What do you expect to see at an International Valorant event? Of course, you expect the best teams in Valorant’s four major regions to go toe-to-toe against each other, providing the ultimate test to each team and each region.
Instead, Sunday’s Round 2 draw served up strictly regional matchups for the next few days of action, with teams only facing opposition from their home region in the Swiss bracket.
VCT Masters London Round 2 matches are strictly regional
The London Valorant Masters matchups for June 8 are the upper-bracket Swiss contests:
- Vitality vs FUT (16:00 UTC/15:00 BST/10:00 EST)
- NRG vs Leviatán (19:00 UTC/18:00 BST/13:00 EST)
The London Valorant Masters matchups for June 9 are the lower-bracket Swiss contests:
- Dragon Ranger Gaming vs Xi Lai Gaming (16:00 UTC/15:00 BST/10:00 EST)
- Global Esports vs Full Sense (19:00 UTC/18:00 BST/13:00 EST)
The lower bracket matches specifically mean that regional team-kills are guaranteed in the matchups against the Chinese and Pacific rosters, with the loser of each contest going home.
Valorant’s second international of the year has promised that fans will “witness new rivalries,” but they will have to wait for those matchups later in the event.
Ultimately, the draw created two interlinked suboptimal outcomes for fans: they will see the same regional matches they have been watching in VCT Stage 1, and they will see their own region hurt itself in its confusion.
The matchups drew jokes and comments from organizations and fans alike, with Vitality sharing a meme regarding their matchup with FUT. In the replies, event and draw host, Frankie Ward jokingly apologized to the French organization for the outcome of the draw.
Some fans called for more serious intervention, such as repeating the draw or the introduction of rules to forbid regional matchups at this stage, but ultimately, fans will just have to grin and bear it for one round of action.
The draw may have been a bit of bad luck, but at the end of the day, it guarantees at least one win for each region, so fans can be happy about that.
Let us know your Valorant Masters London Pick’ems predictions on Insider Gaming’s Discord!
For other news, see the details of Insider Gaming’s Showcase!
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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