hes been on peoples radar after the absolute insanity that was his rookie year, gonna be super interesting to see how he develops next year on a (hopefully) signed team

nah bonkar does like to talk shit
got some of my worst flames from him during 10 mans back in paladins

but obviously chet shouldn't take shit like that seriously when its pretty clear its just banter
it resulting in his former teammates getting hurt is just unnecessary

LOCK//IN for me
so many new teams and so much hype around the teams
some of the flops were fun af too

especially Louds side of their run had so many close maps and series that it was hype the entire way

https://x.com/mousesports/status/1844366901239329162
FUCK

(ok mouz lime would be nice af)

he does this shit every offseason its actually unreal

lux9 the goat during offseason
but ye Lil Bob preformed unreal this bo3 ngl

We have drama he joins a team. 3rd time now actually. (First was fine since it was shortly after the situation happened)

At some point people will have to sit down and think about what they think are unforgivable crimes.

If racist remarks are one of those then there would be no reason for someone who said something racist to ever improve in that regard. It would be extremely counter productive and only slow down our more modern attempts to reduce racism (obviously recent political trends in various countries/regions could/are already undoing all this, but at least currently id say there's efforts being made).

Do we think our current society is ready for that? Is racism rare enough that you could reasonably exile every racist from society?

---------
I think its perfectly fine for Kamo to keep participating in esports. We have no accounts that would make us think he has had any issues regarding these racist remarks on any previous team or any team since.

This doesnt mean forget about it. Keep an eye on it for sure.

But at least based on current information it hasnt been a problem for such a long time, that I dont think it would be fair or productive to keep trying to punish him over it.

I believe in trying to improve people rather than shunning them, where possible. I acknowledge that what you think can be fixed and what doesnt will depend on ones values, however I really find it hard to believe that any of truly grew up in an society truly devoid of prejudice and racism.
So unless you want to keep living in a world plagues with those issues, trying to improve and reform is the only way forward.

I cant say if Kamo truly has changed, but I think it'd be stupid to deny him the opportunity.

well all the other teams have EMEA male rosters
g2 would have to fly their players over to join the event

not 100%, but pretty sure all of them will be mixed (teams like G2 might struggle though)
all teams were invited and all the orgs taking part have a GC roster so it would be unusual to have a full GC or a full male roster in there

its been getting promotion via the teams that join the tourney
but ye as mentioned above probs because they wanted the focus to be on GC (this is just offseason after all)

tourney will be fun af to watch, some nice rosters

oh ye should have edited my comment
but looks like its a mix going off this post https://x.com/H1berr/status/1842562088931377242
(saying hes playing for HGE but is still LFT as a free agent)

Lmao that HGE roster is actually stacked wtf

Is that a mix or a proper team?
Cause thats a loooot of people for a normal team

we better get a showmatch reuniting the fruit duo now that litshii is back in dach

teams saw TH show off how good our t2 is and just decided to ignore it and import instead xD

cant fault an individual team, theyre all trying to win, but man Im not on board

If nataNk doesnt find a t1 team because of this ill throw hands

yea idk, aint excited for these pickups, but it is what it is
Ruxic is still good so thats fine at least

huh
well thats gonna be interesting
dont think its gonna do him many favors having to learn multiple playstyles, but, given how many options GX had, he must have impressed
Good on him ig

well nah theyre secured t2
and theyre willing to spend a decent amount of money

last years roster flopped hard, but on paper the roster should have been one of frances best, so the org itself is fine

are they really gonna run him on flex?
I dont think its his worst idea but... flexible isnt exactly what I think off when I think of runners DIA (or his Vit) performance

huh not the rookie I was expecting to get another year of the 2, but glad to see it nevertheless
he was great in t2 and I hope he can prove hes got it in t1 too this time round

interesting turn the roster is taking ngl, but im in for the ride

probably really likes the project, and is confident that Vit will be able to get him eventually

Pretty sure theyll already have an AC, just not told us yet
Teams tend to take their time announcing that they worked/are working with a coach/analyst (and way too often just dont at all, even after having them for an entire event... because screw giving t2 coaches exposure)

nah itll pick up im sure
t3 dach doesnt have that bad of a viewerbase so combining that with a couple of the t2 viewers and we might get close to the 1k during some more hype matches (hopefully)

they'll have their game tomorrow https://www.valorant-challengers.de/matches/589269-alternate-attax-vs-xperion-nxt

Vlr doesnt have this tourney again, but for German speaking peeps (or just people who dont mind not having a clue what the casters are waffling) The Pokal is live for the first game of the tourney.
Big tourney with lots of the t2 DACH orgs showing off/trialing new rosters (and lots of t3 players trying to make a name for themselves like last year too).

Game after this one is Fokus (should be in around 2.5 hours per schedule)

For teams/match schedule: https://www.valorant-challengers.de/coverages/32951-valorant-challengers-dach-evolution-thepokal

Watch on: https://www.twitch.tv/valorantleague_dach

I hope he's sitting down

its ok, we all make mistakes
I was a lime hater back in 2022 too, thinking his team stole the promotion slot from the better DACH teams (admittedly internet stole it from the team I wanted https://www.vlr.gg/109944/ovation-esports-vs-dsyre-valorant-regional-league-dach-evolution-stage-2-playoffs-lbf)

And look at my character growth
Now I know the truth about the Lime and shall preach it for everyone to hear!
You too shall see the light, so that you may let the world know of his skill!

unfair game, KPZET threatened to leak Lime and Lewis' "tapes" if Lime turned on the monitor

oh he'd be fucked... the amount of limes that would hit him over the course of the bo3

My love for ex polaris players only goes so far
He better not make it to the finals or hes getting hit with a lime

So what youre saying is Fokus is getting Derke?
Idk seems like a sidegrade if you ask me

ngl this post was specifically made for ya

Fokus' new (for The Pokal) roster doesnt have Lime on it https://x.com/FOKUSValorant/status/1841811240080855296
Given that Fokus is one of the best paying t2 orgs it wouldnt make sense for him to join t2 (it would if he trusts another project more or this is just a temporary roster like last years one but we dont talk about that)

So that means Lime confirmed for Tier 1!!!!!

The hopeium tanks are running real low here, but theres still a sliver left

No, but I think its safe to say that Riot doesnt value ascended teams at all and I find that a bit worrying.

The 2 pieces of information we have are late payments and lackluster communication (which I would assume are tied to these payments).

I think its good to hold your orgs accountable, however Im not sure I like how much more severe the consequences are for ascended teams. When you pay the orgs you have to have some more reasonable tools to force compliance with the TPA than to outright terminate the partnership.

Remember Partnerships whole point is to be more stable. This just proves once more that its supposed to be stable for t1 orgs. T2 orgs can go die in a ditch for all riot care, as long as they keep wasting money in t2 for the carrot of getting into t1.

We have Riots direct partners (as in TOs in t2) not pay prize pools for YEARS now, with little to no consequences. If it benefits Riot theyre more than willing to turn a blind eye.

Idk... I sorta hope theres more than just payments. This reaction is currently way over the top.
If there wasnt anything else then I hope Riot uses other tools in the future to force compliance, or at the very least clearly communicates it with teams and players ahead of time. Players and staff should not get screwed over like this.

Ya cant be surprised a player gets a bit of a following after winning a regional league, getting through play-ins at ascension -> preforming very well in groups after, and now being the best duelist in both DACH and Spain during his respective splits

Thats bound to get him some fans

NOW SOMEONE SIGN LIME!

ey ey ey im sure Cojo wouldnt shoot a dog
lets not go too far here

all respect to filu cause I think hes great (unbiased to find the ex dach player great ik) but something tells me its the former

o no not again for KOI (unless they actually chose this time)

F for Flickless, like I get not going for even more (less proven) t2 with this kind of roster, but still a shame
Hope he gets a shot in the future

Yea it would and it wouldnt even be close imo
You got 2 of the big fraggers from 2 of Valorants best teams internationally, combined with one of EMEAs most explosive duelists (turned smokes)
Trexx is trexx, whos always fragged incredibly every chance he got on the big stage

Jamppi would be the only player you could for sure upgrade in the raw firepower department.
I dont think we've ever been as close to a full firepower roster as this one would get.

Theyd still crash and burn though, pls dont drop cender

I already ordered a new monitor so I can chuck this one out of the window with no consequences for when it happens

Nice pickup
had a solid year, slow ascension but util was on point

get TL a proper star fragger and im fully on board with their current roster

ye as soon as I typed it I remembered that it was the first one for TL xD

do we even know TLs coach?
edit: yes we do im stupid

ye im talking about improvement of a more fundamental level (which im 100% certain he would have achieved playing actively in a tier 1 environment)
Atm hes requires a lot of support util. He uses it to an exceptional level to be clear (the untraded first kills stat is unreal), but it was a big investment for the rest of SK leaving the rest of the players with a lot less tools.
His playstyle reminds me more of a ranked player being slotted into a team rather than him being part of the team properly (obviously not helped by him only doing pro part time).
Overheats are still relatively common and decision making can be lacking. Especially team macro level stuff seemed like he wasnt really on board or didnt full understand it at times (again, Id blame the part time).

I dont consider them to be great enough risks as to skip him though.
This is all stuff that the team can and will fix as he plays in a proper environment for longer. But it is work and you can be certain he'll continue the current growth trajectory.

I cant really say if this is why Happy looks to be choosing Koala over him, maybe he does just see other advantages in him rather than being scared of potential disadvantages that come with Click.

Yea it definitely feels off and im convinced click would have been the better option too.

I just find it hard to blame Happy for it rather than just the situation just being so unlucky, since it makes sense from his perspective. He has a super strong roster, banking it all on your star player growing to match international competition is a risk (even if I think its more than worth taking, since it'd set you up for years to come)

What I do want people to understand though is that esports is just filled with it. This is not outragous event; if anything this is expected. Networking is realistically more important than actually being the very best.

To give a prominent example of nepotism:
Think of this like the GE situation (more specifically Polvi since its easier to focus on 1 player). While they got less of an advantage than Koala afaik (just part of the normal trials rather than getting to skip the queue entirely), they got into trials they really shouldnt have.
The coach already knows them and their personalities, and it is reasonable to assume they wouldnt have made the trials if he hadnt.

Polvi was perfectly suitable for the team - preformed decently, consistently getting the highest ACS and entrying for the team. He didnt stand out negatively at all surrounded by the rest of GE. And (very important for last year's GE based on the offseason interviews spin did) his personality matched the rest of the team. He was a great fit.

But should he have been imported? Is it fair to end up "ignoring" the entirety of pacifc t2 to go with an EMEA duelist?
From a fans perspective, definitely no. It just doesnt feel fair. And we want fairness in our esports, even if this notion is just so far removed from reality.
From an orgs perspective, Im pretty confident getting Polvi was the correct move. While still very much mediocre at best, the team surpassed last year's roster (which was filled to the brim with talent), going 4-9 (vs last years 3-8) in a more competitive league. Bad year, but acceptable given that this was a last resort of a roster with all the initial plans falling through. Could have created a decent core for the team to build on in future years if the fan reaction wasnt quite as negative.

We have to consider Polvi a nepotism import, though. Yes, he was the safe option where Spin knew the personality and skill would match the project. But he got favorable treatment due to prior experiences with Spin and BigTime even if he proved himself in trials and ended up doing fine in the context of the team.

Koala will be the same (in the context of his team. NaVi is obviously aiming way higher than GE). Im 99% confident he'll do great. However, it just isnt fair for him to bypass an entire t2 system just because Happy liked him on the old roster. It is the correct move from an orgs perspective, but it still sucks for us fans.

And this isnt the fault of coaches or players to be very clear. It just the industry being about taking the safest options, and that will naturally lead to past teammates/friends getting preferential treatment.

(Sorry this is all under your post gamergirl, reading through your other replies, you have a pretty reasonable take on this whole situation. I just find it easier to have it all in one place rather than spreading it out into 5 replies and your post is what got me to start writing initially so yeeea... 1 draft vlr essay here we go!)

youre not going to sit here and tell me its nepotism to pick koala over him tho

Both can be true though. He can be better and it can still be nepotism.

From "Oxford Languages": "the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs."
They might not be friends, which is why its only close, but the line is very thin here.

Its an unfair advantage that weeks of trials from the existing team to try and find suitable players get overruled by the new coach, only for him to then bring a player he is already more comfortable with.

As I described briefly in another thread, I think its perfectly fine and even correct for Happy to do this (it is his job to make the best roster possible to try and get the org a win), but it is still realistically nepotism though.

FUCK THE DACH CURSE

But nah this aint really on Happy. It is his job to make a roster hes confident he can win with; we dont really know what issues he sees (or maybe just advantages the other options offer).
Offseason and timings are just brutal and regularly rob players off their t1 spots, just esports being shit in that aspect unfortunately. Quite a few players getting screwed over this year.

I pray that either team will still end up with him (remember this is still all rumors), but if not then it is what it is. He's gonna make it eventually, and dang itll be sweet to have our first representative in franchising (and no tex does not count, he never played in DACH).

bro you better not come to germany
robbing of us of our first representative as a warmup

Yea he was fine
Not top tier yet, but def should have (maybe will? idk vits plans) gotten another year in t1
Good news is that the pros/coaches Ive seen speak about him this offseason werent negative at all, so its not like his reputation is ruined there