I've seen people say that tickets are sold out, but that's just not the case. Go to ticketmasters and type Valorant in the search bar. There you'll be redirected to ticketmasters es, and you'll just have to choose your spots and dates (Still plenty available as far as I can see)

Pretty sure a salary cap is illegal in the U.S. without a union to bargain with (The Overwatch League got in trouble for that : https://www.engadget.com/doj-overwatch-league-salary-caps-investigation-203707925.html)

https://twitter.com/pansy/status/1632011051720949762

Guess we're having Bren & Sideshow casting the Grands!

Concerning your report about the Wash. Justice, the VP had this comment :
https://www.reddit.com/r/ValorantCompetitive/comments/yg79s8/comment/iu91xga/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

It should be 6-2-2 based on the talent pool of each region. I truly believe that the extra BR team won't have the same level as the first two, and it'll be struggling heavily should they stay with BR talent (Not saying the talent pool won't grow, but right now, it's not ready to accommodate 3 world-class teams to compete at the very top)

They are a Chinese org, so they didn't really have any chance of making it in EMEA. They also already have a squad in China

If they won the Tier 1 league, I doubt they'd lose TWO Bo5s against a Tier 2 opponent, but even if they did, they could still get back in later on! That's the beauty of Promotion/Relegation. You can always go back in if you win :)

This is my first thread here, but I figured I'd see how people react to what I'd personally like to see in Riot's new partnership program starting next year.

And let's address the elephant in the room :

• The number of partner (franchise) slots

It is no secret Riot's hinting towards a very restricted number of partnered teams which, in my opinion, would be disastrous for the scene. The official circuit is barely a year and a half old, and we've seen regions develop at paces not seen in any other esport (And yes, I'm including LoL in that statement since their numbers have developed over several years instead of the meteoric rise that's been seen in Valorant), and yet Riot is already talking about 'gatekeeping' the scene. What we know right now is from a leak indicating that these leagues would have 8-10 teams (At least for the Americas - We haven't heard about EU and Asia yet), and that's a massive issue considering every scene is still in its infancy and growing.

However, here's how this could work (I will be taking the Americas as an example) :

• There'd be 10 partnered teams (6 from North America, 2 from Brazil and 2 from Latin Americas) that would have permanent spots in Tier 1 (Protected from Relegation)
• The Tier 1 circuit would have 14 teams, meaning 4 spots would be up for grabs for teams that haven't made the partnership program (2 spots for North American teams, 1 BR and 1 LATAM). This would foster a very strong Tier 2 ecosystem whilst also keeping interest from orgs that haven't made the cut. It'd also garner a lot of interest in these leagues, thus driving viewership and getting eyeballs on the Tier 2 scene, an often forgotten concept for developers trying to run a successful esport.
• The Tier 2 scene would then have their circuit run in parallel with the Tier 1 scene, but with a much earlier starting date, to determine the 4 teams that would then join the other 10 in the Tier 1 circuit.
• The 4 teams that have been promoted to Tier 1 would then play, at the end of the season or split, against the 4 other teams that have won their respective Tier 2 leagues. They could make it a Bo3 out of Bo5 (Win 2 Best of 5's to either keep your spot or get relegated), as such a system would prevent fluke outcomes, confirming the best team would advance.

So in essence, it'd be a hybrid between franchising and an open circuit. Why would this be possible? Because Riot doesn't charge any franchising fee. The circuit's format is entirely up to them.

What do you all think?

EU's numbers are up by a massive % across the board compared to EU Stage 2 Challengers 1. Also not sure why people are getting antsy about the numbers generated by a Qualifier of a Qualifier that is also online. Like... Y'all need to breathe and touch some grass outside as the kids say lol. If the viewership numbers haven't grown much in a year, then we can worry

The team that would benefit the most from an IGL right now is obviously T1, but I think the team that would have the highest skill ceiling would be C9. Them with a fragging IGL would be absolutely nuts. No offense to Shinobi, but Steel is twice the player he is and some.

Heyyyy knew it! Let's hope for a nail-biter

The fifth has to be Shanks based on the reports out there. Can't wait to see this game! Should be a banger

Until T1 addresses the fact that they have no 'real' IGL (when you look at their games, they are all over the place), they'll always struggle in their games. The fact that Skadoodle is being scapegoated because he's quiet baffles me (you can't have five super vocal players on the team or it would be utter chaos), but it is what it is right now. I hope he finds a new team or that T1 drops a member for a true shotcaller. Would be a shame to see him re-retire from a game after a stint that short when we haven't seen his true ceiling in it.