People like to talk a lot about prize money but players don't just play for the money. Let's take soccer as an example. If money is all that matters then most great soccer players would move to the Saudi league in a heartbeat. But that isn't what's happening now is it? No, players also play to build a legacy and the legacy you can build by playing in the Saudi league is a joke compared to what you can do in Europe.
The same applies to Valorant. If prize pool was all that mattered then every single player would prefer to place 2nd in champs rather than win a masters, which is obviously not the case. The prestige of this tournament and the legacy you build by winning it is less than what you'd build winning Game Changers Champs. GC champs not only had higher peak viewers but it's also a tournament people will look back on and remember in the future unlike EWC. The players who play for the legacy just won't try as hard in this tournament as they would in masters, champs and probably even regionals. This tournament just simply isn't as competitive as a masters or even Fluke//in.
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