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Franchising or open qualifiers?
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just because the level of valorant is high doesn't mean the system is good imo.
t2 valorant having a clear goal doesnt mean the goal or system for it is good. competitiveness is high sure, but what happens after?
league system also seems underutilized but its best to just see how next year is gonna be like.
i just think how its setup atm is not healthy for the esport at all and will entice orgs to disband or straight up leave after one bad result
It's a decent system for now in tier 1. The current state of tier 2 is abysmal, even Leo Faria says it will change going into next year. It has to.
I believe Riot's long term vision for VCT is a promotion/relegation system starting in 2027, under the assumption that viewership increased and stabilises during the next 4 years. Every decision in regards to the partnership system seems to point in that direction.
For now in terms of building consistent fanbases the system is probably working as intended. KC would never be in tier 1 in an open circuit, but they draw hella viewers. Having some stability is important when establishing a new (e)sport.
How so. Franchise didn't exist for 2 years but the level of gameplay was stagnant for almost a year. Watch back matches from any masters 2022 or 2021 event you'll see a stark difference if you've followed valorant in 2023. Franchise brought the top players that were fragmented across many teams together. Without franchise you wouldn't see leo, chronicle, derke and alfa on the same team
There's a difference between stagnation in gameplay and stagnation in winners. Fnatic might be winning 3 in a row but their playstyle is never stagnant. They come up with so much creative stuff and they keep adding new layers on top of what they have already. And this in turn forces other teams to level up faster
Open qualifier is more exciting but for the sake of the longevity of the game, we need franchising. The partnership system we have now is a way for orgs to have security, and know that even if they make a shit roster or make some mistake then they won't be too badly punished for it, as long as they don't just sandbag the season for profit. This encourages teams to be a bit more big-picture with their rosters, instead of signing a bunch of big-money F/As and hoping you make it deep, teams can try to start from the beginning and sign an exciting young squad of talents who need development. In an open system, it's very difficult to pull off this type of long-term project, because one slip-up in a qualifier and your season is done. It also encourages orgs to invest smarter into the scene, where instead of all the money going into signing big name F/As, they can go into talent scouting or the coaching staff. It can even allow for some super long term projects like an academy division. People don't like to admit it, but partnership systems are the future of esports. It allows for org stability, which leads to smarter and more investment in the scene, which should lead to an increase in the level of play, and spectator enjoyment.
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