Riot Games has announced that VCT EMEA Stage 1 will resume on Friday after addressing significant technical issues that disrupted earlier matches.
The Valorant event, held at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, faced challenges including server instability and performance hiccups, prompting a temporary suspension.
Players including Esports veteran Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev voiced their frustrations over the issues on social media.
Over the past week, Riot has upgraded its PCs and equipment in an attempt to provide a smoother experience for players and viewers.
When will VCT EMEA Stage 1 Resume?
VCT EMEA Stage 1, the Valorant esports event, will resume on Friday, May 2nd, 2025, at 5pm CEST/4pm BST.
The competition will pick up where it left off, starting with the Team Liquid vs. Karmine Corp series, where Team Liquid leads 1-0. The second match of the day will see Fnatic face Team Heretics in a crucial battle for the top seed heading into the playoffs.
How have the technical issues been resolved?
Over the last 48 hours, Riot conducted rigorous playtests involving internal teams and professional Valorant players across various maps.
Riot in a statement revealed: “During the pro-player playtests, feedback indicated that the new infrastructure has substantially improved performance compared to earlier in Stage 1.
“However, some sporadic issues were raised during the early rounds of maps, despite the effects being much less than previously reported during the stage.
“Following player feedback and a thorough review, we’ve determined that overall system performance now meets the threshold required to resume competition on Friday, which also ensures a reasonable lead-in for teams ahead of Playoffs.
— VALORANT Esports EMEA (@valesports_emea) May 1, 2025
“That said, we’ll continue to investigate the early round issues today, with a focus on ensuring full stability moving forward.”
A significant change accompanies the resumption of the Team Liquid vs Karmine Corp match, a revised map veto process.
Since the map Split was already played before the pause, both teams will reselect the remaining two maps. This decision ensures no teams gains a preparation advantage from prior map knowledge.
Riot’s statement said: “Due to the extended preparation time between maps, League Officials have opted to restart the map veto process, with Map 1 selection skipped and Split removed from the pool.
“This ensures no team gains a preparation advantage from previously guaranteed map picks, while maintaining the competitive spirit of the veto process, where a level of uncertainty around map bans and selections is essential for both teams.”
The Riot Games Arena in Berlin will not host a live audience for these matches. However, fans can catch all the action live on VCT EMEA’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.
Why Valorant players were frustrated at VCT EMEA Stage 1
It is hoped that the upgrades will ease the minds of Valorant players who have been left frustrated at VCT EMEA Stage 1.
Last week, pro player Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev criticised the outdated equipment, noting issues have persisted for years despite Riot’s promises.
He highlighted that other regions have better conditions and urged Riot to invest in proper gear. Retired player Tyson “TenZ” Ngo said Riot’s dismissal of player concerns partly led to his retirement. Gentle Mates’ Thomas “kAdavra” Johner also slammed the event’s equipment and management.
Riot’s head of Valorant Esports, EMEA, Daniel Ringland, apologised on social media, admitting the frustration and revealed plans for “larger overhauls and upgrades a little later in the year”. He also mentioned introducing a Player Council which they are “in the process of spinning up at the moment”.
Riot Games also announced a compensation package for fans affected by the postponement who had traveled on April 25 to be there in attendance.
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