Riot has announced that this year is the "start of our normal format". People are forgetting that the 4 leagues will expand to 14 teams by 2026 (or smth) That means a minimum of 15 matches by 2026. Which in my opinion is a good amount of matches. Remembering that if both splits had full round robins that by 2026, teams would be playing 26 matches across both splits. Followed by 5-15 more matches across both masters and 5-10 matches in champions. The amount of matches the top teams would be playing would be INSANE, and even the matches for weaker teams would be INSANE.
Teams like EG and FNC were already complaining about burnout towards the tailend of the season, just imagine all 56 teams playing a minimum of 30 matches. At that point, it'll be TOO MUCH VALORANT.
I'm not gonna sit here and say the format in itself is good or that it makes sense, since there are overbearing issues. But in essence, it would be impossible to fit what everyone wants into a schedule. The only possible solution to please everyone would be a singular split where everyone plays 13 matches with a bracket styled event (like kickoff) before or after and LCQ.
The off-season will also be shortened because VCT China caused a huge setback, they needed time for ascension and time for all the logistical nightmares this kind of thing brings to the staff. Expecting a start in early January would literally be impossible.
Now, if they mess it up next year with a solid 12 teams and a longer calendar, we would be have problems. But I think once the season kicks off and we get deeper and deeper into the VCT partnered system, everything would be sorted out.
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