Valorant Esports News

Riot Games’ new 2v2 tag-team fighter, 2XKO brings together iconic champions from the League of Legends universe in chaotic, fast-paced combat that rewards creative teamwork and mastery of unique character kits. The accessible controls, flexible tag mechanics, and strategic Fuse system ensure players of all skill levels find depth, while each champion’s signature playstyle makes for a dynamic and ever-shifting meta. The competitive meta of 2XKO has evolved significantly since launch, and after extensive tournament analysis and high-level gameplay observation,more

Amidst the scramble of information during this 2025-26 off-season rostermania, Sentinels have managed to emerge with a fairly promising, and young, roster. After 2 seasons together, the final pieces of the Madrid-winning roster are essentially all scattered, with only Mohamed “johnqt” Amine Ouarid remaining from the previous 2024-25 lineup. Massive Overhaul for Sentinels VALORANT Despite massive fan following and fairly stacked lineup talent-wise, it is difficult to categorize the Sentinels roster as a true success story. The roster that found themselves grouped at Champions Paris just a month ago is a far cry from the core that lifted the trophymore

G2 continue their expansion beyond the world of esports. After entering the world of traditional sports earlier this year by creating G2 FC to participate in the Kings League, the organization has now announced the launch of Red Aura, an original fantasy-action webcomic that translates the spirit and story of G2 into a new creative universe. Developed in collaboration with Japanese Art Director Runbel and KISAI Entertainment, the studio behind webcomic adaptations of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Beginningmore

BBL Esports are reportedly finalizing a massive transfer ahead of the 2026 VCT EMEA season, as they are looking to sign the entire BBL PCIFIC lineup that earned promotion through VCT Ascension EMEA 2025. Sources indicate that the deal will include all five players, and they are expected to compete under the BBL banner next year. BBL PCIFIC’s Ascension The Turkish squad had an extraordinary 2025 campaign, sweeping through their regional circuit by winning the VCL TR Kickoff, Stage 1,more

The International Olympic Committee and Saudi Arabia have terminated their 12-year partnership to host the Olympic Esports Games in Riyadh, announced today, October 30, 2025. The cancellation, which comes a mere 14 months after the partnership was announced during the 2024 Paris Olympics, exposes the architectural incompatibility between two institutions operating from irreconcilable philosophical foundations.​ On the surface, the decision appears straightforward: the IOC and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), along with the Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF),more

Sentinels’ very own Vibe Merchant, Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, has decided to step away from the VALORANT squad. According to reports from Sheep Esports, Zellsis is reportedly rejoining Cloud9 for the upcoming VCT 2026 season. Buy the SEN Bundle! Zellsis joining Sentinels has to be one of the most lucrative roster moves in VALORANT history. In 2024, Sentinels were coming off two years of slump, with their only bright spot being the 2022 LCQ when Zellsis and Shroud had joined. Zellsismore

NRG's coronation in Paris caps an end to the 2025 VCT season for the majority of teams. With it, comes the much-anticipated off-season and annual roster shuffles (aka Rostermania). While many pieces have yet to be confirmed as we remain in the early days of the off-season, several teams have begun making major moves. Follow Strafe Esports as we continue to track and follow how the 2026 season lineup will shape up. Last Updated: December 3rd VCT Americas G2 Esports Active Members: Trent "trent" Cairns Jacob "valyn" Batio Nathan "leaf" Orf Alexander "jawgemo" Mor Former Members: Andrej "babybay" Francisty Jonah "JonahP" Pulice Sentinels (ROSTER LOCKED) Activemore

Over the past weekend, VALORANT Tier 2 competitions around the world came to a conclusion. With it, we now have the six teams joining VCT 2026 to fight alongside the 40 partnered teams. Americas: ENVY is Back! The Americas Ascension was arguably the most interesting of all the tournaments. It featured an incredible storyline and a Grand Final between two premium North American organizations, ENVY and TSM, clashing on Brazilian soil. As the dust settled, the team that started asmore

ENVY, after a relatively dominant Grand Finals, have emerged as the 2025 Ascension winner for the Americas region. Their victory in São Paulo may come as a surprise to some people who have not been following their journey closely. But for many, it is the return of a legacy North American esports brand to one of VALORANT’s biggest stages for 2026. Nearly Flawless Run Coming into Ascension, ENVY was no doubt the most talked-about name of the teams assembled. Their story and found success in the North American Tier 2 scene in 2025 had cemented their status as a strongmore

Team Vitality has officially announced the signing of Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov for the upcoming 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour season. The move was confirmed by both the player and the organization on X, sparking excitement across the EMEA scene. Chronicle, a three-time international champion, will now represent the Golden Hornets as he takes on a new challenge following a decorated stint with Fnatic. Chronicle’s Legacy with Fnatic Chronicle’s time with Fnatic, beginning in November 2022, was nothing short of legendary. Joiningmore

Reigning World Champion Sam "s0m" Oh has announced he is stepping away from the NRG active roster following the team’s victory in Paris earlier this month. His departure from the organization brings a half decade-long partnership to a bittersweet end as s0m steps fully into the world of content creation (for now). From CS Rookie to VALORANT World Champion One of the few remaining talents to have come over to VALORANT from Counter-Strike in that first big initial wave, themore

The competitive landscape of VALORANT is poised for a significant transformation in 2026, marked by the introduction of the Path to Champions initiative. After years of separation between Challengers and Tier 1 teams, Riot Games’ new system creates a direct route for thriving regional squads to reach the game’s highest stage, VALORANT Champions, without relying on the old Ascension format. This innovation signals a major step toward inclusivity and meritocracy in the esport. How Path to Champions Works From 2026more

Celebrating excellence across esports in all shapes and forms, the Esports Awards return for their tenth iteration! The Esports Awards 2025 Ceremony is set to honor several names across the industry on November 19th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The final list of nominees is out, so make sure to head to this link and vote for the esports titles, players, teams, and personalities that you think deserve to be recognized for their contributions throughout the year among categories such as "Esports Game of the Year", "Streamer of the Year", and many more. Esports Awards 2025 Nominees To give you a glimpsemore

Riot Games has rolled out its end-of-year balancing update with VALORANT Patch 11.08, introducing sweeping adjustments across agents, weapons, and maps. This patch marks a major step toward the developers’ long-term vision of maintaining VALORANT’s core tactical shooter identity while refining the balance between gunplay and abilities. According to the team, these changes aim to encourage “competitive dialogue,” creating more opportunities for adaptation and counterplay from round to round. Reinforcing Competitive Dialogue Over recent months, utility spam and aggressive abilitymore

VALORANT will see one of the biggest overhauls since its release with the upcoming Patch 11.08 scheduled for Wednesday, October 15th. The patch will introduce a plethora of agent changes, along with changes to two maps: Abyss and Pearl and major changes to SMGs and Rifles. We have covered the Agent changes in a different article. You can read it here. Map Changes The VALORANT Patch 11.08 map changes aim to “encourage more on-site play” on Abyss and Pearl. These changes rework covers within the site itself allowing for more active defense on both sides. Abyss Changes mainly focus onmore

With the arrival of VALORANT S25 Act 6, we have a brand new skin bundle hitting the shop in two days. The Dolmir’s Revenge skinline will feature four weapons and a brand new dual wielding melee, hitting the store October 15th. Skins and Melee The Dolmir’s Revenge bundle features: Vandal Classic Odin Guardian Dolmir’s Judgement (Melee) Dolmir’s Revenge skinline is imbued with “fantasy and magic”, with a golem’esque finisher to top it all off.  The Dolmir’s Judgement is a dual wielded melee featuring a magic staff on the primary hand and an elemental sword on another. There are four variantsmore

The arrival of Patch 11.08 in just a couple of days will herald in massive changes to the game. Alongside the highly-anticipated agent ability adjustments, the map pool will be shifting once again, seeing the return of Split and Pearl. Along with the revitalized map pool, Riot will begin introducing map changes to address some of the less healthy gameplay induced by prior map design. Initiators and Sentinels Targeted in One of VALORANT’s Biggest Patches to Date Both the Initiatormore

We may still be a ways away from the start of the event, but the Esports World Cup has already announced its lineup of game titles for 2026. Set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between July and August of next year, the EWC 2026 will feature a total of 24 titles; 20 of which have now been announced. The remaining 4 will be revealed at a later date, keeping fans intrigued for what's to come. Esports World Cup 2026: Titles Revealed The 20 titles revealed for the EWC 2026 will include some of the biggest games on themore

Following the abrupt removal of Movistar KOI from the VCT EMEA circuit, Gentle Mates have just been announced as the newest addition to the league. This comes off the back of an extensive process involving reportedly 10 teams who were invited to participate in the application process to join VCT EMEA following MKOI’s removal. A Familiar Face Returns Perhaps a familiar face to many, Gentle Mates recently spent 2 years competing in VCT EMEA, occupying one of the guest slotsmore

NRG are the winners of  VALORANT Champions Paris 2025. After what initially appeared to be a swift one-sided stomping from NRG, fans erupted in the Accor Arena as the Grand Finals of Champions Paris delivered with Fnatic mounting a comeback. Down 2 maps, Fnatic almost completed the reverse sweep in what would have been a legendary test of stamina and determination. Ultimately, however, NRG stabilized and secured the trophy they had played so hard for. With this victory, the Championsmore