Big Valorant content creators are calling out Riot after they were left off the list for the VCT LOCK//IN watch party.
Like most big esports events, only certain streamers will have permission to co-stream the VCT LOCK//IN watch party. This means that they can show the event on their stream to watch with their viewers. The list of content creators given this privilege usually includes pro players and popular streamers, but this year it seemed like Riot had missed a lot of well-known names in the community.
On February 11, Riot released the official list of watch party hosts. These are the only English-speaking streamers that will be able to stream the VCT LOCK//IN live.
Almost immediately, the Valorant community noticed that many big names were missing. This included the likes of AverageJonas and Hiko. While Riot put a note at the bottom of the announcement that there are more streamers than what’s listed, the community was left skeptical and shocked by the names on the list — and who was kept off. Not having some of the most well-known and respected Valorant streamers and players had the community accusing Riot of not actually understanding the player base.
Riot Games responds to Valorant LOCK//IN backlash
The largely negative reaction to the list caught the attention of Riot Games’ global head of esports, Leo Faria. He told fans that more creators have been invited to co-stream the tournament.
“While we want diversity and variety of languages, we don’t want to stop folks who are committed to our sport from creating content and being part of this moment with us. Thanks for your feedback, I hope you have a ton of fun!” he tweeted.
The response was mostly positive, with many content creators asking for an invitation. Fans showed their support for their favorite streamers, hoping to get them in on the action. This included competitive Valorant player Kaemi and popular content creator Fega.
Others wondered how Riot even went about picking who could co-stream or not. This has been an issue in the past as well, including in League of Legends Worlds 2022. At the time, League of Legends commentator Marc Robert “Caedrel” Lamont called it a “slap to the face.”
At that time, the League of Legends community felt that Riot had picked “big names” in streaming rather than people who were respected and dedicated to the League of Legends community. It was, once again, another event where esports fans felt that Riot didn’t understand the game’s actual scene.
