A group stage match in VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 1 Valorant between Team Liquid and Karmine Corp was unable to be completed due to technical problems on stage. Following this incident, players and other community figures criticized Riot Games.
The teams couldn`t determine a winner for three hours, spending most of this time paused, waiting for administrators to resolve the technical issues. These problems were related to both weak PCs on stage and poor network connectivity, with ping reaching 30ms – unacceptable for a LAN tournament. The match had to be postponed.
Although Riot Games representatives apologized, many found it insufficient. For instance, Nikita `Derke` Sirmitev from Team Vitality stated that these problems have persisted since VCT launched three years ago. Players have repeatedly requested powerful PCs. Each time, Riot Games staff asked them to be patient, but nothing was ever done. According to Derke, attempting to fix the issues during the pause was pointless as they are fundamentally tied to weak PCs. Sirmitev clarified that the same computers are used for Valorant championships as for League of Legends tournaments, despite these games having completely different system requirements.
Some participants reacted to the situation with humor. For example, streamer and owner of Movistar KOI, Ibai `ibai` Llanos Garatea, announced that his team would boycott the VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 1 playoffs until all problems are resolved. Three more teams later joined this `flash mob`: Apeks, GIANTX, and Gentle Mates. The joke lies in the fact that all these teams failed to advance past the group stage and would not have played in the playoffs anyway.
Meanwhile, Karmine Corp owner and popular French community caster Kamel `Kamet0` Kebir made a serious statement, declaring he would refuse to commentate matches until Riot Games fixes the issues. Despite this, his team will continue competing in the championship.
VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 1 is taking place from March 26 to May 18 in Berlin. Participants are competing for three slots at VALORANT Masters Toronto 2025, which features a million-dollar prize pool.
Finley Holt