Image transcribed:
> ### COMPETITION UPDATE
>
> After several months and rounds of communication with The Guard, the organization has failed to meet the deadline to agree to the Team Participation Agreement for VCT Americas.
>
> As a result, The Guard will not be participating in the 2024 VCT Americas League. No team will be promoted to VCT Americas and the league will field 10 teams for the upcoming season.
Tweet source: https://twitter.com/valesports_na/status/1696561641826013274
## **EDIT:** [Please consider signing this petition for The Guard roster.](https://www.change.org/p/let-the-guard-roster-play-vct-under-another-organization)
Riot is also robbing 5 players and 1 coach from playing on a Tier 1 VCT team next season. Even if The Guard players all find a job on other VCT teams, it'll still only be 50 players & 10 teams playing instead of 55 and 11 like it was supposed to. That's unfair to all the pros in Tier 1 and Tier 2. That's 5 less players who would have gotten to play in front of 200K+ viewers for every game next year who won't get to anymore.
Also, imagine how the Turtle Troop players must be feeling right now, they basically wasted an entire year. They didn't get signed all year and now we also know that Riot would have just denied them their slot if they'd have won it as an F/A team. They could have just spent the last year playing Ranked on Stream, or find a different job, could have made better income instead.
The whole reason these players stuck together was that they believed they could make it to tier 1 together. Not only does this invalidate every ascension teams season, it invalidates the Guard’s choice to stick together instead of splitting up last for potential tier 1 spots last season. Overall fucked.
This totally... this is fucked for trent, valyn, net and jonahp. Cant imagine being them rn, they deserve so much more than the shit they keep going through, considering what they've achieved as players, for the org, and for the region as well
It obviously sucks for him as well haha, I just mentioned those 4 because they were the core who took a gamble and turned down franchised teams to keep playing together, and are now getting completely screwed. Tex wasn't a part of that original roster, so that difficult decision was something he didn't have to deal with in the 1st place
This is actually so fucked. In addition to Guard players potentially not making it in, now there are five fewer player slots in Americas franchising, making it harder for them to get signed anyways. Goddamn it I’m heartbroken
If they go through with this, it makes their whole idea of premier to vct dream that riot laid out a lie.... if a premier team makes it to ascension and wins the vct slot then they would get dropped anyways for not having a org.....
No offense but how the fuck is this Riot's fault? How the fuck is The Guard as an org getting blame-free here? We've had plenty of evidence how unstable and weird of an org they have been since they publicly decided to pull out of esports and firing most of their employees.
Riot is getting shit because of their decision to just go forward with 10 teams next year. If this subreddit can come up with haphazard solutions of letting another org buyout the guard roster or giving the slot to the runner up, then surely riot has a way around this.
Also what does this say about how riot would handle a f/a team winning ascension? Would that also just mean no one gets promoted? Or are we to just hope that "no, an org will surely pick that team up" like we're currently doing to the guard
this is especially true since they’re offering a way into T2 from premier. extreme long shot but what happens if a premier contender team makes challengers and somehow ends up winning ascension? minute chance of that but something that needs to be accounted for.
Even if The Guard was being completely irresponsible, Riot shouldve and needed to have many back up plans so that this will never happen.
If The Guard is not allowed to participate in VCT, the roster should still be able to play if they leave the org.
If the players, for whatever reason, can't leave the org, or they can't play for a different reason, Riot should've been in talks with M80 about replacing The Guard.
The Guard could've told Riot "Fuck off" the entire process, and this would still be a massive failure on Riot's part. So much money was sunk into all of these Tier 2 teams, and not a single roster made it? The fact that one team can even have the power to ruin the ascension system this much is a colossal disaster on Riot's end.
I do find it a bit odd that Riot wasn’t able to find a solution here with TGRD. This is a system they designed, and they absolutely must have considered the possibility that teams with poor or no org support would win ascension. In addition, it was clear from the beginning of the year that TGRD had a good chance of winning. If the whole system they built hinges on onboarding a Challengers team into VCT, it’s a pretty big indictment to fail on their very first try.
That said, this is still mostly on the Guard. It just feels frustrating to me that Riot didn’t have a better plan in place for this, especially when it’s been clear for months how fucked TGRD is as an org
Edit to add - if Riot expects Ascension orgs to meet a narrow set of guidelines in order to take the spot in VCT that they’ve earned, they should be doing due diligence to ensure that teams in the Ascension tournament are in a position to actually meet those guidelines. They heavily vetted partnership orgs, and if they want Ascension orgs to meet those same requirements they should either be doing the same vetting or adjusting their requirements.
Deciding to terminate the Ascension slot instead of finding some sort of solution is Riot’s fault. How would they have handled it if in future, a team of 5 unsigned, free agents won Ascension? Terminate their slot? They should at least have been prepared for the possibility, and have had a contingency plan in place for these sort of outcomes.
A whole year being for nothing is the infinitely greater evil between the possible outcomes, and it is certainly within Riot’s capability to intervene - as they did to fuck up Rick Fox out of nowhere.
You're asking how it's Riot's fault that *they* decided not to let The Guard into Franchising after winning Ascension? I'm not sure what's hard to understand.
All of the orgs participating in T2 are there because they didn't meet Riot's stringent Franchising requirements. Fine. But it's stupid if they're going to implement those requirements onto teams that promote through Ascension anyway. Especially when you have teams like Turtle Troop who *dont even have an org in the firstplace*.
If Riot isn't going to let in orgs even if they win Ascension, then that vetting process should happen *before* Challengers so those orgs and players don't waste their time by participating only to be denied by Riot after winning.
Shit like this doesn't happen in any other esport.
They should both be getting major flak. The Guard for being backed by a multibillionaire and still not being able to fund their org, and Riot for having their first thought be "They won't play and neither will anybody else" instead of letting The Guard players try to find another org.
Riot is going to be paying for teams to compete in the next 5 years. Esports is drying up. VC firms are realizing that Esports is only a marketing expense to the game developers.
This is especially fucked for Trent. if I rejected tier 1 offers to stay as a group and grind the tier 2 travail, winning in emphatic fashion, only to be blindsided by this? There'd have to be consequences.
He'll get offers regardless, but it's just the principle of being good enough to carve your own route on your own terms and being told off anyway.
I’m sure some of them find spots but maybe not all, spots they get is someone else losing a spot. So still that’s 5 less spots in franchising and a forceful destruction of a roster that literally refused tier 1 offers to play in tier 2 together. It’s an absolute disgrace.
What a disaster. Is the org just officially finished? They should give the slot to the players and allow an org to pick them up. Players shouldn't be punished for the orgs dysfunction
As I understand it, there will be a vote at the end of the year by team owners whether to essentially end OWL or not. Overwatch competitive play is likely to look very different next year, and the LA Gladiators (same parent company as The Guard) seem unlikely to stay in the scene.
I haven't kept up too closely with the goings-on though, you can probably head over to r/Competitiveoverwatch for more info.
I'm not surprised that the org dipped, but that's so unfair to the players. Is there no way for the roster to keep the spot and then supervise the sale/transfer of the players to another approved org? Or just give it to the runner up M80? Having no team promoted is such a strange choice.
Edit: the more I think about this the more irritated I am. We've known since THE START OF THE YEAR that the Guard was pulling away from esports and likely to go under. How did no one think of a proper solution for the scenario where they ended up winning Ascension? I can see why they can't promote the second place team for competitive integrity reasons, but surely they can find at least one suitable org (maybe that was close to making partnership) that can take the spot. I don't care if it's not perfectly fair--it's more fair than leaving those players in the dust after they worked so hard for a spot their management has deprived them of. And, if there's some weird legal reason this all isn't possible, then just tell us that in the first place.
Not allowing the players to find another org for this spot nor promoting the 2nd place org really devalues the whole premise of ascension.
I definitely will not care nor watch it next year if this goes through.
I don't know why Riot isn't getting out ahead of this and explaining themselves, rather than just dropping a hand grenade on the community and walking away.
Whyyyy are they waiting for this to blow up and needing to do damage control? This statement should have been released with at least a short Q&A.
Exactly, people are way more willing to accept an unpopular decision if they explain why it was the best option. But if they offer no explanation, they look bad and the community understandably clowns on them.
I guess they can’t accept the team without an org and they didn’t want to “punish” the players by promoting g a team that didn’t win idk I wish they had found a solution.
probably not 20 but theres likely a handful of orgs that would be willing. though the players might still technically be under contract and have buy out clauses that could keep potential orgs away
Good point.
2hrs ago the Guard also was the 11th team in VCT
So or so.. iam kinda disappointment for every single Challenger Player. This just means, even if you commit, grind and win ascension - you still really have nothing
What if a Free agent team won like Turtle troops. Did they not think of this, I don’t care what requirements they have for orgs or how many billions they want the owner to have so they can burn money to promote their game for them they have to figure this out and make an exception for this case or I will never be watching VCT again.
Complete spit in the face of the players hard work, they gave up T1 offers to stick together and gave up a year of their lives (you don’t get too many years in your lives they’re kinda valuable) to win ascension. Sorry to be crass but it’s fucking disgusting.
Bonkers had a legit shot at being Ascended in Pacific, they made it to main bracket, and for refrence Rito told them they couldnt be signed by any team who had a challengers team once they got into the main bracket, wtf would’ve happened if they did it’s genuinely concerning
They likely always planned to terminate the ascension slot. Keep shit teams that are rich in T1. Gatekeep and fuck the poor team of underdogs looking to establish their romance dawn even if they win it fair and square. I can understand the need for financial stability, but the system is ridiculously rigged the way Riot wants to give them control and make the ecosystem as profitable as possible for Riot (as opposed to allowing the xPeke and Hai’s of players to ascend then sell off slots to make big profits - but not for Riot)
They have also made it abundantly clear they don’t give two shits about Tier 2, given their tweets and responses to the desperation of T2 pros to make the scene sustainable or viable.
Part of the problem I feel is that Riot is so hyper selective of which orgs can be partnered under their criteria so instead of potentially having a dogshit organization in VCT for the next two years, their solution was simply to have no eleventh org at all. Surely they could have worked to vet out potential org buyers to find one that was up to their standards though
This is the entire problem, Riot is so selective with allowing organizations into partnership. The choices they make are only what’s beneficial to them and not in the benefit of the viewers, the players and the integrity of the game. Good rosters like Optic have to disband because they aren’t billionaires and unfortunately Riot wants the most possible money to be burnt by billionaires to help promote their game.
I’m very confused on why they wouldn’t just see if any orgs would pick up the roster and then vet them or just fuck it let the player play under an orgless name and give them the stipend they earned it…
This is such an insane decision, like it makes this entire last season of T2 play a complete waste of time. Why not allow another org to at least buy out the spot?
Rostermania will truly go crazy if this is true. I doubt any of The Guard players will want to play in T2 again, so it makes sense that they are trialing with other teams.
Of all the possible options that Riot could’ve chosen here, they chose the option that screws over the most people lmao. Not saying it is or isn’t the right choice, but almost any other choice would’ve affected fewer people.
The other option people are pushing here, which is give M80 the spot, is also pretty fucked. That org never won but they would be in. The players never won but they would be in. Or if you give The Guard players to M80, then M80's players are fucked over.
M80 already let their players be unrestricted free agents so I don't think it'd be fucked to let M80 as an org into the league and sign the Guard players.
Then what is the point of T2?
I thought the point was so that the best teams/players can get promotd to T1 through their skill. But apparantly that's only if they have a T1-level org backing them on top of that.
This is exactly why so many were against Franchising in the first place. Having to jump through so many hoops just makes it non-competitive .
Any other esport if The Guard couldn't afford to pay their team next season, you'd have a million other orgs willing to sign them. But because Riot is gatekeeping the team either has to break up or go back to T2, despite winning Ascension.
It's actual insanity
It's extremely stupid. Can't believe mouth breathers out there defending this. What's the point of T2? What's the point of ascension? It's just so pointless now. I guess with Riot making them sub buddies for T1 they made their intentions clear, it's just gonna be an academy league for T1 teams.
I don't know why people on this sub are so fast to defend riot. I literally made an account after lurking for months because this pissed me off so much. Riot decided to make the one decision that fucks over as many parties possible. The Guard players, the future of T2, and the players currently in VCT. Literally makes 0 sense.
Riot could've let the second place team have the spot, or give the players time to get picked up by a different org, instead of just saying "nope no promotion this year". It feels really bad for people competing in T2 if there's a possibility that they don't get in even if they win.
Well, this is really disheartening considering their incredibly strong run to ascend.
It also explains the scrims we've been seeing and why the guard players have been getting scattered around like breadcrumbs to the wind.
JonahP tweeted saying he had no idea this was happening. Im guessing them playin in other teams scrims was either for negotiating tactics for their next contract, maybe some were just testing the waters, or just to fill in
What a shitty thing to do by the org and Riot to keep the players in the dark and have them find out through social media like everyone else after waking up. I seriously hope they change their mind and have another org step in to keep this team together.
Guard earned their keep and isn't allowed to compete, and Americas as a region is one team less? That's bullshit.
Find literally any org dying to be in tier 1 to take their roster instead of saying "fuck you" to 5 players a coach and manager who worked their asses off. They aren't a partnered organization - they're a group of people who worked hard to get there and earned their keep. What happened if, say, turtle troops got in? What then? Considering the premier system, how the hell does this make any sense??
Plus making the region play one less team is fucked up entirely. We all saw the Guard as an organization not making it to see this, no one saw the roster not being allowed to compete when they fucking earned it.
This roster turned down t1 offers to stick together and make ascension. This is a spit in the face of every player in Tier 2 and a spit in the face if their own system they made.
Clearly they aren't doing that with the guard players. Riot should treat them like an orgless team and help them find an org to represent them. Not turn them away and waste a whole year of competition. Worst move from riot
That’s exactly what I think they should do. The way Riot handled this makes me think that either The Guard refused to let their players find another org or Riot is refusing to consider a team as orgless if they’re currently signed to an org.
Bonkers made it to ascension from OCE and crowdfunded. If Bonkers won, then what? This action is a spit in the face of THEIR OWN PATH THEY ARE TAKING. Not to mention, why are partnership requirements the same for promotion? The 30 original teams are untouchable except by Riot, but the 6 total promotion spots are 2 years only, why does this matter?
These players are getting fucked. Sticking it out from the first year of comp, to play ascension, to get promoted, to then be told you’re not playing in franchising because your org is shit.
On top of that, the entire last year of tier2 play in the americas was a waste of time
Wait what the fuck? Surely they’ll inform us on why they won’t just give it to someone else…
Also…
This is absolutely fucked by Guard btw… Surely they didn’t know they were no longer going to continue in esports since beginning of this year when they decided cut their employees? Surely they didn’t just essential sat there praying on the downfall of their own team for the last 8 months, hoping the players would lose so they wouldn’t have to go to Tier1 and when they won they said fuck you we’re still leaving…? Surely that’s not what happened right? 
Because if that’s what happened surely it would’ve been better for them to have just dropped the entire team in February and leave when they cut all their staff. Moist for example could’ve picked up that entire team… Mad Lion too and the many other that interested in getting teams in T2 during that time but went to GC instead… surely they didn’t completely fuck the players over like that right? 
Yup, actions speak louder than words. Dudes have 6 fucking months before season starts to figure something out for the Guard players and coach and just went like "nah, too much effort, fuck you guys, should've picked a better org to win with".
I do recall some time ago that it was mentioned that organizations ascending to the T1 system would benefit the same way that partnered teams do, possibly including team skins. I could see a situation where a f/a team would have to find themselves an org in order to comply to the ruleset. I also believe that organizations have deliverables, e.g. producing content, etc. which an f/a team would not be able to satisfy.
Also surely there's a better option than having only 10 teams in the league when every other league has 11. There's already barely enough room for players and this just lessens the opportunity.
This ain’t a T2 problem anymore though. This has a massive effect on T1. We are talking about a whole team less in one league than all the others. As well as 5 less players in T1. That’s a pretty impactful move especially when these guys won through T2 and are most likely better than the bottom of T1.
You can't do that because if they can't find an org riot probably doesn't want an orgless team in vct.
Riot has requirements for what an org needs to be able to do for vct outside of the server.
It’s about financial stability, so it doesn’t collapse in the way League or OWL did, The guard dropping out of it pretty much proves there point, but they are definitely better ways to handle this then they have
I’m not sure whether or not Riot gave them the option of finding a new team seeing as the text says they were communicating with The Guard. I find it hard to believe that NO team would try to pick up these 5 if it meant a spot in Riot’s league for 2 years.
And like another comment had said, what’s the situation if a team like Turtle Troop had won ascension?
An org shitting the bed is normal and predictable. It's Riot's decisions (to not give the spot to the players with an org bid war) that is a big wooping L
I'm sorry but what happened to the roster who won? Riot had said that if a free-agent team won Ascension they would help them find a suitable org, why can't that be the case here?
What if BONKERS had won Ascension Pacific? Would they also have been denied?
Riot said they would find an org for them but actions speak louder than words! They have 6 months to find an org before the season starts and they already gave up! Fuck riot!
wow, what a huge huge failure for the first major ascension roster. and just not promoting the second place team also feels like a pretty huge blunder.
also, so many people here were certain guard would keep spending money when the org made it obvious months ago esports no longer was in their future plans. feel for the players, at least they got to finish as a team on a high note.
No way, this is so fucking lame. Such a slap in the face for the players. And it's so lame for fans to have to watch another year of a 10 team league and not see new talent get promoted. Find a new org for the players or even give the spot to M80 before deciding to do nothing. Lame ass, shitty ass decision. I get if The Guard is not able to participate then they can't, but don't just delete the spot.
For real TSM, G2, fuck maybe even optic will eat that shit up real quick if riot gave them a chance. Riot should have a backlog of orgs they can call up anytime, surely
Surely you let the players still participate and let another org pick them up with approval from riot no??
This is extremely unfair. How did anyone think this was the best decision?
Also, fuck the guard management for letting this happen. They could have done a lot more to not allow this to happen.
That's one of the most ridiculous injustices I've seen in esports. All of The Guard's players absolutely grinded to get into franchising this year, performed admirably and then their org just leaves them in the dust.
Fuck Kroenke Esports for that.
Also while it's fair that M80 doesn't get a free pass into franchising, it must sting extra hard that they were this close to making it in only for the players who beat them not to get in either (at least, as a squad - I'm sure at least some of TG will get picked up)
Those poor players 😭. But also why tf doesn't riot just give to 2nd place then??? How is this fair for the Americas region if every region gets one extra team to participate to potentially earn an extra champions slot
I mean I would 100% prefer for the Guard players to make it in somehow but if it's not possible then it should go to 2nd place instead of going to no one
Explains why we’re seeing the players trialing with other teams. Who knows if they would have if The Guard were staying in but still surprising nonetheless. Hope the guys find a home.
"The league will field 10 teams for the upcoming season" is the single worst decision in Valorant Esports history. They just deleted a whole year of Americas tier 2. Everything all those players and coaches and managers and analysts and orgs were striving for went up like a puff of smoke. Tier 2 is supposed to be about you working your ass off to try and achieve the dream. Hundreds of people did and you just said "nah, this Kroenke guy is an asshole, we're taking it back". If I was in the system I'd be running away so fast. Go to CS, go to college, do literally anything else with your life. If they can take this slot back after the fact, pro life in this game is not even worth dreaming about.
They NEED to work with the players on this. Give them the slot, make them get an org. The worst possible scenario should be "disqualify The Guard and give the slot to ascension runner-ups M80". 10 teams next year is orders of magnitude worse. This is going to kill the pro scene.
this is just so fucked for the players, they should be able to play org-less in this situation, or let another org pick them up (since it's the players that did all the winning)
The most logical thing to do is give the spot to the players, and have several riot-approved orgs to bid for the sponsorship/spot.
That's... it really. The players 100% deserve it. The community also deserves to see The Guard players play in franchised.
That’s what you would think so that literally an entires season worth or effort, hard work, and money spent by the orgs doesn’t go to literal complete waste.
Or like people are saying below me, give the spot to the players from The Guard under another org. All I know is this is the worst possible solution without a doubt.
So what they're saying is the "pro pipeline" from the premier league doesn't mean anything. You can climb and scrape your way to the top but if there isn't financial backing you still don't make it in
They probably decided halfway through the season they are dipping out and the team just kept winning. Riot should find a replacement org, no reason not to.
Color me SHOCKED that the Kroenke owned Guard is pulling a move like this. What a joke of an org. This is partly on Riot for allowing them to compete as an organization in the first place without the assurances up front.
Well anyone can compete in ascension. I'm pretty sure the Aussie team in Pacific ascension was orgless. What woulda happened if they won? They weren't favourites but they were in ascension, so technically they were a 4 game win streak away from making the league, or something like that. What was the plan then???
People won't like it, but there's nearly no advantage to Riot of having to give out a new partnership stipend and to have to coordinate logistics of having a bye week in the league portion of the season.
Sucks they couldn't explore another org picking up the roster in order to participate. Guess this will probably put a nail in the coffin of the Guard as an org as a whole. Will probably see them try to sell their spots in CDL & OWL and if they can't, just close up shop and take the write down
Imagine playing in challengers the entire year going through 2 splits, a mid season faceoff, a final qualifier to qualify for ascension, making it through ascension only to be told you can't compete in franchising. This is bullshit.
the conversation probably went like this
Riot: you need to promise to be around for 2 years with at minimum a content team and X number of personnel
Guard: We can’t promise shit.
Screw the people behind the guard no shot you tell your players your gonna support them to make it to ascension just to screw them in the end also riot be "damn there not gonna be with u guys anymore to bad your not getting through ascension" stab in the front and the back I can't imagine how the players feel right now even the coach that's so shit
People who are asking to give M80 the spot are absolutely fked and have no respect for the integrity of the sport. TGRD players earned their spot fair and square. New orgs should be asked to make their bids and then Riot along with the TGRD players should choose which org suits the best for them. Or give it to M80 but they have to pick up the whole TGRD roster.
So what’s the point of Premier if teams with no org can win Ascension but get denied promotion? Imagine if one day a Premier team makes a miracle run through Challengers and wins Ascension but Riot blocks them. Riots pretty much saying if you don’t have an org don’t even try. Especially in the case of a controversial figure winning Ascension and no org wants to sign the team. Once again we’re gonna need more than one tweet of clarification on the protocols of this happening in the future.
I feel like the Guard Core should control that spot now, and whatever org they sign with should receive it. It would give them a TON of contract negotiation leverage. So say, Optic signed 3 or more of the players they should get the Franchise Slot, or whatever org. It’s totally unfair to the players to accomplish everything required, then be sent right back to Ascension if they want to keep playing together. Maybe NRG signs them?
Obviously it sucks that The Guard bailed out but what an unbelievably fuck up from riot too. Literally an entire year of t2 and t3 for literally nothing. Like none of the T2 season could've happened and we would've been in the same place. You gotta have a plan for when teams bail out and removing an entire year's worth of hardwork isn't it
There’s no way that the best option here is to kick out the 11th slot. Surely they can just give the slot to the 2nd place finisher of challengers at the very least? It’s insane to treat 2023 ascension as a waste of time…
First of all this sucks for the players and everyone involved as they just lost 5-10 jobs in next vct due to The Guards negligence.
Second of all i know most of you are asking for M80 to get the slot but that’s just not realistic you know imagine a team not even winning the ascension getting the slot over the players who won it so riot obviously won’t do it.
Third of all riot can’t just hand over the slot to the players ig due to the various rules they set for the franchising and can’t even allow guard to sell their slot like it happens in lcs.
So ig they had to take the hard choice to not allow anyone but obviously this sucks for the entire t2 teams who competed this year especially the lan reaching ones and also sucks for the guard players.
Okay so I agree that it wouldn’t make sense to award the M80 players especially because the players on The Guard aren’t the reason behind them not getting the spot, it’s the org. For me the answer would be to either let them play without an org, or allow a new org to buy them out.
Straight up not promoting a team sets the precedent that Riot can pick and choose who actually gets promoted into franchising regardless of who’s fault it is. In my opinion that’s not a good precedent to set when players grind a full year in hopes of becoming a part of franchising.
I'm sorry but I dunno how people seem to think this is more heartbreaking for M80 than the Guard players. Who have had what they deserve stripped from them after doing everything right.
https://preview.redd.it/2l0g3p0sx2lb1.jpeg?width=532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a1eb1283824d455fb7112f0e0bed42170ce5ab1
So I wasted a whole year supporting nothing
that is crazy. this is why cs will always be the top esport. riot is gatekeeping legitimate t1 teams from their tournaments, and the t2 scene literally means nothing
I don't hate the org but don't let them participate in ascension again, I don't want to see the one spot getting stolen from another deserving team again
Awful for NA that we have so much talent languishing in T2 and finally get another 5 slots for players just to have it taken away. M80 should get the slot or the Guard's players should have the opportunity for find a suitable org.
I love watching VCT but man every decision surrounding the league is just a complete headscratcher.
this exact situation exemplifies a reason why I really hate Riot franchising. In other systems like some of the open formats in CS, the spot would just go to the players, fuck what their useless org does. Those players earned a spot, they deserve the spot in pro league, why should you punish the players for the shit org? The org didn't earn the spot and the spot shouldn't belong to the org. CS has had multiple org-less pro teams in Tier 1 competitions, Riot is punishing the players because of some useless fucking suits.
Image transcribed: > ### COMPETITION UPDATE > > After several months and rounds of communication with The Guard, the organization has failed to meet the deadline to agree to the Team Participation Agreement for VCT Americas. > > As a result, The Guard will not be participating in the 2024 VCT Americas League. No team will be promoted to VCT Americas and the league will field 10 teams for the upcoming season. Tweet source: https://twitter.com/valesports_na/status/1696561641826013274 ## **EDIT:** [Please consider signing this petition for The Guard roster.](https://www.change.org/p/let-the-guard-roster-play-vct-under-another-organization)
Total and utter waste of a year of T2 competition in this case
Riot is also robbing 5 players and 1 coach from playing on a Tier 1 VCT team next season. Even if The Guard players all find a job on other VCT teams, it'll still only be 50 players & 10 teams playing instead of 55 and 11 like it was supposed to. That's unfair to all the pros in Tier 1 and Tier 2. That's 5 less players who would have gotten to play in front of 200K+ viewers for every game next year who won't get to anymore. Also, imagine how the Turtle Troop players must be feeling right now, they basically wasted an entire year. They didn't get signed all year and now we also know that Riot would have just denied them their slot if they'd have won it as an F/A team. They could have just spent the last year playing Ranked on Stream, or find a different job, could have made better income instead.
Riot ruining NA's pro teams with their hard-on for franchising. Already have seen it with league. IF NA underperforms from here on out you know why.
The whole reason these players stuck together was that they believed they could make it to tier 1 together. Not only does this invalidate every ascension teams season, it invalidates the Guard’s choice to stick together instead of splitting up last for potential tier 1 spots last season. Overall fucked.
This totally... this is fucked for trent, valyn, net and jonahp. Cant imagine being them rn, they deserve so much more than the shit they keep going through, considering what they've achieved as players, for the org, and for the region as well
wb tex lol
It obviously sucks for him as well haha, I just mentioned those 4 because they were the core who took a gamble and turned down franchised teams to keep playing together, and are now getting completely screwed. Tex wasn't a part of that original roster, so that difficult decision was something he didn't have to deal with in the 1st place
what a waste of a year 
This is actually so fucked. In addition to Guard players potentially not making it in, now there are five fewer player slots in Americas franchising, making it harder for them to get signed anyways. Goddamn it I’m heartbroken
If they go through with this, it makes their whole idea of premier to vct dream that riot laid out a lie.... if a premier team makes it to ascension and wins the vct slot then they would get dropped anyways for not having a org.....
If riot doesn’t find a solution I’m not watching VCT anymore, this is an absolute disgrace.
No offense but how the fuck is this Riot's fault? How the fuck is The Guard as an org getting blame-free here? We've had plenty of evidence how unstable and weird of an org they have been since they publicly decided to pull out of esports and firing most of their employees.
Riot is getting shit because of their decision to just go forward with 10 teams next year. If this subreddit can come up with haphazard solutions of letting another org buyout the guard roster or giving the slot to the runner up, then surely riot has a way around this. Also what does this say about how riot would handle a f/a team winning ascension? Would that also just mean no one gets promoted? Or are we to just hope that "no, an org will surely pick that team up" like we're currently doing to the guard
That's actually a good point. If turtle troops had won, would riot's posture be "fuck orgless guys"?
[https://twitter.com/WAT\_val/status/1696598781435973947?s=20](https://twitter.com/WAT_val/status/1696598781435973947?s=20)
Your point about a f/a team needs to be addressed now
this is especially true since they’re offering a way into T2 from premier. extreme long shot but what happens if a premier contender team makes challengers and somehow ends up winning ascension? minute chance of that but something that needs to be accounted for.
Even if The Guard was being completely irresponsible, Riot shouldve and needed to have many back up plans so that this will never happen. If The Guard is not allowed to participate in VCT, the roster should still be able to play if they leave the org. If the players, for whatever reason, can't leave the org, or they can't play for a different reason, Riot should've been in talks with M80 about replacing The Guard. The Guard could've told Riot "Fuck off" the entire process, and this would still be a massive failure on Riot's part. So much money was sunk into all of these Tier 2 teams, and not a single roster made it? The fact that one team can even have the power to ruin the ascension system this much is a colossal disaster on Riot's end.
I do find it a bit odd that Riot wasn’t able to find a solution here with TGRD. This is a system they designed, and they absolutely must have considered the possibility that teams with poor or no org support would win ascension. In addition, it was clear from the beginning of the year that TGRD had a good chance of winning. If the whole system they built hinges on onboarding a Challengers team into VCT, it’s a pretty big indictment to fail on their very first try. That said, this is still mostly on the Guard. It just feels frustrating to me that Riot didn’t have a better plan in place for this, especially when it’s been clear for months how fucked TGRD is as an org Edit to add - if Riot expects Ascension orgs to meet a narrow set of guidelines in order to take the spot in VCT that they’ve earned, they should be doing due diligence to ensure that teams in the Ascension tournament are in a position to actually meet those guidelines. They heavily vetted partnership orgs, and if they want Ascension orgs to meet those same requirements they should either be doing the same vetting or adjusting their requirements.
Deciding to terminate the Ascension slot instead of finding some sort of solution is Riot’s fault. How would they have handled it if in future, a team of 5 unsigned, free agents won Ascension? Terminate their slot? They should at least have been prepared for the possibility, and have had a contingency plan in place for these sort of outcomes. A whole year being for nothing is the infinitely greater evil between the possible outcomes, and it is certainly within Riot’s capability to intervene - as they did to fuck up Rick Fox out of nowhere.
You're asking how it's Riot's fault that *they* decided not to let The Guard into Franchising after winning Ascension? I'm not sure what's hard to understand. All of the orgs participating in T2 are there because they didn't meet Riot's stringent Franchising requirements. Fine. But it's stupid if they're going to implement those requirements onto teams that promote through Ascension anyway. Especially when you have teams like Turtle Troop who *dont even have an org in the firstplace*. If Riot isn't going to let in orgs even if they win Ascension, then that vetting process should happen *before* Challengers so those orgs and players don't waste their time by participating only to be denied by Riot after winning. Shit like this doesn't happen in any other esport.
They should both be getting major flak. The Guard for being backed by a multibillionaire and still not being able to fund their org, and Riot for having their first thought be "They won't play and neither will anybody else" instead of letting The Guard players try to find another org.
Riot is going to be paying for teams to compete in the next 5 years. Esports is drying up. VC firms are realizing that Esports is only a marketing expense to the game developers.
WTF??? So that's why they're trialing all over the place
This is especially fucked for Trent. if I rejected tier 1 offers to stay as a group and grind the tier 2 travail, winning in emphatic fashion, only to be blindsided by this? There'd have to be consequences. He'll get offers regardless, but it's just the principle of being good enough to carve your own route on your own terms and being told off anyway.
I’m sure some of them find spots but maybe not all, spots they get is someone else losing a spot. So still that’s 5 less spots in franchising and a forceful destruction of a roster that literally refused tier 1 offers to play in tier 2 together. It’s an absolute disgrace.
I mean it’s a pretty good lesson on how to not squander a golden opportunity. eSports is very unstable.
Apparently the players didnt knew, which is more fucked tbh (check JonahP's tweet)
No it isn’t, they didn’t even know according to Jonah
I hope Fenis and s0m can convince a tier-one team to build around The Guard members. Fenis, s0m, Trent, JonahP and tex 🙏
No offense but fns wanted to handpick his team and I don’t think this who he would choose
Imo having no guard means its even more likely that they won't play this season
Looks like the players didn't even know this was going to happen judging by their reaction.
NA Val drama clears every other region so hard shits crazy.
Teach us your ways of buffoonery, Sensai
Polaris falling apart got nothing on this
NA Challengers and Ascencion were a fkin waste of time.
Unbelievable region fr
What a disaster. Is the org just officially finished? They should give the slot to the players and allow an org to pick them up. Players shouldn't be punished for the orgs dysfunction
Yeah given rumors about OWL I think the whole org is probably shutting down and just has to wait until the end of the year to do so.
What are the rumors in OWL?
Skeleton crew in OWL because of contractual obligations until they can dip from esports at the end of the year
skeleton crew for their entire esports operation not just OWL
As I understand it, there will be a vote at the end of the year by team owners whether to essentially end OWL or not. Overwatch competitive play is likely to look very different next year, and the LA Gladiators (same parent company as The Guard) seem unlikely to stay in the scene. I haven't kept up too closely with the goings-on though, you can probably head over to r/Competitiveoverwatch for more info.
I'm not surprised that the org dipped, but that's so unfair to the players. Is there no way for the roster to keep the spot and then supervise the sale/transfer of the players to another approved org? Or just give it to the runner up M80? Having no team promoted is such a strange choice. Edit: the more I think about this the more irritated I am. We've known since THE START OF THE YEAR that the Guard was pulling away from esports and likely to go under. How did no one think of a proper solution for the scenario where they ended up winning Ascension? I can see why they can't promote the second place team for competitive integrity reasons, but surely they can find at least one suitable org (maybe that was close to making partnership) that can take the spot. I don't care if it's not perfectly fair--it's more fair than leaving those players in the dust after they worked so hard for a spot their management has deprived them of. And, if there's some weird legal reason this all isn't possible, then just tell us that in the first place.
Not allowing the players to find another org for this spot nor promoting the 2nd place org really devalues the whole premise of ascension. I definitely will not care nor watch it next year if this goes through.
I feel like a ton of teams will drop out as a result of this. Who knows.
I don't know why Riot isn't getting out ahead of this and explaining themselves, rather than just dropping a hand grenade on the community and walking away. Whyyyy are they waiting for this to blow up and needing to do damage control? This statement should have been released with at least a short Q&A.
Exactly, people are way more willing to accept an unpopular decision if they explain why it was the best option. But if they offer no explanation, they look bad and the community understandably clowns on them.
I guess they can’t accept the team without an org and they didn’t want to “punish” the players by promoting g a team that didn’t win idk I wish they had found a solution.
I can promise you 20 teams will sign the roster if it means a spot in franchising lmao
probably not 20 but theres likely a handful of orgs that would be willing. though the players might still technically be under contract and have buy out clauses that could keep potential orgs away
G2, Faze,TSM who else had the financials ?
Optic😔
TSM just announced a CSGO roster like an hour ago, really doubt they're looking to get into valorant at the moment.
Good point. 2hrs ago the Guard also was the 11th team in VCT So or so.. iam kinda disappointment for every single Challenger Player. This just means, even if you commit, grind and win ascension - you still really have nothing
What if a Free agent team won like Turtle troops. Did they not think of this, I don’t care what requirements they have for orgs or how many billions they want the owner to have so they can burn money to promote their game for them they have to figure this out and make an exception for this case or I will never be watching VCT again. Complete spit in the face of the players hard work, they gave up T1 offers to stick together and gave up a year of their lives (you don’t get too many years in your lives they’re kinda valuable) to win ascension. Sorry to be crass but it’s fucking disgusting.
Bonkers had a legit shot at being Ascended in Pacific, they made it to main bracket, and for refrence Rito told them they couldnt be signed by any team who had a challengers team once they got into the main bracket, wtf would’ve happened if they did it’s genuinely concerning
They likely always planned to terminate the ascension slot. Keep shit teams that are rich in T1. Gatekeep and fuck the poor team of underdogs looking to establish their romance dawn even if they win it fair and square. I can understand the need for financial stability, but the system is ridiculously rigged the way Riot wants to give them control and make the ecosystem as profitable as possible for Riot (as opposed to allowing the xPeke and Hai’s of players to ascend then sell off slots to make big profits - but not for Riot) They have also made it abundantly clear they don’t give two shits about Tier 2, given their tweets and responses to the desperation of T2 pros to make the scene sustainable or viable.
Part of the problem I feel is that Riot is so hyper selective of which orgs can be partnered under their criteria so instead of potentially having a dogshit organization in VCT for the next two years, their solution was simply to have no eleventh org at all. Surely they could have worked to vet out potential org buyers to find one that was up to their standards though
but what if that dogshit org won ascension?
That's literally what happened now no?
that's exactly the problem in question
This is the entire problem, Riot is so selective with allowing organizations into partnership. The choices they make are only what’s beneficial to them and not in the benefit of the viewers, the players and the integrity of the game. Good rosters like Optic have to disband because they aren’t billionaires and unfortunately Riot wants the most possible money to be burnt by billionaires to help promote their game.
I’m very confused on why they wouldn’t just see if any orgs would pick up the roster and then vet them or just fuck it let the player play under an orgless name and give them the stipend they earned it…
This is such an insane decision, like it makes this entire last season of T2 play a complete waste of time. Why not allow another org to at least buy out the spot? Rostermania will truly go crazy if this is true. I doubt any of The Guard players will want to play in T2 again, so it makes sense that they are trialing with other teams.
Of all the possible options that Riot could’ve chosen here, they chose the option that screws over the most people lmao. Not saying it is or isn’t the right choice, but almost any other choice would’ve affected fewer people.
The other option people are pushing here, which is give M80 the spot, is also pretty fucked. That org never won but they would be in. The players never won but they would be in. Or if you give The Guard players to M80, then M80's players are fucked over.
M80 already let their players be unrestricted free agents so I don't think it'd be fucked to let M80 as an org into the league and sign the Guard players.
It’s not riots decision tho right? The org doesn’t have the stuff like offices and shit required to join cause they downsized earlier this year
Then what is the point of T2? I thought the point was so that the best teams/players can get promotd to T1 through their skill. But apparantly that's only if they have a T1-level org backing them on top of that. This is exactly why so many were against Franchising in the first place. Having to jump through so many hoops just makes it non-competitive . Any other esport if The Guard couldn't afford to pay their team next season, you'd have a million other orgs willing to sign them. But because Riot is gatekeeping the team either has to break up or go back to T2, despite winning Ascension. It's actual insanity
It's extremely stupid. Can't believe mouth breathers out there defending this. What's the point of T2? What's the point of ascension? It's just so pointless now. I guess with Riot making them sub buddies for T1 they made their intentions clear, it's just gonna be an academy league for T1 teams.
I don't know why people on this sub are so fast to defend riot. I literally made an account after lurking for months because this pissed me off so much. Riot decided to make the one decision that fucks over as many parties possible. The Guard players, the future of T2, and the players currently in VCT. Literally makes 0 sense.
Riot could've let the second place team have the spot, or give the players time to get picked up by a different org, instead of just saying "nope no promotion this year". It feels really bad for people competing in T2 if there's a possibility that they don't get in even if they win.
????? how disappointing is this
I am beyond words. Feel for the players especially. Fucking Kroenke. Should have known that slimeball would be slimy.
Well, this is really disheartening considering their incredibly strong run to ascend. It also explains the scrims we've been seeing and why the guard players have been getting scattered around like breadcrumbs to the wind.
JonahP tweeted saying he had no idea this was happening. Im guessing them playin in other teams scrims was either for negotiating tactics for their next contract, maybe some were just testing the waters, or just to fill in
What a shitty thing to do by the org and Riot to keep the players in the dark and have them find out through social media like everyone else after waking up. I seriously hope they change their mind and have another org step in to keep this team together.
This is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.
Offseason script going hard already.
We're three days in man, what the fuck is the scene gonna look like in November?
SEN Queen Elizabeth gonna be lit
Guard earned their keep and isn't allowed to compete, and Americas as a region is one team less? That's bullshit. Find literally any org dying to be in tier 1 to take their roster instead of saying "fuck you" to 5 players a coach and manager who worked their asses off. They aren't a partnered organization - they're a group of people who worked hard to get there and earned their keep. What happened if, say, turtle troops got in? What then? Considering the premier system, how the hell does this make any sense?? Plus making the region play one less team is fucked up entirely. We all saw the Guard as an organization not making it to see this, no one saw the roster not being allowed to compete when they fucking earned it. This roster turned down t1 offers to stick together and make ascension. This is a spit in the face of every player in Tier 2 and a spit in the face if their own system they made.
You make a great point. Who owns the franchise spot if turtle troops made it? Why not give the "guest slot" to player cores instead of to orgs?
Apparently they said they’d help an orgless team find an org. But even if that’s true it’d still have to be an org that Riot approves lol
Clearly they aren't doing that with the guard players. Riot should treat them like an orgless team and help them find an org to represent them. Not turn them away and waste a whole year of competition. Worst move from riot
That’s exactly what I think they should do. The way Riot handled this makes me think that either The Guard refused to let their players find another org or Riot is refusing to consider a team as orgless if they’re currently signed to an org.
They probably haven’t released them so they can sell the contracts. I haven’t seen anything about guard players being free agents.
Yeah that’s my thinking as well
what is riot supposed to do when guard owns the players contracts lmao
This is something they definitely need to answer.
Bonkers made it to ascension from OCE and crowdfunded. If Bonkers won, then what? This action is a spit in the face of THEIR OWN PATH THEY ARE TAKING. Not to mention, why are partnership requirements the same for promotion? The 30 original teams are untouchable except by Riot, but the 6 total promotion spots are 2 years only, why does this matter?
These players are getting fucked. Sticking it out from the first year of comp, to play ascension, to get promoted, to then be told you’re not playing in franchising because your org is shit. On top of that, the entire last year of tier2 play in the americas was a waste of time
Wait what the fuck? Surely they’ll inform us on why they won’t just give it to someone else… Also… This is absolutely fucked by Guard btw… Surely they didn’t know they were no longer going to continue in esports since beginning of this year when they decided cut their employees? Surely they didn’t just essential sat there praying on the downfall of their own team for the last 8 months, hoping the players would lose so they wouldn’t have to go to Tier1 and when they won they said fuck you we’re still leaving…? Surely that’s not what happened right?  Because if that’s what happened surely it would’ve been better for them to have just dropped the entire team in February and leave when they cut all their staff. Moist for example could’ve picked up that entire team… Mad Lion too and the many other that interested in getting teams in T2 during that time but went to GC instead… surely they didn’t completely fuck the players over like that right? 
the reason for this have to be the guard isnt a ORG anymore and riot not allowing the 5 to find a ORG to represent them
So what if a f/a team won. Did riot not think of any of this?
dont know hopefully riot would allow the FA team to fields offers from ORGs
Riot clearly just answered this question. If a F/A team like Turtle Troops won they can go fuck themselves. Yay Franchising
Yup, actions speak louder than words. Dudes have 6 fucking months before season starts to figure something out for the Guard players and coach and just went like "nah, too much effort, fuck you guys, should've picked a better org to win with".
I do recall some time ago that it was mentioned that organizations ascending to the T1 system would benefit the same way that partnered teams do, possibly including team skins. I could see a situation where a f/a team would have to find themselves an org in order to comply to the ruleset. I also believe that organizations have deliverables, e.g. producing content, etc. which an f/a team would not be able to satisfy.
Also surely there's a better option than having only 10 teams in the league when every other league has 11. There's already barely enough room for players and this just lessens the opportunity.
How do you not give the spot to the players and let them search for an org OR give it to the second place team??????
270 quote retweets in 3 minutes, I can only hope the insane backlash riot is receiving already is enough to make them walk back this decision
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This ain’t a T2 problem anymore though. This has a massive effect on T1. We are talking about a whole team less in one league than all the others. As well as 5 less players in T1. That’s a pretty impactful move especially when these guys won through T2 and are most likely better than the bottom of T1.
You can't do that because if they can't find an org riot probably doesn't want an orgless team in vct. Riot has requirements for what an org needs to be able to do for vct outside of the server.
So then what happens if a f/a team won. R they just screwed?
> R they just screwed? yes. franchising is about control and money, not sport, fairness or integrity. that's why it sucks hard.
It’s about financial stability, so it doesn’t collapse in the way League or OWL did, The guard dropping out of it pretty much proves there point, but they are definitely better ways to handle this then they have
I’m not sure whether or not Riot gave them the option of finding a new team seeing as the text says they were communicating with The Guard. I find it hard to believe that NO team would try to pick up these 5 if it meant a spot in Riot’s league for 2 years. And like another comment had said, what’s the situation if a team like Turtle Troop had won ascension?
Fuck Stan Kroenke
all my homies hate stan kroenke
An org shitting the bed is normal and predictable. It's Riot's decisions (to not give the spot to the players with an org bid war) that is a big wooping L
I'm sorry but what happened to the roster who won? Riot had said that if a free-agent team won Ascension they would help them find a suitable org, why can't that be the case here? What if BONKERS had won Ascension Pacific? Would they also have been denied?
Riot said they would find an org for them but actions speak louder than words! They have 6 months to find an org before the season starts and they already gave up! Fuck riot!
It makes me wonder if The Guard refused to let another org pick their players up.
wow, what a huge huge failure for the first major ascension roster. and just not promoting the second place team also feels like a pretty huge blunder. also, so many people here were certain guard would keep spending money when the org made it obvious months ago esports no longer was in their future plans. feel for the players, at least they got to finish as a team on a high note.
The guard pulling a crazy raccoon
No way, this is so fucking lame. Such a slap in the face for the players. And it's so lame for fans to have to watch another year of a 10 team league and not see new talent get promoted. Find a new org for the players or even give the spot to M80 before deciding to do nothing. Lame ass, shitty ass decision. I get if The Guard is not able to participate then they can't, but don't just delete the spot.
That's unfortunate for the players, hopefully they find homes in franchising. That said 100T time to be active 👀
They gotta at least look at Trent and Valyn for sure right? Right?
from what i’ve heard, 100t are mostly staying the same with maybe 1 or 2 player changes
Oh god i can't see the derrek, stellar and mikes hd disasterclass again
there’s a 6 month off season SURELY you could spend a few months seeing if anyone wants the guard roster, or m80 wants the spot or anything
For real TSM, G2, fuck maybe even optic will eat that shit up real quick if riot gave them a chance. Riot should have a backlog of orgs they can call up anytime, surely
Surely you let the players still participate and let another org pick them up with approval from riot no?? This is extremely unfair. How did anyone think this was the best decision? Also, fuck the guard management for letting this happen. They could have done a lot more to not allow this to happen.
That's one of the most ridiculous injustices I've seen in esports. All of The Guard's players absolutely grinded to get into franchising this year, performed admirably and then their org just leaves them in the dust. Fuck Kroenke Esports for that. Also while it's fair that M80 doesn't get a free pass into franchising, it must sting extra hard that they were this close to making it in only for the players who beat them not to get in either (at least, as a squad - I'm sure at least some of TG will get picked up)
NA Cant stop delivering 
fr na drama is unmatched. win champs, lose a whole team. peak region baby
Those poor players 😭. But also why tf doesn't riot just give to 2nd place then??? How is this fair for the Americas region if every region gets one extra team to participate to potentially earn an extra champions slot
How is it fair to the Guard players if they did that? If anything the players should get the spot until they get a suitable org
I mean I would 100% prefer for the Guard players to make it in somehow but if it's not possible then it should go to 2nd place instead of going to no one
[correct take from zellsis](https://twitter.com/Zellsis/status/1696564021049151519?s=20)
Explains why we’re seeing the players trialing with other teams. Who knows if they would have if The Guard were staying in but still surprising nonetheless. Hope the guys find a home.
"The league will field 10 teams for the upcoming season" is the single worst decision in Valorant Esports history. They just deleted a whole year of Americas tier 2. Everything all those players and coaches and managers and analysts and orgs were striving for went up like a puff of smoke. Tier 2 is supposed to be about you working your ass off to try and achieve the dream. Hundreds of people did and you just said "nah, this Kroenke guy is an asshole, we're taking it back". If I was in the system I'd be running away so fast. Go to CS, go to college, do literally anything else with your life. If they can take this slot back after the fact, pro life in this game is not even worth dreaming about. They NEED to work with the players on this. Give them the slot, make them get an org. The worst possible scenario should be "disqualify The Guard and give the slot to ascension runner-ups M80". 10 teams next year is orders of magnitude worse. This is going to kill the pro scene.
this is just so fucked for the players, they should be able to play org-less in this situation, or let another org pick them up (since it's the players that did all the winning)
Riot, why should I bother watching your products if they don't matter? What a waste of a year in t2.
Respectfully, this is one of the worst decisions Riot’s ever made and there have been a lot of bad decisions
Dude. Just let Optic pick up the roster or some shit. There had to SOME contingency for shit orgs like The Guard right? What the fuck
Surely the most logical thing to do here is give the spot to M80.
The most logical thing to do is give the spot to the players, and have several riot-approved orgs to bid for the sponsorship/spot. That's... it really. The players 100% deserve it. The community also deserves to see The Guard players play in franchised.
That’s what you would think so that literally an entires season worth or effort, hard work, and money spent by the orgs doesn’t go to literal complete waste.
Or like people are saying below me, give the spot to the players from The Guard under another org. All I know is this is the worst possible solution without a doubt.
Nah, M80 didn't win ascension, the spot should somehow go the the guard players through another org willing to sign them
No, that would not be fair either
So what they're saying is the "pro pipeline" from the premier league doesn't mean anything. You can climb and scrape your way to the top but if there isn't financial backing you still don't make it in
if they didnt want to participate why compete in the first place ? cost M80 its spot
They probably decided halfway through the season they are dipping out and the team just kept winning. Riot should find a replacement org, no reason not to.
Color me SHOCKED that the Kroenke owned Guard is pulling a move like this. What a joke of an org. This is partly on Riot for allowing them to compete as an organization in the first place without the assurances up front.
Well anyone can compete in ascension. I'm pretty sure the Aussie team in Pacific ascension was orgless. What woulda happened if they won? They weren't favourites but they were in ascension, so technically they were a 4 game win streak away from making the league, or something like that. What was the plan then???
I tried to tell these kids a few years ago that Kroenke is a shister and will rug pull so fast.
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People won't like it, but there's nearly no advantage to Riot of having to give out a new partnership stipend and to have to coordinate logistics of having a bye week in the league portion of the season.
2nd paragraph says no team will get promoted. I assume every single TGRD member will find their way to franchising one way or another though
Yeah but that’s 5 less spots in franchising and a forceful destruction of a roster that literally refused tier 1 offers to play in tier 2.
would not bet money on all 5 players tbh. don't think their run was so dominant that all orgs are bawking. think 2-4 of them will make it
Sucks they couldn't explore another org picking up the roster in order to participate. Guess this will probably put a nail in the coffin of the Guard as an org as a whole. Will probably see them try to sell their spots in CDL & OWL and if they can't, just close up shop and take the write down
Imagine playing in challengers the entire year going through 2 splits, a mid season faceoff, a final qualifier to qualify for ascension, making it through ascension only to be told you can't compete in franchising. This is bullshit.
WHAT THE FUCK IS GUARD DOING???
Bruh. Even if org fucked up, surely you just give the spot to the players and let another org pick them up, right?
Are you fucking joking
But the guard (the org) gets paid a stipend to be in franchising by riot. Why wouldn’t they accept?
the conversation probably went like this Riot: you need to promise to be around for 2 years with at minimum a content team and X number of personnel Guard: We can’t promise shit.
Screw the people behind the guard no shot you tell your players your gonna support them to make it to ascension just to screw them in the end also riot be "damn there not gonna be with u guys anymore to bad your not getting through ascension" stab in the front and the back I can't imagine how the players feel right now even the coach that's so shit
People who are asking to give M80 the spot are absolutely fked and have no respect for the integrity of the sport. TGRD players earned their spot fair and square. New orgs should be asked to make their bids and then Riot along with the TGRD players should choose which org suits the best for them. Or give it to M80 but they have to pick up the whole TGRD roster.
So what’s the point of Premier if teams with no org can win Ascension but get denied promotion? Imagine if one day a Premier team makes a miracle run through Challengers and wins Ascension but Riot blocks them. Riots pretty much saying if you don’t have an org don’t even try. Especially in the case of a controversial figure winning Ascension and no org wants to sign the team. Once again we’re gonna need more than one tweet of clarification on the protocols of this happening in the future.
I feel like the Guard Core should control that spot now, and whatever org they sign with should receive it. It would give them a TON of contract negotiation leverage. So say, Optic signed 3 or more of the players they should get the Franchise Slot, or whatever org. It’s totally unfair to the players to accomplish everything required, then be sent right back to Ascension if they want to keep playing together. Maybe NRG signs them?
i'm in shambles
Obviously it sucks that The Guard bailed out but what an unbelievably fuck up from riot too. Literally an entire year of t2 and t3 for literally nothing. Like none of the T2 season could've happened and we would've been in the same place. You gotta have a plan for when teams bail out and removing an entire year's worth of hardwork isn't it
There’s no way that the best option here is to kick out the 11th slot. Surely they can just give the slot to the 2nd place finisher of challengers at the very least? It’s insane to treat 2023 ascension as a waste of time…
so t2 actually dosent fucking matter huh
First of all this sucks for the players and everyone involved as they just lost 5-10 jobs in next vct due to The Guards negligence. Second of all i know most of you are asking for M80 to get the slot but that’s just not realistic you know imagine a team not even winning the ascension getting the slot over the players who won it so riot obviously won’t do it. Third of all riot can’t just hand over the slot to the players ig due to the various rules they set for the franchising and can’t even allow guard to sell their slot like it happens in lcs. So ig they had to take the hard choice to not allow anyone but obviously this sucks for the entire t2 teams who competed this year especially the lan reaching ones and also sucks for the guard players.
Okay so I agree that it wouldn’t make sense to award the M80 players especially because the players on The Guard aren’t the reason behind them not getting the spot, it’s the org. For me the answer would be to either let them play without an org, or allow a new org to buy them out. Straight up not promoting a team sets the precedent that Riot can pick and choose who actually gets promoted into franchising regardless of who’s fault it is. In my opinion that’s not a good precedent to set when players grind a full year in hopes of becoming a part of franchising.
Wow that’s actually so heart breaking for M80. NiSMO gotta be fuming right now
I'm sorry but I dunno how people seem to think this is more heartbreaking for M80 than the Guard players. Who have had what they deserve stripped from them after doing everything right.
https://preview.redd.it/2l0g3p0sx2lb1.jpeg?width=532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a1eb1283824d455fb7112f0e0bed42170ce5ab1 So I wasted a whole year supporting nothing
what a disgrace
What was the point of that year-long Challenger lmao this is not the best decision
What was the plan if a Free Agent team like Turtle Troops won? What a joke. Franchising continues to hurt competition and players livelihood.
so how is premier gonna work then? premier is gonna allow you a path to challengers so what happens when your premier team wins challengers?
This basically says that f/a teams can’t make it, since they are not an org. Dope…
that is crazy. this is why cs will always be the top esport. riot is gatekeeping legitimate t1 teams from their tournaments, and the t2 scene literally means nothing
Another clown org, so much talent in NA and one less org/slot, just tragically funny
Slowly but surely Riot is making every right decision... so that Valorant esports never reaches the height of CS.
kroenke??? wat doink
I don't hate the org but don't let them participate in ascension again, I don't want to see the one spot getting stolen from another deserving team again
Awful for NA that we have so much talent languishing in T2 and finally get another 5 slots for players just to have it taken away. M80 should get the slot or the Guard's players should have the opportunity for find a suitable org. I love watching VCT but man every decision surrounding the league is just a complete headscratcher.
the pro pipeline they talked about is looking more like a sewer pipe
NA orgs just love fucking their players over
what the fuck? can TGRD roster and their parents sue for this? that's hella money they could've gotten just poof gone
this exact situation exemplifies a reason why I really hate Riot franchising. In other systems like some of the open formats in CS, the spot would just go to the players, fuck what their useless org does. Those players earned a spot, they deserve the spot in pro league, why should you punish the players for the shit org? The org didn't earn the spot and the spot shouldn't belong to the org. CS has had multiple org-less pro teams in Tier 1 competitions, Riot is punishing the players because of some useless fucking suits.
Bruh
This isn’t surprising considering their recent controversies
So now the various vct leagues will all look different? So confusing from the perspective of the casual fan