“If Sentinels has 100 million fans, I am one of them. If Sentinels has 100 fans, I am one of them. If Sentinels has only 1 fan, it’s me, and if Sentinels has no fans, I am dead”. These are the famous words from Tarik, the most famous Valorant streamer, and a CS Major Winning Team’s MVP.
VCT 2024 is on display, and according to some fans, including Tarik himself, the Riot might be rigging or scripting the match format, as it is placing teams in a way where Sentinels is at a disadvantage.
Sentinels are by far the most famous team in Valorant with a loyal fan base, and to milk that out Riot could be forcing Sentinels to take on other popular teams like NRG.
So, what’s the take here? Did Riot put Sentinels at a disadvantage, or is it a coincidence? Let’s talk about the details below.
Check out Tarik’s views on Riot rigging and scripting the format to put Sentinels at a disadvantage:
How does Riot choose Teams for VCT?
Similar to other tournaments including Counter-Strike, Dota, LoL, and so on, Valorant does a draw, where they choose teams to play against each other in matches.
Besides this, it depends on Riot how they choose the teams, as they can also pre-plan this by selecting that the A team plays with the D team, and the B team plays with the C team.
There is a hierarchy here that Game Developers and Publishers have to follow, providing the viewers with a crystal clear Team vs. Team so that there are no doubts whatsoever.
Why are there speculations on Riot putting Sentinels at a disadvantage?
Riot in a statement mentioned that according to the draws, the Semifinals results are as follows:
- EG against LOUD
- NRG against SEN
But, the real issue here is that Riot was supposed to place teams against each other based on the pre-plan Kickoff Draw like A will oppose C, and B will oppose D.
This further elevates doubt in the viewers as EG and LOUD both are on equal standards, while NRG is speculated to be the best team alongside Fanatic.
Putting Sentinels against NRG based on the Draws, while opposing the pre-plan strategy seems kind of fishy.
Why would Riot Script or Rig Match Format against Sentinels?
There are different speculations as to why would Riot rig or script the match format to put Sentinels against NRG in the semi-finals.
- Riot is milking the viewership from Sentinels, as it has a massive fanbase. The final does take the most views, but the semifinals will also get viewership based on Sentinels vs NRG.
- Riot might hate Sentinels, as it seemed to fail various times, and still is the most popular Valorant team to exist.
- Riot has a tilt towards the other teams, as it wants them to win with a preference.
- Any person in Riot might have a personal bias against Sentinels.
Did Riot put Sentinels at a disadvantage?
In our point of view, no, they didn’t, as they don’t seem to have any major gain from it. But, there is always a chance that someone inside the company could have a personal preference and a personal bias against Sentinels.
Riot has the right to either choose teams based on draws, pre-planned grouping, or randomly. It is the semifinals, and that also points to a different strategy from Riot to pick the teams based on either of the three formats they like or something else entirely.
Still here? Check out details on PSL 9 Sponsored by KFC – A Pro-Israeli Move.