VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier Finally Resumes
Published: Oct 25, 2021
Riot Games have hit a wall with the VCT: NA Last Chance Qualifier after multiple players tested positive for Covid-19, but later tested negative. Confused and frustrated, players expressed their dissatisfaction, but the necessary precautions had to be taken so the event was paused.
Now, after nearly two weeks of waiting, the teams can finally continue competing and bring closure to an event that’s already way overdue. In comparison, the EU region finished all their matches on October 17th, while the NA region will play the final match on October 31st. In just one week, we’ll see who will be the final NA team that will get to attend the Valorant Champions event in December.
The Problems Keep Piling On
While the EU region’s VCT Last Chance Qualifier event went smoothly and without any major hiccups, the NA region seemed to be a total disaster from the very start.
First of all, the two Oceanic teams that were supposed to attend the event received a last-minute notice that they wouldn’t be able to compete after all. Riot had troubles ensuring safe travel for the teams in question, and so the entire thing fell apart seemingly overnight.
Despite the unfortunate events, Riot decided to move forward with the esports tournament and apologized to the Oceanic Valorant fans.
However, a second disaster struck. Several of the best Valorant players tested false positive and the event had to be paused. This simply added fuel to an already raging fire and caused an uproar in the Valorant community.
The fingers were pointed at Riot, but there wasn’t really much they could do at this point. Organising an esports event of this magnitude in the middle of a pandemic is already an incredible task, but they’ve done well so far. The fact they slipped at the very end could mean they were a bit careless, but it could also suggest a second possibility – the one where Riot is rushing to finish Valorant Champions Tour.
This does not bode well for Valorant esports, especially since Riot has not announced anything concrete for 2022. With so many issues plaguing their tournaments, they might choose the easier route and do less Valorant tournaments next year, or perhaps none at all.
100 Thieves Ahead of the Pack
Let’s get back to the tournament and leave the speculations for another day. If we look at the current standings, we see that 100 Thieves is the only team sitting in the upper bracket final. As such, they are one step closer to that grand final that could lead them to Valorant Champions.
Still, they’re not out of the woods yet. They have managed to beat XSET and send them to the lower bracket, but since the event was paused for so long, XSET had a lot of time to prepare and analyse what went wrong in their match with 100 Thieves. The XSET squad have a great shot at making it out alive from the lower bracket and surprising 100 Thieves in the grand final.
But the more pressing threat right now will be the other teams coming behind 100 Thieves in the upper bracket. We have two quarterfinal matches and a single semifinal match before we’ll know who will end up facing 100 Thieves next. All four teams are incredibly strong and capable of getting there, so the Thieves shouldn’t relax just yet.
In any case, the wait is finally over and we’ll be able to witness some quality NA Valorant action in just a few days. Some of the best Valorant teams are competing in this tournament, but only one of them will emerge victorious in the end. Which team will be buying tickets to Berlin? We’ll find out soon.
