true, it just feels like untapped potential

got it, thanks for explaining

tier 2 rito strikes again :D

well I was talking about more official and reliable sources, not JingggssFamilyLawyer

90% of the reports i have seen uses they/them to all pros

the entire CIS region outside of the val pros knows each other quite well

teams play each other once a year, has an ability to create different ideas and game views. wouldn't say it is bad, but never seen it before

he was basically s1mple before s1mple. And, funnily enough, when s1mple was like 18 they played together in one team and s1mple was really toxic towards markeloff and blade (his future coach but then IGL) for them not working hard enough. Then they kicked him and he wrote tweets saying that ''their team will never win anything cuz they are lazy''

feels kinda weird, aren't some regions stronger by default thanks to a more developed scene?

''how fast can I drink 0.4l of beer, just in one take? 10 seconds? 10 seconds? proceeds to drink it in like 5
basically he was the first esports legend in Ukraine (alongside Dendi from Dota and his teammates from navi cs 2010) and he had a reputation of being cracked sniper with alcoholic issues. There were rumours of him partying until 5 AM drinking non stop and then stomping local Eastern European lans with insane stats like 30-5

lmao at navi, goat markeloff back https://youtu.be/oLvAOXvDUEw

afaik someone said that attending an event and the entire league season are two different things in the eye of the law

so basically you compete in the VCL to get into ascension and there you have to fight different regions?

I feel like this guy is just the wildest cs fan who wants to destroy vct

how is apac different from emea/americas?

riot killed the entire tier 2 scene for them and they answer back with the most mid ass teams and shitty classics.

well yeah, NA can potentially have 3 big orgs leaving in one year (oxygen, m80, tsm), it's also wild how the brazilian scene has no imperial, no pain.

I feel like a healthy t2 scene would bring 5 other things cooler than showmatches

tier 2 is just dead now, no going back

you don't know how trash Latifi was. Like saying boaster can win an aim duel against Derke

true, but now it's just a what if. c0m was a champs winner, remember

I mean it was a steady growth. top 9 at kick off, top 3 stage 1, top 10 shanghai, top 1 stage 2, top 3 champs

Champs is important, but IMO they could only use the ''champs is the most important event'' if they actually won it, top 3 is good, but I feel like it just can't outweigh the top 10 at Shanghai and missing Madrid

I meant their shanghai event. I get it I get it, chemistry issues, but I would expect a more consistent season. At Champs, they did what was asked of them, didn't get stunned by Trace, only lost to two finalists at champs

5 biggest names lev could find.
and also a player like aspas in an international roster just warrants the ''superteam'' title

they weren't the flop (hello nrg), but they did underperform

yeah, as if just getting the 5 biggest names you can doesn't bring nearly as much success as developing a system

I recognize leagues of any region just a qualification to the event, international events > splits

NRG - the superteam that never started
LEV - the super team that never won

superteam lasted 2 splits, yikes

I know only one finnish IGL.... best known for his signature tactic of ''going a, but then going b''

yeah, about that.......

fear not, it's bleed's only loss, they go 11-1

solid 1-10 (win over bleed)

name checks out

Sorry, I am not talking about just one game, rather a streak of series where one team, no matter how well the play, will not win the other. Like vitality winning every single game vs TH

Ok, that's what I was kinda looking to :D

What's the most one sided matchup in vct? Kinda curious to see since i come from cs and in there navi has a 9 win streak over g2 (around a year worth of games) so I wonder if there is a matchup where one team just can't beat the other.
Oh, and it has to be some sort of two top teams, not one top team and one shitter, both navi and g2 are top 5 teams in the world so maybe something like sentinels and 100t?

I guess we will just stay at our opinion then :)

well I like what they do in cs, so I kinda respect them the most out of br teams

real talk, what's the most competent brazilian esports org? Pain?

the op statement was an overstatement, so I kinda argued with it. also TBF I am sorta new to the scene so I thought that it was just her being some talented GC player and not someone who had some achievements in t3.

I feel like in t2 she can gain some experience and have less pressure on her when going into t1

so we will still consider it a real possibility with like a 5% chance?

kinda sad tbh, but I guess we will see how it unfolds

Perspective from a CEO spending $700,000 on our Valorant Team in 2 years to compete in T2:

What would you do if after pouring $700,000 into a dream, you found out it was never built to last?

(if you are an esports fan, player or somehow involved in esports, I appreciate a like and retweet for awareness)

That’s exactly the reality we faced as we sought to compete in Tier 2 Valorant.
When Riot reduced the 2 - year franchise slot to just one year, it felt like a slap in the face.
That’s when we began to reconsider our place in the game. We weren’t alone - others felt it too.

After winning champs in 2021, we were invited to apply for the VCT Franchise. It felt like everything was coming together. We even secured a final 20 spot and flew to Berlin to pitch our plans in front of the decision-makers.
But we didn’t make the cut.
Surprisingly, we weren’t too upset. Why? Well, the competing orgs had a lot more experience, a bigger fanbase, and significantly larger budgets.

Let me be clear: our impression of the Riot staff was excellent.
They were professional, passionate, diligent, and extremely friendly.
But once we descended to T2, everything changed. That’s when the nightmare began. You see, fighting for just one slot across all of Europe isn’t just difficult - it’s ruthless, but potentially extremely rewarding.
We knew we could make it and we came damn close in year one of competing in T2 by finishing #3 in Ascension.

Teams, including ours, poured money, time, and heart into the competition, paying good salaries and making massive sacrifices.

Let’s be honest: T2 Valorant has only existed for two reasons:

• Players grinding to make their way up.
• Orgs like ours investing in those players, hoping to compete for that elusive slot.

Without the franchise system as a goal, would T2 even exist? I don’t think so.

What happened to the T2 scene? Is Riot understaffed? Do they not care? Or are the wrong people in charge? Any of these possibilities would spell disaster for building a sustainable T2 ecosystem. And trust me, it wouldn’t take much to fix, definitely not a lot of money.

We’ll be diving deeper into this mess in our next podcast episode with
@KrimsonAer
and
@ElevatedSpeaks
, discussing the changes needed for a better T2 ecosystem. Stay tuned.

As for us? Competitive Valorant is a closed chapter for now. The mismanagement of tournaments, broadcasts that don't appeal to the majority, low viewership, prize money delays (even casters waiting for their 2023 payments!), a lack of communication, and the cancellation of Split 3 tournaments. It all got worse.

If we ever return, it’ll either be in a massively profitable situation (finding a low - budget team with a lot of potential) or in a more sustainable ecosystem.

But the harsh reality is, T2 Valorant has been a slap in the face, not just for orgs like ours, but for the players too. They sacrifice their time and lives chasing the dream of going pro, while countless people behind the scenes, coaches, management, editors, designers, work tirelessly for the same goal.

And let’s be real, they aren’t getting rich from it; for most, it’s pure passion. At times, it feels like we are being exploited. Too many people work in this industry for “an apple and an egg” (a German saying .. you get the point).
Yet, for many, working in esports is the dream. That said, I’ve also seen the opposite. People in critical roles being massively overpaid while delivering incompetence that ruins the progress for everyone.
Esports deserves better. Valorant deserves better. Maybe Riot’s focus is on T1. Maybe the higher-ups are unaware of what’s going on. Maybe things will change. But right now, it’s a disaster for orgs.

It's an even worse system for the players. We can pivot to other games or opportunities.
But the pro players? They’re stuck. They’ve dedicated years to mastering this game, and learning another from scratch could take years more.
They’re the ones being hit hardest. I truly feel for the countless unsigned T2 teams and players who deserve to make a living in this space.

Whether you're an org owner, an esports worker, or a player unsure of your next step - join our Discord.
Let’s continue the conversation, reach out if you want to chat, need help, have ideas. Maybe together, we can find a way forward.

You're not alone.

Stay strong, Ben
2nd link (Complexity owner)
This is why we left Valorant after being denied a slot. The T2 plan looked like a very expensive gamble with questionable upside and a low probability of success.

true, but that just kills the esports scene long term, no?

sry, meant sports like f3-f2 in the f1 series. female drivers usually stop there. Same for esports

couldn't she make it into MxS

tier 2 is the level around which female/trans atheletes crumble most of the time