Valorant Esports News

VALORANT Patch 12.02 targets two Agents: Harbor and Reyna. Harbor gets positive tweaks to establish him as a viable Controller, while Reyna absorbs several nerfs to reduce her ranked dominance.

Riot Games has announced the inaugural VALORANT EMEA Clash, scheduled for February 16-25. The event will field 12 teams - six from VCT EMEA and six from EMEA Challenger circuits - competing in parallel double-elimination brackets.

Earlier today, February 1st, Patrick "PatMen" Mendoza set a VCT record for the highest ACS on a single map. Playing against Detonation FocusMe, the former Paper Rex and current Global Esports player put up a statistical masterpiece that helped his team dominate the first map. PatMen’s Statistical Masterpiece: 516 ACS // 6.4 K/D // 100% KAST Facing each other in the 2026 VCT Pacific Kickoff middle bracket, Global Esports faced Detonation FocusMe. But what happened on Breeze wasn’t foreseen bymore

Team Liquid’s battle against Karmine Corp was a show of determination and grit. After a close series loss the previous week to Team Vitality, Liquid found themselves now in the Middle Bracket of VCT EMEA Kickoff with two lives left to battle to Santiago. Backs against the wall after a dismal Map 1 performance, Liquid turned their fortunes around to complete the reverse sweep, propelling themselves with their first official win of the season. Following the conclusion of their series, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Liquid IGL and captain Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin to reflect on the series as a whole, the challenges of heading into a new season with a substitute for Week 1, his evolution as a leader for the team, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

VALORANT Night Market will return in Season 2026 Act 1 on February 5th and continue until March 2nd.

The inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) is scheduled to commence in November 2026, backed by a $45 million commitment from the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) in the form of prize money, incentives, and development funds.

Team Vitality’s clash against Team Liquid in the Upper Bracket of VCT EMEA Kickoff proved to be the first real test for the squad, going the full distance in an all-out brawl between the two teams. Vitality eventually emerged as the victor, placing them two series wins away from qualifying for Masters Santiago. Following their series win, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Vitality’s Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, who spoke on the series as a whole, the team’s preparation coming into Kickoff, his thoughts on the new crop of teams taking over the EMEA stage and more in this exclusive interview.

s1mple and BC.Game kick off their IEM Krakow campaign with a stunning 2-0 victory over Legacy, featuring a first-map comeback from an 11-2 deficit.

In a significant legal blow to the operator of the world’s largest PC gaming platform, a UK court has ruled that a £656 million (approx. $900 million) class-action lawsuit against Valve Corporation can proceed to trial. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 14 million UK Steam users, alleges that Valve has abused its dominant market position to overcharge gamers.

Tyson "TenZ" Ngo has officially unveiled the finalists for his VALORANT Community Awards, and the list features some of the biggest names from both the VCT and Game Changers circuits. Players and coaches from across the competitive scene voted to determine who'd earn a spot in the final running, and now it's down to the wire before the live ceremony hits on February 4th. This isn't your typical esports awards show. The whole thing came together through a partnership betweenmore

NAVI are storming into the lead at VCT EMEA Kickoff after taking down yet another name on their path to Masters Santiago qualification. With this win against Team Heretics, the team is 2 wins away from a spot at the first international event of the year. Following their victory, Strafe Esports sat down with Natus Vincere (NAVI) player Emirhan “hiro” Kat to speak on the team’s success thus far at Kickoff, his personal preparation in the off-season, the team’s goals for the season, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

Team Heretics have arrived in 2026 with their debut match against Natus Vincere (NAVI) in VCT EMEA Kickoff, but perhaps not with the landing they were hoping for. Following the conclusion of their series, Strafe Esports sat down with Team Heretics player Benjy “benjyfishy” Fish to reflect on the team’s performance during the series, goals for 2026 following a quieter 2025, his thoughts on the game changes during the off-season, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

VALORANT’s beloved Reaver collection is set to return in Patch 12.01, featuring skins for Bandit and Butterfly Knife. The bundle will also include a player card, gun buddy, and spray.

The first wave of Esports World Cup 2026 tickets is now live on the EWC website, and fans have the option to choose from Weekly All Access Passes, Premium Tournament Passes, and an exclusive Esports Embassy Experience.

The road to Masters Santiago begins with a single step – Kickoff. The VCT EMEA Kickoff for 2026 is set to begin on the 20th of January with 12 teams taking to the stage, competing and qualifying for 3 slots to the first VALORANT Masters event of the new year. Kings of old? Established order? 2026 upturns all of that with new challengers vying for control in this latest season of VCT EMEA.

Karmine Corp’s opening debut with their new roster in the VCT EMEA 2026 Kickoff tournament did not deliver quite the brilliant opener they were hoping for. However, despite NAVI’s brilliant start to both maps, Karmine Corp managed to mount late game comebacks both times, resulting in an end result that was far from satisfactory, but not fully disappointing. Following the conclusion to the series, Strafe Esports sat down with Karmine Corp’s Head Coach Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov to speak on the team’s performance during the match, their preparation coming into their first match of 2026, his thoughts on the game’s changes since last season, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

Strafe Esports was recently invited to attend a media event organized by the EWC (Esports World Cup). In it, an open discussion was held around EWC 2026 and beyond, answering some of the bigger questions surrounding one of the world’s biggest emerging esports tournament organizers.

Esports World Cup 2026 announced a historic $75 million prize pool. The annual event will return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 6, featuring 25 tournaments across 24 games.

Trackmania joins the Esports World Cup 2026 lineup. In this precision racing esport, 32 players from all over the world will compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for their share of a $500,000 prize pool.

Marking a significant shift, VCT Pacific will take its Stage 1 Finals to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and its Stage 2 Finals to Busan, South Korea. This move marks a departure from the league's traditional home in Seoul.