If you’re looking for a fresh start, the last thing you want is to mess up on the first step. However, things are not looking good for Riot Games in what has been his first initiative for the competitive system of Valorant that debuts in 2023. The company has organized the most ambitious tournament of its history, but they have run into criticism from the professionals who will have to play it. The one known as VCT Lock In Nothing has gone down well due to a format that some have considered could be improved and others, much more vocal, have directly defined as “absolute shit”.
The problem of the first major Valorant tournament in 2023
The main criticism of the Lock In format is related to the lack of second chances. Due to the large number of teams that will participate (32), Riot Games has opted for a single knockout bracket. That is, the teams begin to compete in the round of 32 and have to win five consecutive games to win the title. Losing at any stage of this journey, even in a single match, means immediate elimination from the competition. A situation that has given rise to criticism. Those responsible for Valorant esports are not without reason when saying that it is very difficult to organize a tournament so big that it is resolved in just three weeks, but neither are those who express that it is the worst possible time for something like that.
The situation was summed up very well by NRG head coach, North American team that will play the competition: “Flying to Brazil, not having information about the other team because they are the first games in the new meta and it is direct elimination. What an absolute bullshit tournament to start the year”. These statements on social networks have received more than 7,500 likes and the support of very important members of the competitive community. The opinion of the fans also goes that way. It is very frustrating to know that in the first big event of the new Valorant story chances are your favorite team will barely play two gamesAnd that’s if you’re lucky.
Fly to Brazil, have no info on the other team because it’s the first matches with new goal and it’s single elimination. What an absolute shit tournament to kick off the year
— N.R.G. Chet (@chetsingh) January 17, 2023
It’s not just that the players don’t like the format, we must focus on the first part of the NRG coach’s statements. This is the first major competitive event of the year and comes a few weeks after the Riot Games made big changes to the game taking advantage of the break in tournaments. In this sense, a misread about the most powerful agents or a strategy that the trainers have overlooked can be the cause of the elimination. Valorant is a game that is usually decided by very specific details and The surprises, although enjoyable for the spectators, are not liked by the professionals.
As for Riot Games, the truth is that there were not many solutions. The developer Avoid at all costs the broadcast of several games simultaneously, so that all attention is focused on two teams. In case you want to maintain this type of ‘streamings’, much easier to carry out internationally and to manage so that the tournament does not have problems, there were few other remedies than the one proposed. In the end, it is a starting signal and a championship that, with a view to the end of the season, was to be remembered as the least important.