Riot Games has issued an update on the technical difficulties that have disrupted the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) EMEA Stage 1.
The issues, which culminated in the postponement of matches on April 25, prompted widespread frustration within the Valorant esports community.
Esports veteran Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, gave the most detailed statement – expressing his frustrations about poor hardware quality and responsiveness from staff at Riot Games.
Alongside plans to resume the tournament later this week with major upgrades underway, Riot has detailed compensation for affected fans who attended on April 25.
How Riot Games is addressing technical issues at VCT EMEA Stage 1
VCT EMEA Stage 1, held at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, faced technical setbacks that disrupted the group stage’s final day.
Matches were plagued by frequent pauses due to network instability and game client issues. The competing teams could only complete one map, which took over three hours.
Riot’s head of Valorant Esports, EMEA, Daniel Ringland posted an official apology on Thursday. He said: “Resolving this is a really complex challenge while we’re in the middle of the Regular Season, because the studio is being used almost every day, giving us little time to take systems offline and investigate thoroughly.”
He added that Riot staff will conduct a thorough investigation between the league’s Regular Season and Playoffs, kicking off on May 8th.
To resolve the ongoing problems, Riot Games has implemented several upgrades, with plans to resume VCT EMEA Stage 1 later this week.
Key changes include infrastructural improvements, PC upgrades and new equipment.
— VALORANT Esports EMEA (@valesports_emea) April 28, 2025
Why Valorant Players were frustrated
The technical issues sparked significant frustration among Valorant players, who voiced concerns over the competitive environment and event management.
Esports veteran Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev highlighted the poor quality of hardware, noting that PCs were not optimised, settings changed unpredictably, and stuttering plagued gameplay. He expressed disappointment that issues persisted three years into VCT franchising, despite initial assurances that improvements would come.
In response to Daniel Ringland’s apology, Derke then responded: “Most of these problems are from years ago too Not going to lie it’s really tiring to hear these apologies or texts that are giving hope while nothing is happening for years.
“Let’s invest maybe into better equipment and not save it just because it runs League of Legends really well. Please do what players have been asking for years and maybe a lot of these issues would resolve. It’s really disgusting to see other regions having better conditions too. Right now you guys are only moving backwards.”
Ringland then responded: “That’s totally fair feedback Derke and thanks for candid. I’d be tired/frustrated (putting it midly) in your shoes too. We’re planning some larger overhauls and upgrades but those won’t be until a little later in the year unfortunately. Let’s keep an open dialogue via the Player Council which we’re in the process of spinning up at the moment.”
Other players echoed Derke’s sentiments. Retired Sentinels player Tyson ‘Tenz’ Ngo stated that Riot’s dismissive attitude toward player concerns contributed to his retirement, emphasising that the best players were not given optimal conditions to perform.
Gentle Mates player Thomas ‘kAdavra’ Johner also criticised the event’s equipment and management.
The decision to remove live audiences from Wednesday matches further fueled discontent. Derke noted that this impacted rookies making their tier-one debuts and disappointed fans who travelled to support their teams.
Riot Games announce compensation for fans
Riot Games has outlined a compensation package for some dedicated fans affected by the postponements. Those who travelled over 200 kilometres to attend in person for the affected game day on April 25 will receive:
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VCT Champions Grand Finals Tickets: Complimentary access to the prestigious Champions Paris event.
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Two Additional Event Tickets: Valid for future VCT EMEA events.
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€300 (£255) Merchandise Voucher: Redeemable for official VCT merchandise.
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In-Game Items: The limited-edition ‘Fist Bump’ Riot Gun Buddy in VALORANT
Ringland tweeted: “We know there’s a long way to go to rebuild the community’s trust and get the league back to a place that it needs to be. We will get there, but hold us to that. We’ll continue to update you throughout the week as things develop.”.
