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Valorant
Ludwig Unsure About Shopify Rebellion VALORANT Future After VCT Rejection Ludwig Unsure About Shopify Rebellion VALORANT Future After VCT Rejection
Popular streamer, content creator, and co-owner of Shopify Rebellion, Ludwig Ahgren responded to the news that Shopify Rebellion had not secured a
VCT partnership slot for 2027. Ahgren later said that he believed Shopify Rebellion should not continue competing in VALORANT, citing frustrations with Riot Games.
On his stream, Ludwig expressed doubts about Shopify’s future in VALORANT. It was revealed that Shopify Rebellion would not be one of the four teams selected for a VCT partnership. Ludwig also claims there is little reward for organizations competing outside of the VCT partnership scope:
“I think that Shopify Rebellion should abandon VALORANT completely, and I think Riot Games has f**ked us long enough, and I don’t know if I wanna pursue it anymore, because I see no reward for doing so,” he said.
After the clip of him lashing out went viral, Ludwig clarified his reasoning on X, explaining why the upcoming competitive VALORANT structure
puts organizations outside the partnership scope at a massive disadvantage.
With the new VALORANT esport model, teams qualify for international tournaments through their regional circuits. Within each region, Riot Games partners with select teams. These organizations will benefit from
additional financial opportunities, including revenue from in-game cosmetics such as team capsules that include a weapon skin.
Ludwig argues that this will put organizations like Shopify Rebellion and Cloud9, used in his example, at a disadvantage if they try to build a championship-winning roster. Emphasizing partnered organizations would eventually end up “poaching” those players.
“If an unpartnered org builds a moneyball team that absolutely crushes at an international event – those players will be poached by a partnered org. It happened to us with Brawk and Mada going to NRG it is happening to C9 who just lost partnership and already letting their players shop around.”
With limitations from non-partnered teams, it remains to be seen whether Shopify, which has invested heavily in the VALORANT scene, will be in it long term. “I just don’t know if it is worth competing in the esport long term as compared to investing in an esport with a truly open system,” Ludwig concluded.
Image credit: Ludwig
Jordan Marney
About Jordan Marney
Jordan Marney is an experienced esports journalist. His work spans several years across League of Legends, VALORANT, and more. Jordan has collaborated with several high-profile esports publications and organizations, including Riot Games and Red Bull. His career highlight thus far was getting to interview Faker at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship.
View full profile
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