i've tried both, i think its more about preference in this case

personally favor japanese cuisine, the food gave me an overall better experience as well
I'm also big on soup and confectionaries/desserts so that might also be why

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likely--as they branded Masters Bangkok as "The Dawn of the Duelist."

additionally, last duelist was agent 24 (iso), and we've since had one of every role except duelist: 25 (clove, smokes), 26 (vyse, sentinel), 27 (tejo, initiator), 28 (projected to be duelist)

why do people drink alcohol?

or to put it to a tee for comparison, why do Italians love wine so much? while Italians love wine for the exquisite and rich taste, addiction is a huge part, much like spicy food is to many other cultures (also including your culture, especially near Calabria, where, cmiiw, you guys use a lot of peppers there, and even pepper jams).

which one?

because both are fire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuimhLsoO78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saQsWNjqPUk

what the sigma are you on

just put the fries in the bag atp 😭

what a painfully obvious comment.

if you're going to source the majority, you're obvious always going to get the fan-favorite/overdogs for every match.

if you wanted spicy picks, you would have to ask individual people.

MaKo got the free1ng he deserved.

yes, the translation was good but it's hard to carry out the tone of a speech into a different language.

but at the same time, it's not like meteor DIDN'T have a problem with autumn. there was a problem, but it's not as major as it may seem.

all in all, news dramatifies events.

trust me, korea is NOT considered to have cold climate year around. In fact, our summers are devastatingly hot (PRX themselves have said this???) and our winters are in fact freezing (but has it occurred that you don't play VALORANT outside in the snow?) also, its not like koreans are immune to their own weather, as we suffer heavily from weather fluctuations, it's almost like we can't get adjusted to either the cold or the heat.

but yeah, homesickness is terrible...

the thing is, riot already has an HQ in KR, and KR's infrastructure makes it easier for esports to be held there. also, kr culture is heavily geared towards gaming, so I'm pretty sure that equipment/cultural boundaries won't be hard to overcome.

NV Food really was a different beast

well, TSM v SEN in FAZE Invitationals was kind of mickey, since TSM got a 1 map adv. because Bo5's weren't fully fleshed out.

edit: NA Chal 2 Stage 1 was also similar with the map adv. BS, but NV would've been up 2-0 regardless, not to likely to have a rev. sweep

https://www.vlr.gg/10258/envy-vs-sentinels-champions-tour-north-america-stage-1-challengers-2-gf
https://www.vlr.gg/8415/sentinels-vs-luminosity-nerd-street-gamers-winter-championship-playoffs-gf
https://www.vlr.gg/1635/team-solomid-vs-sentinels-faze-clan-invitational-playoffs-gf

the only three

"maximumthehormone" is telling someone to get a life in VLR of all places.

ts pmo fr icl ngl 💔💔💔

It's a meme poking at the fact that a lot of VLR users have been making, since carpe is likeable player and even if he does bad he's the type of player a lot of people support.

They're only half-serious LOL, they know

agreed, good reasoning

me lol

its honestly not too bad, i like a spicy challenge here and there

insightful (and thoughtful) response. I believe that Thailand has a ridiculous amount of potential right now (feels like the KR scene before it "boomed") and even though Vietnam is "dying" (e.g. YESicaN being wasted, other young talent not having the resources and needing to trailblaze), I strongly believe that they will make a magical resurgence over the next 4-5 years. give it time, they will shock the world once they get their hands on resources. Lastly, without memeing, I genuinely think that India will develop the necessary talent over time, but I think that it'll take 8+ years minimum, since India is a poor but developing country, with Indians having an unconscious bias and an image that gaming is not a sustainable industry. I REALLY love the ideology that GE's CEO is coming in with, and I desperately beg him to continue his endeavors, no matter how bleak it looks.

valid points, will take into account.

in hindsight my initial statement felt like an overreaction to the braindead takes I kept seeing

also, moments is a dangerous term, since what "counts" as a moment? In this case, you set the moment during late(ish) 2023, and yes, I will concede that SEA had better placements. however, in a given moment, you had KR players brewing at the time in tier 2, some rotting away. just think about all of the untapped potential KR had before 2024/25, its insane to see players like meteor get held back by players like TS, or players like free1ng (who's played in VCT KR since THE beginning) who've never got a chance until now.

you listed one team. ONE team.

i know i said a lot, but please care to read what I've said previously: "if we're merely going by a top-heavy standard, you only have PRX, which pales to the sheer amount of placements that VS/DRX and now GEN, with a side of T1 that has been made." And yes, even in 2023, since yes, PRX got an impressive 2nd place finish, but DRX also got a 3rd-4th place finish in LOCK//IN, and don't forget that the top 3 teams in APAC were PRX, DRX, and T1 (in 2023)

about that... i can't speak for JP because I am Korean, but a huge part of the CN hate directed towards KR teams is because of their deep, entangled history in LoL. CN have often regarded KR teams (mainly T1/Faker and GEN/Chovy) as "THE" team(s) to beat, so I've heard from my Chinese friends that CN has a lot of both megafans and megahaters of T1/GEN.

hence why you saw Shanghai's crowd prejudiced against GEN; iirc they rooted for every team that went against GEN and T1 really strongly, and whenever GEN would clutch important rounds, you can hear the crowd suddenly fade into silence.

two wrongs don't make a right, unless you're labeling the loud minority (not too minor nowadays 🥲) as hypocrites, then yes, you are valid.

my main point wasn't really about justifying the need to add more slots. I've never said anything that supports the NEED to. in fact, I'm against having more than 5 teams max. its good for the scene and will ensure that we don't have another scene like LoL, even if I usually don't care for diversity bullshit and equity bullshit. (btw the notion of equity is overrated and garbage, there are better ways in all systems like the workplace, schooling, and in this case VCT, to implement a diaspora of cultures)

with the SEA fanbase (half-rightfully, as some individuals make good points while the others mald just because of racist reasons, nonsensical/nonexistent problems, or the fact that its "unhealthy for the environment") bitching about KR (again, its the loud minority, I know plenty of SEA fans that are really chill), it's really hard to not get defensive as a Korean myself and a VCT KR devote, again, with some of the reasons I see circulating.

nothing against you as a person, hope this doesn't leave a bad impression on me or VCT KR in general.

I would heavily disagree. SEA as a region was never better than KR.

Here are some potential arguments you might claim that I will refute:

"Well, the t2 region is better in SEA than KR."
In 2021 and 2025, this is not true. In 2023/2024, yes! however, kr had 3 teams in partnership 2023 and beyond while being a singular country.
the only exception here is 2022, where I believe that the t2 region was definitely stacked in SEA's favor, and this was before partnership.

"teams are split right now, so KR in general is mid."
dude, 3/4 teams that have been split are in the top 4 rn, with our fourth placing top 6 on their first tier 1 tourney.

"Korean ascension team lose to OCE in '23"
...so we're just nitpicking. they were (arguably) the favorites alongside BLD to win APAC ascension, and they even beat BLD. its just that DK are known chokers KEKW
I don't think that's a good argument in general.

"these 4 teams are not perfect"
and look at the SEA teams. while no team is perfect, its visible (whether you look at the gameplay or the stats in map win % or whos left in the tourney) that KR currently has a more refined playstyle that works in this current meta. they have controlled macro, and solid fundamentals.

"so why act like theres just 15 more tier 1 korean players, when theres max about 4-5"
you might be insane for saying this. I'm rarely pissed at any take, but this might take the cake. i might sound very aggressive, but this just shows how little you know about APAC t2 in general. On the top of my head, I can already list current VCT KR players that were merely prospects/no-names that yall didn't know, including: Akame (DFM) Jinboong (DFM) UdoTan (GE) HYUNMIN (DRX) free1ng (DRX) yoman (GEN) AND all of NS
and the year before? we had a literal ranked player Karon (GEN) become the best smokes player of 2024! this doesn't even include stew from VCT CN (JDG) BeYN (DRX) Flashback (DRX) iZu (T1) Estrella (RRQ)

ill even toss in prospects right now for '26: Gwangboong (SG, twin of Jinboong) ZynX (DRX.A) LOB (SZ) DH (T1.A) exa (T1.A) GangPin (T1.A) TenTen (T1.A) pr0xy (MARU) and I'm pretty sure I'm missing most of the KR prospects in VCT CN and JP t2.

Sayaplayer is not even rostered, and Xross (NS) hasn't even seen play yet!

so please tell me how your overarching point makes sense. if we're merely going by a top-heavy standard, you only have PRX, which pales to the sheer amount of placements that VS/DRX and now GEN, with a side of T1 that has been made.

this is one of the few times I will say that someone is objectively wrong. insane. sorry in advance if I might've came out too strong.

facts, not a foxy9 hater but im also not a fan though

your points make sense

lowk Rb and Zest got played, but disagree with Foxy9. Opportunities given left right and center...

and even though Foxy9 didn't get any opportunities when Zest replaced him from time to time, his performance wasn't the brightest.

plus, his personal "high" wasn't even that high, and flashback does way better on senti anyways. that's the nature of esports.

I feel the same way, except DRX was my only exception.

EDG gives off the exact same vibe as SEN. almost like they're Asia's SEN.

Like, if you're a new fan coming to the scene, I get why people flock to the most clouted team, but is that really fun, when you can root for any other team after some more watching?

FPX?

If you're talking about EMEA FPX, no, since they've won an IL during 2022 Masters 2 Copenhagen.
If you're talking about CN FPX, just no.

TH is valid (but questionable depending on if we can see their performance continue in '25), G2 is questionable, considering that:

2025 AMER - Good start domestically so far, can't wait to see G2 dominate in Masters Bangkok
2024 Champs Seoul - Good starts during groups, absolutely bombed out of KO stage going 0-4 on maps
2024 Masters Shanghai - Only actual good placement for G2, went on a round to secure 3rd place, but shaky end, going 0-5 on two losses against a Bo3 against GEN in UF and Bo5 against TH in LF respectively.
2024 Masters Madrid - Did not qual
2023 Year - Won Ascension, props to them, but this wasn't at the t1 caliber. still, a nice performance from a team that was supposed to be in franchising.
2022 Masters Reykjavik - Bombed out with b2b losses against OPTC + PRX, 1 for 5 on maps.

overall, while it might hurt to say that G2 isn't a candidate to never win an IL, it only makes sense that they're missing a few cents to make the dollar count.

hot take: EMEA - APAC - AMER - CN

CN goes up after a few years

personally have the same. ill also give the percent chance I have them at

DRX (60%) - (40%) T1
VIT (55%) - (45%) TH
FUT (65%) - (35%) TL
SEN (30%) - (70%) G2

sorry SEN fans, G2 seems unstoppable atm. unironically SEN are the 2nd best AMER team imo

iirc its an alt-spelling of nguyen that was adopted around 1500-1600s, pronounced slightly different

hwin

those who know 👀🤫

thanks for reminding me

holy that's actually crazy, I've lost all belief I've had in a0t0mn

see #4--that's my guess.

humanity knows no bounds and I personally think I should off myself now

IM SHOOTING MYSELF

thing is, ANGE1 would've had the 2nd most deaths in EMEA if we exclude NA imports, since they had more tourneys, events, and off-season/showmatches over the years.

I don't even know how paTiTek grinded this much tbh

I don't have the skill to do that. That's why I added, "(incl. t2/open/offszn)." I guess the only thing this really tracks is how many tourneys player spent time in.

Quite literally, skill issue!

Just finished EMEA. Check it out!

https://www.vlr.gg/444587/most-deaths-oat-emea-edition

https://www.vlr.gg/444561/most-deaths-oat-amer-edition
^ Read this first if you want context!

In A-Z Team Order:

BBL Esports

FNATIC

FUT Esports

GIANTX

Karmine Corp

Natus Vincere

Team Heretics

Movistar KOI

Team Liquid

Team Vitality

Gentle Mates

Apeks

Overall

appreciate it 🐐

bro might've surpassed babysasuke's feud with chronicle

you are part of the draft class my young jit

im not smart, i just learned to drop my ego lol

but yeah, I love having these types of talk

after doing some more searching, you sir, have changed my mind

sparkling water

hm? I mean, I never made the correlation that viewership necessarily correlates to skill. its just how you phrased that made me inclined to believe that you are slightly overrating them.

I actually agree with the fact that they are being underrated (along with the NE region itself), not opposed.

mb, I meant as a team they are not tier 1 quality yet. they need refining imo

I think you're overrating the northeast region itself, but yes, they look promising. however, they are not of t1 caliber yet.