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Riot Games announced on August 29th that The Guard wouldn't be participating in VCT Americas 2024. Instead of offering a solution to the players or giving another team the slot, a decision was made to not add anyone else to the tournament. Thankfully, that decision was revoked and a decent middle ground was reached. Let's take a look at how it all unfolded.  

The original decision

  Riot Games posted on X the original announcement on August 29th.  

(Image via Riot Games)

The decision was received with major backlash. Industry people and fans alike rightly pointed out that, removing a slot that was already planned to be added simply because The Guard failed to meet their deadlines was absurd. Flyquest President and Chief Gaming Officer Papasmithy was one of the many:     The public opinion was clear: Riot was making a huge mistake for the Valorant scene as a whole by removing the additional slot entirely. The Guard had gotten their VCT 2024 slot through The Ascension Americas tournament. It could've well been given to M80, the team that finished second and had just previously won the North American Challengers Playoffs. Multiple options seemed possible, it was just a matter of Riot Games considering them.  

Riot listens: The VCT Americas 2024 slot won't go to waste

  Leo Faria, the Global Head of Valorant  Esports at Riot Games was quite vocal about the entire process on X. He tried to explain the company's reasoning behind the decision in a lengthy post. He didn't manage to convince the community that this was the right path moving forward for the VCT Americas, but it seems that the exact opposite took place.     A day after his previous post, he posted the one pictured above. Expectations were not high given Riot's track record of not backing down from their mistakes (remember, they still don't have Double Elimination in LoL's World Championship). Yet, it seems that the company is taking a different approach when it comes to Valorant. Leo Faria talked the talk, but he also walked the walk in this situation with The Guard.  

(Image via Riot Games)

This isn't a perfect solution, but it is pretty damn close. The five players that got their slot through The Guard have a chance to stick together in a new organisation that would join the VCT Americas in 2024, or they can each go their ways in new teams. Leo Faria's final post was one that shows a considerable shift from the Riot people are used to in League of Legends, to the one we're when it comes to Valorant. "We moved too fast when making the original decision, quickly realized it had been a mistake, and your feedback made that clear. I’m glad we have a chance to right this wrong and let the players play." What do you think of the final decision?

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Featured image courtesy of The Guard. Check out our main page for more esports content.