As a long-time fan who has followed Acend Club’s journey since their underdog run to win Valorant Champions in 2021, I can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Benjamin Rolle and his team. The VCT system, as he so eloquently put it, is indeed a disaster.
Benjamin Rolle, head of Acend Club, voiced out on social platforms that the Valorant Competitive Point (VCT) system has been a “catastrophe” following their investment of about $700,000 in Valorant teams for a span of two years.
Rollle elaborated on the issue that the secondary level of the Valorant esports system seems fractured, and the situation deteriorated significantly upon Riot’s creation of their semi-closed leagues.
As an ardent fan, I firmly believe that esports and particularly Valorant deserve more attention. It seems like Riot might be prioritizing T1 at the moment, or perhaps the higher-ups are unaware of the current state of affairs. Regardless, the situation for organizations is dire at present. However, I remain hopeful that things will eventually change for the better.
The European organization that was previously beloved in the Valorant scene due to its underdog success in winning the first Champions in 2021, later announced its exit from the Valorant esports scene on September 16, 2024. This decision came after a two-year struggle to secure a promotion spot into VCT EMEA.
After the 2022 season, our organization wasn’t granted entry into the VCT partnered league system by Riot Games. However, we persisted and chose to carry on our activities in the Tier 2 competition, striving to advance and qualify for the EMEA competition.
The team consistently put forth formidable lineups, but these top-tier rosters were expensive to maintain. For instance, in 2023, our team ranked third at VCT Ascension EMEA, while the 2024 squad failed to qualify for the event due to financial constraints.
Upon reaching T2, everything shifted dramatically. This is where the ordeal started. To put it bluntly, competing for a single spot against all of Europe isn’t easy – it’s brutal, yet could be incredibly profitable… Teams, including ours, have been investing money, time, and emotion into this competition, offering generous wages and making significant compromises, as Rolle explained.
According to the CEO of Acend, he described the European side of T2 as a barren land for teams in his perspective, due to tournament organizers persistently failing to disburse prize money and salaries for production team personnel in these Challenger leagues.
Discussing Riot’s approach towards integrating lower-tier teams into their premier esports leagues has been a contentious issue, given that it can be challenging for organizations to invest financially in players and rosters when the opportunities in the top league are either limited, temporary, or lack long-term benefits, making it uncertain if they will receive a return on investment.
As an avid fan, I can’t help but notice that the developer seems less inclined to share alternative income streams such as stipends or in-game cosmetic revenue with organizations outside of their top leagues. It appears that they have distinct objectives for their esports properties compared to teams participating within them.
Nevertheless, numerous players, executives such as Rolle, and other industry figures have criticized Riot Games for their management of the esports infrastructure.
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2024-09-26 20:18