I think this is what the kids call 'Copium'

And why do you feel that way?

Seems like Chinese teams change players on the off chance that the whole team will suddenly become better with <1 month practice.

Seems to me most pacific teams are treating valorant as a business, and they tend to weigh out roster transfers with their finances.

Tl;dr - Chinese teams have less patience for roster development, leading to less good teams (long-standing rosters like EDG, BLG, Trace) ; APAC orgs are not breaking the bank for blockbuster signings without the revenue being apparent.

Meanwhile, 100T & C9 broke the bank for players like cryo, yay at the start of franchising -- hasn't turned out great for them.

Ironically c9 now run budget rosters and put more time into improving the team. Wouldn't surprise me if they made more money with this philosophy in mind as well.

And before someone talks about T1 putting a super team together, that's exactly it, a super team that can tourneys, while also leading south Koreans massive val fanbase.

Now we need the link

I'm way too interested in this.

Speaks more to the lack of actual on stage experience left on the roster than mismanagement. At least we're not looking at a bunch of 30 year olds on stage anymore.

Firing WarBirds was such a mistake for this team imo. Especially with a new IGL in 2GE, they need someone with experience and is good at minimizing mistakes

You're not wrong. They've already nerfed neon though, and considering how much it's getting bought on gun rounds in VCT this year, we'll probably see a nerf sometime soon.

The game has to develop its own identity, end of the day, and it's healthy that we have a diverse agent pool where most agents can be useful on a lot of maps. Neon doesn't need any more tweaks.

Miniboo has been good so far this year, but hyunmin has been so solid for DRX, feels disingenuous.

Still, different strokes.

Don't glaze.

Xeus is a great player, but the other thing to consider here is that most of these duelists are on arguably better teams. Xeus just got into VCT, most of the list has played 2+ seasons.

Maybe the turks will put a new super team together, but right now, so many are chasing the bag in international teams. If players like w0ot, sociable, ruxic, make it back onto a majority Turkish roster, maybe xeus would be a part of that and can get the clout he deserves.

Meh, eyes on the team during matches (especially with the proportions Tarik brings in versus regular VCT streams) can drive bundle sales.

Not 'crazy', but definitely unprofessional.

Either way, these people are in careers where reputation means a lot. There have been tons of players in CS & Val over the years who were skilled, but didn't have the attitude to be pro.

Gotta give some love to slowly

Yikes

Odd.

Agreed.

Imo

w0ot
Miniboo
Riens
Boo
Benjy

Hope benjy improves tho

People sleep on ardiis in his prime. Was a big reason that FPX lineup was so good (but suygetsu was still better)

Nah, prime pancada put up bigger numbers, had as much if not more impact, and won more events in his prime.

Jimmy was cold, but not that cold

Classic SicK, being a little sick.

The community death match servers used to, not sure if that's still a thing in CS2

CSM is a lot more edgy than JJK, similar target audiences, but ultimately very different.

End of the day, I think CSM has a much faster pace, and it's definitely a fun anime to watch if you want something you canwatch over a week/weekend. JJK is en route being the next HxH/Naruto/Bleach with the longevity it seems to be going for.

Check out Hell's paradise if you haven't already. It's a nice mix.

I love supporting a canadian duelist, but he's been very average. Not bad, not great.

Why? I feel like it'll free mako up to be more consistent again.

1v3'd at the end of map 1 against furia.

Was the valorant equivalent of a field error in baseball.

Depends if you guys are playing fracture

Iirc locking was in brazil (americas)

I think you'll find the most diversity in fans at a U.S. and/or Chinese arena. Not sure if it will be like that in the future though

V1c is younger, definitely has more gas in the tank than s0m does. I think v1c will have higher peaks in his career.

Would be a great pickup for EDG if he can secondary call then

Again, gobera was playing well on sentinel, and then got swapped to Tejo. I see the argument for silentzz, but gob seems way more consistent.

If boaster can top frag for fnatic in a win this week, do can FNS for NRG

Copium

Just not true. He's the equivalent to how OP chamber used to be on defense, but as a space maker on attack. Easily the most risk free secondary duelist agent to play since, if you're fighting together, there's a dramatic drop in risk when it comes to trades

Frfr OP try flash initiator's like kay-o, breach, et cetera

Considering qRaxs is basically a kay-o one trick, he got completely diff'd by kamyk in every way possible.

If click can click then ez win

Who underperformed in this series anyways

Moncton?

100% drop purp0 or throw him back onto a flex role like on KPI,

However, jady has always been a strong flash initiator. Weird lineup tbh.

He was the capable entry when demon1 wasn't doing it though. He was diffing peak jingg on raze

Lame.

Not that bdog isn't a smart player, but wedid is pretty capable secondary caller on top of being okay fragging. I do think bdog is way better mechanically though, kind of a crime that this guy's never gotten a chance in a T1 team since before franchising

Nah, once his contract ends team will still want him imo. Could totally see him joining ex m3c/gambit teammates

Kingg didn't really 'have' to be duelist though. Imo they should have made tex duelist, kept kingg on his roles, and possibly drop d1 for another senti, tons of options in NA tier 2.

Negative aura.

Like he literally gives people the impression he is miserable, all the time.

Good player though, I hope he showcases better mental, but has performed below expectations compared to last year.

I miss the one Americas Bo3 that were on Mondays, even though it made zero in terms of scheduling.

Can't wait til superweek.

Were?

Meh. Doing business with orgs still in Russia means taxes they pay will flood back into the government.

At least we still have Russian players.

I'm confused

Wym zeta brings more money/viewership but dfm is better economically? More financial backing? They spend less on players?

Depends on which day you're watching and what talent are on screen.

Some pros provide better analysis than casters. Just preference.

Nahhhhhhhh.

Just a different meta. The 'floor' for how good players have to be have risen a lot. Back then it was too similar to CS in a lot of ways, and let's be real, yay chamber was fun to watch, but the agent was busted back then.

Like vast majority of duelists from NA since then have changed roles since because they 'fell off', but really, the ways in which people had to be good in those roles changed.

Look at d1/yay.

Agreed, it's a mix of viewers maturing + people understanding the game better.

Still, it's a good thing viewership improved on his account due to watchparties.

Let's be real, he doesn't care about the sen games either. He just paid by them.

Feeble.