% and 55% of rounds respectively.

Pros might not overwhelmingly choose to play with the Vandal over the Phantom, but thanks to its one-shot headshots and power at long ranges, they might prefer the gun in most in-game scenarios.