Event organizers Fortress Melbourne have announced that the final three stages of Rise of Valour have been postponed until mid-September, with the live broadcast of the final two qualifiers cancelled. Rise of Valour is currently set to be the second Ignition Series event in the Oceanic region, following the ORDER Oceanic Open.

The announcement follows criticism on social media over the organizer's production of the event and its qualifiers. The broadcasts of the first four open qualifiers were produced in-person in Fortress Melbourne's offices in Melbourne, which is currently under Stage 4 Restrictions imposed by the Victorian state government earlier in September.

In their statement, Fortress Melbourne stated that they've maintained compliance with Stage 4 Restrictions, however have decided to cancel the broadcast of the qualifiers #5 and #6, and postpone the remaining stages of the event.

"We know that during Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria we are all in this together," tournament admin Mads announced over Discord. "For that reason, we don't want to be perceived as an outlier or invite controversy, and as such have decided that we will cancel the live coverage of ROV qualifiers this weekend and postpone the final stages of Rise of Valour until Stage 4 restrictions have been lifted. Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support."

The new tentative schedule for the Rise of Valour stages are:

  • September 19th - Play-In Stage
  • September 20th - Last Chance Qualifier
  • September 22-24th - Finals

The dates for the last two open qualifiers will remain the same. Qualifiers #5 and #6 are set to be played this weekend on Aug 22 and 23, respectively. However, unlike the previous four qualifiers, they will not be streamed by Fortress Melbourne.