T2 EU VS T2 AMER

I wanted to share my perspective on why the Tier 2 scene in our region actually works the way it does.
EU has a deeply rooted Tier 2 culture in virtually every sport and esport.

This concept barely exists in other regions, like the Americas, where people aren't even familiar with the idea of relegation because franchise teams can't be demoted or promoted. We genuinely love regional leagues. A prime example of this is League of Legends: while Tier 2 is practically non-existent in NA, Europe boasts promotions, relegations, and thriving regional leagues in almost every country.

It's a completely different mentality and structural experience. In the US, sports culture relies heavily on scouting systems like those in the NBA or NFL, where every kid dreams of making it through high school, college leagues, and draft systems. Our regions just function differently. You could see this with PCIFIC - as soon as they qualified for VCT EMEA, their roster was immediately bought out by BBL. In Europe, we tend to favor picking up proven, working lineups over building teams from scratch.
Furthermore, traditional scouting isn't as dominant in Europe precisely because of the promotion/relegation system. You can literally start in the 3rd division and grind your way up to the top tier with your own team. Of course, if an individual player is exceptionally good, a tier-1 org will pick them up along the way. In the US, that path doesn't exist. You can't earn promotion from the NBA G-League to the NBA as a team - you have to be scouted individually.

Look at our history in Valorant: Europe won Champions (Acend) and multiple international trophies before and around the start of the franchising era (Gambit, FPX, Fnatic). We achieved top-tier success in an open, competitive ecosystem, which proves that the rigid franchise model isn't ideally suited for our region. We thrive when teams can actually grind their way up from lower tiers.

Now that Riot has introduced a direct pathway for Tier 2 teams to reach Champions, I really hope it helps elevate and strengthen the region even further.
You might agree with this or completely disagree, but that's just my personal take on it
Cheers

TL;DR: EMEA is actually trash anyway, Fnatic and Heretics are massive frauds, and ChatGPT absolutely cooked with this post.

aint reading all that but true

T2 EMEA proving why T1 EMEA is shittt and not winning any trophy for years

Even m80 gonna easily get top 4 in t1 emea

EMEA has the highest floor of any region but the problem is that all the teams are around the same skill level; none of them are actually contenders for trophies but they're all good enough to make EMEA a very mixed region with infinite upset potential

because tier 2 teams in EMEA play a shit ton more matches than the bottom teams in tier 1 and thus have much more chem, it's a lot more likely for tier 2 to get more wins

also helps that there are some generational talents such as kozzy/kachoww/jamelinho in tier 2 that can take over games

ty for the tl;dr giving me back the time i would've wasted reading this pathetic ai explanation

Yeah as someone who's played football manager, the difference between American and European talent scouting is crazy. The MLS has a draft. When I played as Toronto FC for the first time, I was hella surprised; a draft just seems so pointless when you're talking about scouting and getting the best talent. Even in leagues like Norway there are 5+ tiers of teams, with communities with as little people as <1000 (from google maps at least) having their own clubs.

agreed emea has a very good tier 2 system

the newer format will help them

Very excited to see how this shakes up rosters and team academies.