Had a great time chatting with @RiotStupendous just before the VCT EMEA Grand Finals last weekend.
We spoke on the introduction of the Premier system as well as the concept, execution and maintenance of the talent pipeline for EMEA VALORANT. #VCTEMEA
https://t.co/F6CjkZLbIw
"If [teams] think they've got a free win and they don't put their full effort into it against us... we could ride a train to a top 10 finish"
Interviewed @PERG_Fury, South Africa's Head Coach for the ENC. #ENC2026#VALZA 🇿🇦
https://t.co/yaAO6H60tL
@symba_24@MonteCristo@Tharawow@doglop0@drewlevin Valorant has a ‘Champions skin bundle’ each year from which they share the revenue with the teams. I recall at least 40 million generated from just Douyin for the Champs25 bundle. The classics, in 2025, raised over 25 mil by March 2025.
I haven’t seen one person talk about how alarming this is as a concept.
Previously souvenir packages were FREE, given as drops for watching games using the in game GOTV feature. Then valve decided, “maybe we should be making money for this?”
So souvenir packages were converted to w paid model, allowing you to choose which game you got the package from but having to pay a small fee. Basically a case.
Souvenirs needed a change, they became boring with the lack of signatures, valves attempt to solve that was the replay charms, while cool in concept I think fell a bit short in attempting to revive souvenir hype.
Now after this update, you can make any gun a souvenir. But with the new pricing algorithm for the stickers (which is also bullshit btw but thats a different topic entirely) the cost of making a gun into a souv is extortionate and irreversible so most likely a terrible decision if you care about the value of the base skin.
Wether the recent monetary changes by valve is driven by greed or pressure to remove gambling from governmental bodies, what has happened is valve sees people spending extortionate prices on terminal drops & now thinks they can price whatever they want at insane prices knowing people will buy it.
If you want this to continue, keep purchasing from terminals, buy some stickers from the major shop. But if you want things to change you need to refrain from interacting. Don’t let valve win.
First time in history that Emea Masters has not had an official English broadcast.
We are so blind sided by the whole costreaming “debate” that we completely forget where the roots are.
We have one of the best tier 2 systems in the entire world, and it’s currently left to rot. So much culture, personality, skill, story behind all those players that nobody will ever know.
“We are lacking personality from players and story lines from the broadcast”, but when was it made easily accessible to get those storylines? To have the players make content that’s not generic and actually highlights who they are?
Emea Masters is the peak of league of legends when it comes to player development, scouting, prospects and storylines. It is currently absolutely buried.
Skewmond, Yike, Naak Nako, Lyncas to name a few (and soooo many more currently in the LEC) made their way through tier 2 and EM. And people barely even know.
Spanish league went through a heartbreaking season with their broadcast. NLC? In the absolute dark. We let our tier 2s die, we let league esports die.
Sorry for the essay, it’s just been a very heartbreaking last 2 years.
Hopefully we somehow recover it 🥺
🎙️ "When you are on the stage and when you’re fighting each other, you are not really a friend. You still respect each other, but you want to destroy. That’s it."
I spoke to nAts on his Boaster speech, reaching Santiago, and playing against fatigued Fnatic
"It’s always quite hard to not let the ending define something"
Sat with @FNATICVAL@milanfps after their Lower Finals series. #VCT
Check it out 🙏
https://t.co/937xX27gaW
🇨🇿 marteen in the last 48 hours: 232 kills
🇨🇦 FNS in his VCT career (2023–2025): 1153 kills
marteen just got almost 20% of FNS’s career kills… in 48 hours