Valorant Esports News

VALORANT Champions 2024 winners and defending champions, EDward Gaming, are the first team to be eliminated from Paris 2025. After an intense Bo3, Team Liquid knocked out the Zmjjkk-led Chinese squad, completing a comeback on map three. A Disappointing Run After failing to qualify for VALORANT Champions Paris through VCT CN 2025: Stage 2, EDward Gaming secured their spot as the region’s 3rd seed thanks to their year-long performance. Despite their poor form, many expected them to perform well enoughmore

Earlier this year, Riot Games announced their intention to become more active in combating the widespread smurfing issue in their FPS title VALORANT. In the 5 years since the game’s initial launch, the number of smurf accounts has grown exponentially and the frustration especially among the lower rank brackets continues to expand. Smurfing: Any account that has a pattern of deliberate deception of our matchmaker to be placed into matches below a players’ true skill level. – as per Riot’s definition Yesterday evening, Riot Games finally unveiled a detailed outline of the timeline they intend to take to combat thismore

The latest VALORANT Night Market of 2025 is here. Starting from September 25th, it is set to run until October 9th. For those of you who have yet to snag your dream skin, this might be the perfect time to do so! What is VALORANT's Night Market? VALORANT Night Market is a unique recurrent theme in the game where players can buy skins at discounted prices. But it is not as simple, these discounts are randomly assigned, and players cannotmore

As the group stage of VALORANT Champions 2025 edges closer to completion in Paris, the first four teams to secure playoffs have already been decided. These squads will now prepare to compete at the Accor Arena, where the ultimate trophy of the year awaits. VALORANT Champions 2025: All Teams Qualified for Playoffs Group A: Paper Rex There was little doubt surrounding Paper Rex’s performance heading into Champions. Touted as one of the clear favorites to lift the trophy, the Pacificmore

At its core, esports is a marketing tool for competitive games to showcase the full spectrum of the possibilities. What started as local LAN parties and gaming conventions has now grown into a full-fledged industry; an industry that fills arenas, supports thousands of careers and impacts millions of lives daily. These events that started small, now support an investment market with a humble valuation of $3.7 billion (2025) and is expected to rise to $40 billion before 2034. This growingmore

The fan-favorite Prelude to Chaos skin bundle is making a much-anticipated comeback in VALORANT with the arrival of Prelude to Chaos 2.0. Riot Games has teased this iconic bundle through official social media, generating excitement across the VALORANT community. This 2.0 version aims to elevate the original’s aesthetic with enhanced visuals, new weapon skins, and the signature mechanical nightmare theme that players have long admired. Release Date and Pricing Expected to release on September 18 or 19, the pricing formore

VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 has been live for a mere 4 days and already it feels like so much has occurred. From prevailing narratives to incredible performances and shocking upsets, here is everything you may have missed from the first 4 days of Champions Paris. Pacific and EMEA On Top Following the round of opening matches for all teams, Pacific and EMEA have emerged as the predominant regions currently, which 3 teams each qualifying to the Winners match of theirmore

With the arrival of VALORANT Patch 11.06, Riot Games will finally introduce the most requested feature to the game, the Replay System. Starting September 16/17, players can download match VODs to analyze and review them in-game. How to Access Match Replays? To access your match replays for any game played on the live patch (i.e. Patch 11.06) you will need to: Complete a Match On the Match Details Page > Navigate to the Download Replay Icon Once the Replay Filemore

VALORANT’s upcoming Act 6 will see another map pool rotation, this time targeting long-time beloved and sometimes polarizing map, Ascent. Furthermore, Lotus will also see another rotation out as well, for the second time since its introduction. In their stead, Pearl and Split will be returning to the active map pool. Ascent Out?? Long requested for, Ascent is making another departure from the active map pool – the second time the map sees a rotation out since the start ofmore

VALORANT Champions Paris 2025 kicks off Friday, September 12th. With a $2.25 million USD cash prize on the line, VALORANT’s most important tournament of the year will play host to some of the biggest names in the scene, all vying for the most-sought after accolade – Champions winner. Before Champions kicks off though, here is everything you’d need to know before you begin watching: Champions Paris Anthem Featuring “templuv” and “347aidan”, VALORANT’s newest Champions anthem – “Last Shot” – is a powerful entry with lyrics attempting to capture the efforts of circumnavigating pressure and stress, perfect for a tournament asmore

Arguably the best player in VALORANT’s short history, Leo "Leo" Jannesson has announced his departure from competitive play via FNATIC’s X handle. The decision to step away from competition comes on the back of a long-standing battle with long COVID, a serious health challenge that affects both physical performance and mental well-being. A Short but Storied Career Initially playing under the Guild Esports banner, Leo made a name for himself with his clutch potential. He was signed by FNATIC formore

Earlier today, September 6th, Riot Games announced the termination of Movistar KOI’s VCT EMEA partnership, citing a “breach of contractual agreement”. The team will no longer compete in the VCT 2026. While Movistar KOI hasn’t been the best team in EMEA, the announcement comes as a shock to everyone, including KOI's co-owner Ibai "Ibai" Llanos Garatea. Failure on Multiple Levels Joining VCT EMEA as a partnered member, KOI has been the worst team in terms of performance. In the threemore

Dragon Ranger Gaming has officially announced via their X account that they have signed Maximilian "Demon1" Mazanov, the 2023 VALORANT Champions MVP, ahead of VALORANT Champions Paris 2025. The move comes after weeks of speculation linking Demon1 to the team, particularly following rumors that he might substitute for Ilya "vo0kashu" Ushakov, who has been facing difficulties in obtaining his Schengen visa for the tournament. A Tumultuous Career Since Champions 2023 Demon1’s rise to stardom came with Evil Geniuses during theirmore

Yesterday in the latest VALORANT patch notes, it was announced that the VCT Champions Pick’Ems would be returning for Champions Paris. Starting from September 12th, 16 teams will assemble in France to compete for the most prestigious of tournaments in the VALORANT esports calendar – Champions. Today, Pick'Ems officially open and players will be able to select the winner in each scheduled matchup, with prizes on the line for players who successfully predict well throughout the tournament. The feature hasmore

Over the weekend, VCT EMEA saw a successful conclusion to its 2025 season with Team Liquid lifting the Stage 2 trophy after a closely contested series against GIANTX in the Grand Finals. With preparations now mounting for the grand finale to the VCT Season – Champions Paris 2025, thoughts begin drifting towards the upcoming 2026 VCT season and beyond. Strafe Esports had the opportunity to attend a roundtable session during the final days of the 2025 VCT EMEA season alongmore

Riot Games’ 2v2 tag-team fighting game’s roster just got bigger. Along with the release of the closed beta on Tuesday, September 9, League’s Support Champion Blitzcrank will join 2XKO. Blitzcrank joins the fold The indestructible automaton from Zaun, Blitzcrank is one of the oldest Champions introduced to League of Legends. Previously designed as a Tank/Support champion, Blitzcrank is currently a bot lane Support mainstay. Similar to its League version, 2XKO Blitzcrank has the “Rocket Grab” and the iterations of themore

The VCT Americas Stage 2 2025 concluded with a notable decline in viewership compared to previous years, raising concerns about the region’s competitive scene and its audience engagement. Unlike earlier seasons, where peak matches garnered significant attention, this year's Stage 2 playoffs failed to resonate broadly, marking a worrying trend for one of VALORANT's key regional leagues. Viewership Numbers in Decline According to esports data, the peak concurrent viewership for VCT Americas Stage 2 2025 was 295,084, which is amore

Champions Pick’Ems are coming to VALORANT with Patch 11.05, releasing on Thursday, September 4. Riot Games has kept the patch light, focusing on bug fixes and smaller updates rather than major gameplay changes. VALORANT Champions 2025 Pick’Ems The highlight of Patch 11.05 is the arrival of Pick’Ems. Starting September 4, players can access the Champions 2025 edition both in-client and @on the VALORANT website. Predict advancing teams for points, with exact placements rewarding bonus points. Join your favorite creator’s factionmore

A closely contested and yet ultimately one-sided Grand Finals went the way of Team Liquid last night as they secured their first domestic title of 2025 in the VCT EMEA 2025 Stage 2 Grand Finals against GIANTX. Following a season’s worth of strong performances, the roster finally succeeded in lifting a trophy in their home region – signaling a strong omen for their coming Champions Paris run. Following their Grand Finals victory, Strafe Esports sat down with an elated Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski of Team Liquid to hear his thoughts on their win, the long journey to Champions Paris, the challengesmore

This is it. The culmination of an entire year of VCT action will kick off when teams take the stage in Paris starting Friday, September 12th. Now that every Stage 2 regional champion has been crowned, it's time to take a look at the VALORANT Champions 2025 groups. VALORANT Champions 2025 Groups The groups have been drawn, spreading the four representatives of each VCT region into four groups, where they will have to fight tooth and nail to make itmore