All the BR teams did the same process at the same time basically but the particular person dealing with their VISA didn't know shit about esports so even tho they had all the paperwork in order and ready to go they got fucked.
It's not really Riot's fault tho but it would be cool if they were a bit more flexible
but riot could do something else to compensate the permanent advantage they give to NA.
For example, when LOUD was stuck in north ireland with no PC's to play the game, not even a LAN house, and only came back a few hours before their game against NRG in Stage 1, riot didnt even postpone the match, it was not even a playoff match or an international event, it was just the first game of regional and LOUD had to play the match. They just came out of the airplane and went straight to the match after not touching a mouse and keyboard for a month. It cant be that hard to postpone 1 singular regular season match.
I think it should be feasible, especially in extreme occasions like this LOUD one that occurred right after Masters Madrid and they had enough time to rearrange the schedule for 1 game, these issues give advantages to one side and disadvantages to the other sides, harming competitive integrity. They should work to find a way to compensate the disadvantages, since they are probably not moving VCT Americas away from USA
What you get is situations like gambit/M3C in 2022 when they had to play 3 matches in 1 week which isn't ideal. yes there are work arounds that can work in limited capacity but they all are flawed in some way which just sucks. Riot does its best to try and cater its schedule to the pros but situations like this are largely out of their control. And no, the solution isn't to move Riot HQ
But what exactly was out of their control in the situation a mentioned? I know they have nothing to do with the VISAS, but It was a round robin tournament. Are you 100% sure there was no way they could postpone one match? If so, they should work to make their schedules more flexible, there was a freaking 6 months off-season last year, they had time.
Im not saying the solution is to move Riot HQ, im saying that they made an easy choice of making the VCT Americas in Los Angeles, but the problem lies in the fact that they dont make any efforts to compensate the disadvantages the gave to the other regions in >AMERICAS<. Postponing matches could be a way of compensation even if its little, but they should be prepared for these issues and have a rearrangement of schedules as a plan B prepared for these situations. (sorry for any english mistakes, not my first language)
Yes you are correct that in the Loud situation they could've tried to postpone the match to a later date, whether it be 2 days later in the same week or in a separate week. While I don't know what happened behind the scenes, I would like to think if the Loud players or managers had asked for a postponement, Riot would've given it because again they try to make their players happy. However another complication comes in the fact that the people who bought the tickets to see the Loud v. NRG on April 6 would get mad if the game was moved. In that aspect, Riot probably would not change the schedule unless it isn't safe to play at Riot HQ (for example, the current wildfire situation in LA could pose a threat for Kickoff, though riot hasn't said anything about that yet)
In the end Riot doesn't have great options as no matter what decision they make it would piss someone off. I would agree that if Riot could've postponed the match they should for the players sake. But the decision isn't that simple nor is it mine to make. (I also want to point out that both Furia and Riot are not at fault for this as US immigration is notoriously awful. It is largely out of Riot and Furia's control that this happened)
I know its hard to find a solution especially for this Kickoff playoff format, but the situation really sucks. In VCT every match matters, one loss could be enough to ruin the whole team's year. And its not like its the first time this happens, but Riot always just goes: "it is what it is". Its a lot dreams on the line you feel me?
stop blaming the company lmao for something out of their control. LA is literally the city where Riot Games is based in, logistically makes it way easier for them to coordinate and manage their event. its genuinely unfortunate that FURIA got their visas this late but it would cost way more and be a logistical nightmare for every single event that valorant has to be outside of the US if you moved VCT Americas to another neighboring country. im pretty sure every VCT event is held in close proximity to a major riot office.
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