Valorant
Valorant
S0m parts ways with NRG
Tokoni Uti
North American Valorant player and content creator Sam “s0m” Oh has parted ways with organization NRG, it was announced last night. S0m is leaving NRG after three years with the organization where he pursued competitive Valorant and competed at the highest level. He will return to content creation during this offseason but did not rule out another stint in competitive Valorant, he said in a video for NRG. https://twitter.com/NRGgg/status/1702107355176112428 “Since …
Valorant
Fnatic parts ways with Valorant head coach Mini
Tokoni Uti
European organization Fnatic has parted ways with Valorant head coach Jacob “Mini” Harris after two years with the team, it was announced today. Mini played an integral part in the team’s success. Most notably, with the scouting of talent in the European region, such as Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder and Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, both of whom went on to become the best players in the world for a period of …
Valorant
Hilarious Valorant bug has players asking Riot for Fortnite-style skins
Fariha Bhatti
Not all Valorant bugs are just frustrating. Some apparently turn your agents into golden characters with music blasting in the background. Valorant has had plenty of skin-related bugs in the past, but most of them resulted from poor clipping. The recent Champions skin bug is unlike any other, and while it’s royally annoying, it has still inspired an idea among the Valorant players. A Valorant player shared the bug on …
Valorant
Run and gun accuracy in CS2 looks worse than Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
If you thought run and gun was bad in Valorant, wait until you see this video shared by a CS2 analyst. Popular CS personality Jacob “Pimp” Winneche took to X to share a snippet from his CS2 playtest. In a practice server, the analyst demonstrated just how accurate shooting while running is in CS2. FPS players know that Valorant had a severe run and gun issue which took Riot almost …
Valorant
The best Valorant agents to play on Sunset
Fariha Bhatti
Sunset is the latest map in Valorant, with two simple sites split by an elaborate mid area. Here are the best Valorant agents who excel at tackling Sunset’s layout. Sunset is starkly different from the recent maps Riot has added to the Valorant playlist. It’s smaller, cozier, and has dozens of choke points. Layout-wise, Sunset has more in common with older Valorant maps. If you’re intimidated by Sunset’s complex mid, …
Valorant
Riot Games says it’s working to secure a “positive outcome” for Guard players
Tokoni Uti
The global head of Valorant Esports at Riot Games has said it is working to figure out a solution for The Guard players following the row with the organization. Yesterday, Leo Faria said that Riot Games is working to find a “positive outcome” for the players at The Guard. A few days prior, it was announced that the organization had failed to sign the team participation agreement to formalize the …
Valorant
Does Elon Musk play Valorant?
Fariha Bhatti
Elon Musk’s Valorant Champions attendance may not have been as ceremonious, but some Valorant players are still curious if he actually plays the game. The Valorant Champions 2023 final was a big event, both in terms of viewership and celebrity attendance. Ben Affleck and Elon Musk surprised the fans at the event with their kids, leaving the attendees star-struck. While Ben Affleck entertained multiple interviews and even a backstage tour, …
Valorant
Riot criticized over handling of The Guard dismissal from VCT Americas league
Tokoni Uti
The developer and tournament organizer of the Valorant Champions Tour, Riot Games, has been criticized by the community after refusing to admit The Guard as the Challengers team into the Americas partnered league for 2024. Riot Games denied The Guard, which earned qualification to the league through the Ascension tournament earlier this year because the organization failed to “meet the deadline to agree to the Team Participation Agreement for VCT …
The Guard set to release all players following failure to join the VCT
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
North American organization The Guard is set to release all of its Valorant players without buyouts following the revelation that the organization will not participate in the VCT partnered league next year, multiple sources told WIN.gg and confirmed by the head coach. It is understood that The Guard will likely pay the players their termination buyouts to ensure they can be signed to another organization without difficulty. The Guard players, …
PRX something says Evil Geniuses players were only “toxic” for show
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The star duelist for Paper Rex, Ilya “something” Petrov has downplayed the supposed toxic behavior of Evil Geniuses players toward their opponents at Valorant Champions. During Valorant Champions, which saw Evil Geniuses defeat Paper Rex in the grand final to win the tournament, some fans were critical of the North American player’s attitude toward the other teams at the event. Evil Geniuses in-game leader Kelden “Boostio” Pupello said that China …
S0m and FNS say they’re stepping down from the active NRG roster
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
Yesterday two players from the NRG Valorant roster, Sam “s0m” Oh and Pujan “FNS” Mehta, said they have both stepped down from the team. The move follows an earlier report from WIN.gg, which stated that s0m, FNS, and European player Ardis Svarenieks would be moved off the team. The report noted that the team would continue with Austin “crashies” Roberts and Victor Wong as the only two players on NRG …
Valorant leak suggests agent 24 could have bulletproof powers
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
The first teaser for the next Valorant agent is here. According to the leakers, Valorant agent 24 will be a duelist. Riot just added an LA-themed map to Valorant’s playlist. Sunset is basked in a neon orange sunny glow with tight choke points and an elaborate mid area. Right after the map, the codename of Valorant agent 24 has slipped through the cracks. According to leakers, a card called “Bulletproof” …
Valorant map Sunset first look, release date, and layout
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Sunset has officially entered the Valorant playlist, but when does it release? Valorant’s latest map Sunset is based in LA, and the art and themes are truly authentic. It’s starkly different from Lotus, which had an old-school, traditional aesthetic. Sunset, conversely, has real-life LA references, and players will be able to experience it all soon. Here’s all we know about the upcoming Valorant map Sunset. Unlike Ascent and Bind, Sunset …
Elon Musk, Ben Affleck among celebrities who attended Valorant Champions
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The most anticipated event in the Valorant calendar, Champions, was attended by some A-list celebrities such as Elon Musk and Ben Affleck, among others. The conclusion of Valorant Champions, which saw North American team Evil Geniuses take down Paper Rex in the grand final, was hosted in Los Angeles, California. As a result, a few A-list celebrities in the area attended the tournament to greet fans and watch the final …
Evil Geniuses is your 2023 VCT Champions winner
William Davis
Valorant
Evil Geniuses is the winner of VCT Champions after taking down Paper Rex. EG is taking the VCT Champions trophy home. EG’s Cinderella story started earlier in the year. The North American squad has been improving slowly but surely. In Tokyo, EG came close to the title, but it was Fnatic who put an end to their dream. In Champions, EG’s performance improved gradually. In the semifinals, EG stumbled against …
How to claim Knight’s Market gun buddy in Valorant
Fariha Bhatti
Valorant
Riot has dropped a new Prime Gaming reward, allowing players to bag an attractive gun buddy for free. Amazon Prime Gaming is an ongoing rewards system for people who are subscribed to the Amazon Prime service. Tons of games offer free rewards, often refreshing regularly, that players can claim. In order to access Prime Gaming rewards, you’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription. Riot has revealed a brand new gun buddy …
Global Esports expected to replace SkRossi
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
Disclaimer: The author of this post has worked in a consultant role with Global Esports. Indian organization Global Esports is expected to explore replacement options for Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar, WIN.gg was informed by the organization. The player, who has been signed to the team since October 2020, will be allowed to explore his options. SkRossi has been a staple of the organization’s history in Valorant and developed a sizable following. …
EG Boostio credits Paper Rex following defeat: “It’s not fun to play against”
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The in-game leader of Evil Geniuses Kelden “Boostio” Pupello praised Valorant team Paper Rex following the team’s matchup at Champions. In the upper final of Valorant Champions, Paper Rex managed to defeat Evil Geniuses to secure a place in the grand finals, sending Evil Geniuses to the lower bracket. After the match, Evil Geniuses player Boostio credited Paper Rex for the team’s aggressive playstyle and difficult setups. During the post-match …
Valorant Champions breaks one million peak viewers
Tokoni Uti
Valorant
The most anticipated event in the Valorant competitive calendar has reached over one million peak viewers, according to data collected by Esports Charts. Yesterday, during one of the most contested matchups of the event between Paper Rex and Evil Geniuses, the tournament reached over one million peak viewers for the first time at Champions this year. This was the first time that LOUD was knocked off as the most-viewed match …
Fnatic eliminated from VCT Champions
William Davis
Valorant
Exactly 173 days after the LOCK//IN Sao Paulo finals, Loud finally got its revenge against Fnatic. In the biggest upset of the tournament, Fnatic has been eliminated from VCT Champions. Before the first map was even played in the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, Fnatic was already considered the favorite to take the title. The European squad was on a roll after its decisive victory at VCT Masters Tokyo. …
Riot Games has long looked to expand its footprint beyond the success of popular MOBA League of Legends, and one of its biggest successes to date in this regard is the tactical shooter, Valorant. Blending traditional first-person shooter elements with unique and flashy hero abilities, Valorant seeks to combine the best attributes of tactical shooters and hero shooters into one cohesive experience.
Based on player feedback, the game has largely succeeded in accomplishing those aims. It’s not an easy balance, and it’s one that is arguably still tenuous, but Riot Games seems to be doing as good a job of it as most fans have hoped for.
What type of game is Valorant?
Valorant is a first-person shooter that represents a unique blend of the tactical shooter and hero shooter subgenres. There are some games that represent similar gameplay elements, but not many that offer the exact experience that Valorant puts forward to players.
The tactical shooter genre is often considered to have been defined by the release of the original Counter-Strike, a multiplayer mod for famed single-player PC title Half-Life that later became a standalone game of its own. While most multiplayer FPS games to that point emphasized prolonged battles between opposing players zipping around the game at high speeds, Counter-Strike slowed things down significantly and made players much more susceptible to each other’s firepower, requiring players to take a more tactical approach to play.
That slower and more tactical approach, combined with the lightning-quick nature of action when it does occur, proved reliably popular. That popularity can still be seen today with the ongoing success enjoyed by the Counter-Strike franchise, and it’s this gameplay type that represents the core of Valorant. It’s no accident that former Counter-Strike developers were drafted by Riot Games to help create Valorant during the game’s formative stages.
What differentiates Valorant from CS and other tactical shooters it that each of the game’s characters, called agents, wield a number of unique abilities. Some are typical for tactical shooters, like flashbangs and smokes, while others are wildly different, such as an ability that transports two players to an isolated dueling arena for its duration.
These agent abilities are more reminiscent of hero shooters, a subgenre that arguably got its start with the Team Fortress games but has best been popularized by Blizzard title Overwatch. The abilities, combind with the tactical considerations that are at the core of Valorant, separate it from most any other FPS experience available for play.
How does Valorant esports work?
Like many other popular competitive shooters, Valorant does have a thriving esports scene. That scene is differentiated by the way it’s run and controlled by developer and publisher Riot Games. Riot uses a model based on the success of its League of Legends esports scene, which sees the globe’s competitive players and team’s separated by region. These regions play out their own competitions in their sections of the world before coming together at regular intervals for international tournaments featuring the best teams from each individual region.
While League of Legends once boasted a variety of regions and regional types, Riot sought to simplify that model when setting up esports for Valorant. The game has only a handful of major regions, and these regions are held as largely equitable, each sending their best teams to international events leading up to the year-end VALORANT Champions event.
