The impact of Veto on the 2026 VCT meta

Bryan Francis Published January 9, 2026

During VALORANT Champions 2025, the latest agent in the game was unveiled: Veto. The agent, with the number 29, is from Senegal. Having a symbiote-like being within him, the agent can transform and become immune to all forms of debuffs. The only way to deal damage to him is by shooting at him with bullets.

During the VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025, the agent was made available. In this article we assess the potential impact of Veto and ask whether he will change the meta during VALORANT Esports in 2026.

A bit more about Veto

Image: VALORANT/Riot Games

• Veto was announced before the grand finals of VALORANT Champions 2025.
• The agent is the 7th sentinel agent released in the game. At launch, many fans were shocked by his abilities.
• While not as overpowered as Tejo at launch, the agent’s ultimate left fans in shock.

Once activated, Veto would not take any damage or receive any debuffs from other agents’ abilities. This includes ultimates for various agents, such as Killjoy, Raze, Brimstone, and Breach. The agent could only be damaged by bullets from the opponents’ weapons, the headhunter’s, and the ultimate of Chamber. Making many fans initially wonder how the agent will affect the post-plant meta in the game.

During VALORANT Champions 2025, we saw agents like Sova, Viper, Fade, and Vyse have some of the highest pick rates. These agents have abilities crucial to stopping teams from defusing the spike. Interestingly, Veto would not be affected by any of the agents’ abilities in this transformed form.

Veto’s other abilities include Crosscut, Chokehold, and his signature ability, Interceptor. Once activated, Interceptor can destroy any utility that would BOUNCE off a player and/or be killed naturally by gunfire. It must be stated that enemies can destroy the ability. His ability Crosscut allows the agent to teleport from one part of the map to the point where the ability has been placed. This is similar to Chambers’ ability, with the only catch being that Veto must face in the direction the ability has been placed.

• See also: All VALORANT Champions winners to date

Pick rate and performance at Game Changers Championship 2025

VALORANT Game Changers Championship 2025 took place between Nov. 20-30 Seoul, South Korea. At the end of the event, the agent had an 8% pick rate. The map where Veto has been picked the most is Bind, with a 36% pick rate. Interestingly, Ninetails used the agent three times during the tournament and lost every single time.

On the other hand, at Game Changers grand finals, Team Liquid Brazil used the agent and won the map on Bind. TLB completed a 9-3 comeback with Veto. On defense, Bizerra secured nine kills while playing Veto to help her team win the map.

What pro players say on Veto

Before Red Bull Homeground 2025, we got the chance to talk to VALORANT Esports players about their thoughts on the new agent Veto. Below are their thoughts on the new agent:

FNATIC Crashies said:

Veto is like Chamber but much better. It is similar in that the agent can teleport between map locations. It can also lock down sites and get early kills in certain rounds. It cannot replace Killjoy or Cypher as the go-to sentinel agent. It will be tough for players using Veto to stall the enemies and get kills using their abilities. It is more of an aim-based agent. In upcoming tournaments, we will see many teams using the agent to determine the ideal team composition.

Full Crashies interview

Sentinels JohnQt said:

Veto is quite an interesting agent. It is early days, but while we have scrimmed with other teams, we haven’t seen the agent used much. I believe the attacking side is quite underwhelming. The other sentinel agents provide a lot more to the team than Veto. In my opinion, Chamber would be a better pick than Veto in a given team composition.

Full JohnQt interview

Veto’s impact on the VCT 2026 Season ​

Unlike at Tejo’s launch, Veto hasn’t completely disrupted the VALORANT Esports meta. It has been a similar story in VALORANT ranked as well. According to vstats.gg, the agent during the Act 6 ranked ladder has had a pick rate of 12.6%. This is in the lobbies with players in ranks gold or higher.

In the Ascendant-ranked lobbies, the agent has a similar pick rate of 12.5%. Until now, the agent has been played in over 120,000 matches. Veto currently has a higher pick rate than other popular agents, such as Gekko, Viper, Tejo, Sage, and Phoenix.

Veto will be a niche pick for many teams in the VALORANT Champions Tour. Teams might use the agent on maps such as Pearl, Haven, Bind, and Abyss. A primary reason is the agent’s ability to move from one part of the map to another. Sadly, not many of his abilities support his teammates; thus, the ideal playstyle for the agent is as a pseudo-duelist. Many teams that previously used Chamber will test Veto in that role and check for any synergy.

Featured image credit: VALORANT/Riot Games