---
title: 'Valorant''s Rank #1 Controller Will Blow Your Mind'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=MxdNNBJY-Es'
video_id: 'MxdNNBJY-Es'
date: 2026-08-03
duration_sec: 721
---

# Valorant's Rank #1 Controller Will Blow Your Mind

> Source: [Valorant's Rank #1 Controller Will Blow Your Mind](https://youtube.com/watch?v=MxdNNBJY-Es)

## Summary

This video analyzes the gameplay of Note, a professional Valorant player who has achieved the rank #1 spot in North America three times, focusing on his mechanics and game sense. The coach from IRP breaks down Note's training routines, utility usage, and decision-making to provide actionable tips for players of all skill levels.

### Key Points

- **Note's Profile** [00:02] — Note is a professional controller player for Core, with a 65% win rate and 1.2 KD, hitting rank #1 in NA three times.
- **Mechanics Training** [00:14] — Note trains mechanics using KovaaK's for static and dynamic scenarios, focusing on accuracy and speed. He also plays deathmatch to practice movement and first bullet accuracy in real game scenarios.
- **TDM for Utility and Flicking** [02:13] — Note plays TDM to get used to dodging flashes, CC utility, and flicking quickly to angles where fights are about to happen.
- **Physical Factors** [02:40] — Note emphasizes good sleep, hydration, and avoiding carbs to keep mechanics at their best, as outside factors drastically affect performance.
- **Game Sense: Attack with Viper** [03:51] — On Split, Note lurks on A side with Viper, using utility to deny information and space, conditioning defenders to respect his presence, which opens up opportunities for his team.
- **Utility Usage and Conditioning** [05:50] — Note uses simple utility setups but plays around them effectively, conditioning enemies to be unpredictable. He adapts based on opponent aggression or passivity.
- **Defense: Fracture Example** [07:13] — In a half-buy round, Note uses a smoke to help his team, then repositions to avoid committing to a losing fight, later trading teammates and winning the round with a Phantom.
- **Controller Utility Beyond Smokes** [09:24] — Note focuses on setting himself up for duels, using all utility in his kit, not just smokes, to take better gunfights and gather information.
- **Positioning in the Pack** [10:01] — Note plays in the middle or back of the pack, not leading, to live longer, smoke, and trade teammates, leading to higher KD and win rate.

### Conclusion

Note's success comes from a combination of disciplined mechanics training, smart utility usage, and intelligent positioning that prioritizes survival and trading. By adopting these principles, players can improve their consistency and impact in Valorant.

## Transcript

leaderboard, but one who is also currently playing professionally for core as the primary controller player. core as the primary controller player. He has a 65% win rate, a 1.2 KD, all
while hitting that rank one spot three separate times. He is clearly one of the best players in NA ranked right now. This type of player is exactly what I RP asks our students to review. So, as a coaching program, we've asked him
specific questions as well as analyze his games to break down what exactly makes him so consistent. From mechanics to game sense, you'll get tips directly from the top of the top of Valorant. And don't worry, whether you're iron or
radiant, there's game-changing concepts for everyone. So, without further ado, let's go over how Note trains his mechanics. Note trains mechanics in two he personally had to say about it.
sure to do it daily while fully focused. For static scenarios, I focus on not over-flicking the target while still as fast as possible and staying accurate. For dynamic scenarios, I focus on going as fast as possible again while
remaining accurate by trying to visually confirm every shot before I click. >> Static scenarios are the ones involving targets that are not moving, while Note likely takes this approach because it trains taking your time under
stressful situations. This is especially important in a game like Valorant where your first bullet accuracy is super important to the consistency in you winning fights. We know Kovak is a paid software, so if you're looking for a
Aim Labs is completely free. Specifically, when you use Aim Labs, we suggest trying the Voltaic benchmarks or the Ramp Valorant warm-up routine when you get the chance. While Note does the majority of his aim training on Kovak,
he also plays DM to train his mechanics in a real in-game environment more often mainly focus on my movement and first bullet accuracy because I get most of my basically practice dodging shots and mixing up my movement while always
hitting the first bullet. Since as we can see, raw aim is better trained with the aim trainers and the movement or more practical side of the game is better practiced inside of DMs. Note also pointed out that he plays a fair
amount of TDM instead of just regular DMs. He said specifically that this helps him get used to dodging flashes, CC utility, and flicking quickly back to the exact angle a fight is about to happen. Aim is also useful for other
types of utility like sliding utility, dashing utility, satcheling utility, or to deal with when you're dealing with Valorant agents. However, I believe the routine is what they do to achieve
this is what Note had to say. When I want all my mechanics to be at my best, I just get good sleep, stay hydrated, and avoid eating carbs. All of these can Outside factors affect your performance drastically, often more so than anything
controlling these factors is absolutely crucial to becoming a consistent player, especially at the top level. And as we continue to learn more about what Note does, you may be surprised to hear that we have taught high-level Radiants like
him here at IRP. So if you also want to reach mechanical mastery like Note or our students TMS and Z, who both hit Radiant multiple times, then look no further than the Immortal Road Map program. We can personally coach you to
personalized plan to help you rank up 500 RR in 10 weeks. IRP includes weekly VOD reviews, scrims, a custom dashboard to track your progress, and lifetime access to rank up forever. On top of that, we guarantee that if you don't
gain 500 RR in 10 weeks, we'll give you your money back, guaranteed. So if you're tired of gambling on luck or teammates to win, use the link below to you'd be a good fit for our rank up guarantee. Now, back to the video. Great
mechanics are useless without a decent understanding the game. This is why game sense is such a sought-after skill. And to understand how to improve your take a look at how note specifically approaches attacking. We're going to
start with the basics of note's game sense by using split and Viper as an example. Note currently has a 70% win rate on Viper. To understand note's playstyle on this map, it helps to understand his role. As a Viper, note
will focus on lurking on the A side of the map, denying information, space, and generally any sort of fight around A main and ramps with his utility. This helps divide defender attention on A between ramps, A main, giving him
potential for kills, and allows for note to condition that he will always be towards this A side of the map as long as his utility is here. And some of you we need to understand exactly what it does and how to use it in order to get
the best value. Because this utility cuts off the line of sight for A, the mid-round, early-round, and late-round become a problem for defenders. Giving can allow for crunches through vents or for multiple players to stack with note.
to this threat by clearing A main with utility such as a fade eye or a sky flash. However, every time this wall opens or closes, the threat reemerges. long and go mid to his team, the defenders will have zero idea what is
happening without forcing through the Viper utility. This in turn often forces defenders to play two players on A or force a lot of utility out early to get information. Because of this, this can also mean note gets more opportunities
for more opening kills than if you were to play a standard agent like Cypher in the same spot. So, we can see that defenders having to respect this lurk is having an impact all across the map as well as creating potential for openings,
new timings, and explosive A plays behind conditioning. So, that's note's overall goal on attack. Make the enemies respect our lurk. And that's the general lesson here, to use your utility setups to condition the enemy into not knowing
unpredictable throughout your attacking half. Here's just one way Note does clear him by taking this position next to the Viper wall, he's doing three a duelist trying to punish his lurk by swinging the wall, and being ready to
peek the A site player if he decides to rotate. When I asked Note about how he utility, this is what he had to say. It Like, if they're aggressive, too, I would usually hide from their utility
probably instantly use another piece of utility again to check if I was hiding from the first one. If they're passive, I would wall up at the start and then most likely respect the fact that I could be up ramp early in the round,
initiator, seeing that his utility has been broken instantly, will likely utility right away if he was intending to cross to ramp. This, in turn, creates there and increases possible positions Viper could be playing. This will lead
them to use another piece of utility to clear it after the wall goes down. And from Note regarding his utility. He does have the same simple piece of utility with a few nice-to-have lineups thrown into the mix, but the way he plays
around them is what matters the most. With this example, I hope you understand setups for your characters is not as important as how you play around the learning. And as long as you understand most of the scenarios that happen with
your setups, you'll be better prepared for your future games. And since we now want to know what his goals are on over Note's Meek's gameplay on Fracture as an example of how to approach the
defense. We're on round four of the half, and unfortunately, we've already lost the first three rounds on defense. That means we're on a half buy with the cheese out some kills and win the round with our Sheriff. Note starts with a
simple A main smoke to help his team fight, then drops the sands to better throw the Meek stun on the doorway in a way that forces them to peek away from where he is positioned to break his stun. Breaking that crosshair placement
someone might eat the stun and give him a free kill. But once it's failed, Note repositions back in the spawn to look for a better fight and live. More often than not, I see a lot of students commit early to a fight like this one against a
Breach in sands and die with little to no value in the round. They think it's a you don't have to commit to your first duel as long as you have the ability to reposition and refight in the new area on the map. Because of this reposition,
now Note can trade his teammates and play off of their peaks instead. This nets him a phantom and a real chance to win the round. Now, one thing that is his movement to not only gather
opportunities for him to net potential kills against the planter. He is jiggling first to pre-fire the Meek's potential crossing then jiggle throwing once he sees where he's exactly going, tries to punish him with a pre-fire
jiggle and discovers the up-down setup. This jiggle movement and understanding of the plant position gives him a chance to throw his utility and fight while gathering information all at the same time. Most of the time, I see students
start with the stun in hand and miss the chance to shoot at the planter because they prioritize their utility first and miss the true timing or the value of the utility giving them a gunfight. Because of the information on the top side
player, he then uses his stim to wide swing and hunt. Because he doesn't see them directly, there's only one location they can be at. So, he goes for the spam but very interesting part about the round is that Note only used one smoke
and found opportunities to use all of the other utility in his kit in order to take better gun duels. When you are playing defense as a controller, don't limit yourself to just focusing on your smokes or utility. Note focuses mainly
on setting himself up first after his initial smokes for his team, and that includes how he sequences out his ideas on where to position and how to take duels. He doesn't get greedy, he doesn't force fights, and he understands there
are multiple opportunities for duels and utility to get value. So, don't dump gun more to get better timings for your after watching Note play, I've realized that one of the most common mistakes
controllers make is the fights they choose to take. Remember back to our defense rounds. Note understood he had options when it came to when to fight. This concept is one that can be applied for both attack and defense, but for
see exactly how Note positions in the pack whenever he is with the team on this attack side. When Note scales, he doesn't lead the pack at all. In fact, Note is consistently in a position or waiting for a position where he can
flashy play, crazy clutch, or wild scenario that he forces. His fundamental focus on playing in the middle or the back of the pack position gives him more opportunities to live, smoke, and most importantly, trade his team in any duel.
Take his approach on Meek's fight on the attack side as a direct example. He not only waits for his teammates' utility to gather information, he constantly is playing to be near and around the contact leaders of his team. Even on his
pistol round, after being pushed out of a main, he repositions to utilize the Chamber lurk and trade for all of the major duels that happened in the round. and the arcade fight with the larger pack. Then, in the next couple of
rounds, he abuses the spam with his Phantom at the rear of the pack. His teammates' utility positioning and the entry for multiple spam kills throughout the rounds allowing yourself to play back in the pack and not take first
contact as a controller lets you so much value in your ability to frag. It gives you great practice and game sense by forcing you to use your radar and to have good crosshair placement off of the radar or your team. This play style is
what gives you a higher cast, higher KD, and a higher chance to win since you give yourself more opportunities to play in new scenarios. I hope you learned exactly what makes Note a rank one controller after watching this video.
his Viper gameplay, or how he fundamentally chooses to fight, he does things differently and you guys can too. If you also want to improve like him, watch this video again, or watch some of Note's streams themselves. You can click
check them out. Thank you for watching and we'll see you in the next video.