Riot postpone VCT NA LCQ matches over health and safety protocols
Riot GamesRiot Games postponed the North American Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) after suspending the competition over health and safety protocols. The event will be moved to a completely online environment.
Update Oct 14 – Riot moves VCT NA LCQ online
Riot Games have made the call to postpone the NA LCQ event. Rather than playing the remaining games in Los Angeles, the tournament will switch to online play moving forward.
This comes after the company suspended the LCQ before the second day of matches over positive test results from multiple Valorant pros.
— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) October 14, 2021
Games are set to resume on October 27, with all remaining matches now taking place online. This marks a 15-day gap between the opening matchups and all subsequent rounds.
Original story follows below…
In order to facilitate the NA LCQ’s LAN environment, Riot have been working within Los Angeles County’s health guidelines for in-person events. Before the day’s games, positive tests have been found among Valorant players scheduled to compete on-stage.
As such, Riot have decided to postpone LCQ matches as Chris Greeley, Head of Esports for NA/Oceania, and his team figure out how to move forward.
“After receiving several conflicting test results, in an abundance of caution, we have decided to pause the competition for today while we evaluate how to safely resume the LCQ,” Greeley said.
At the time of writing, no timetable was given to indicate when the matches would resume.
Riot GamesNA LCQ suspended after players test positive
The NA LCQ was suspended after the tournament organizers were made aware of the latest batch of positive test results.
FaZe Valorant ace Andrej ‘babybay’ Francisty said he was among those who recently tested positive and, due to LA County’s health and safety protocols, wouldn’t be able to play on stage.
“I’m fully Vaccinated,” babybay said. “I tested negative multiple days in a row. I tested positive and then negative 10 minutes after. Can’t play on stage and have to quarantine?”
I'm fully Vaccinated. I tested negative multiple days in a row. I tested positive and then negative 10 minutes after. Can't play on stage and have to quarantine? LA covid rules are different bro sheeeeeesh.
— BABYBAY (@KING_BABYBAY) October 13, 2021
Earlier in the day, Rise player Derrek ‘Derrek’ Ha said that two FaZe Clan members had tested positive.
FaZe Clan’s Valorant Manager Karim ‘infamous’ Mahmoud confirmed the positive results from his squad but reaffirmed that follow-up tests immediately came back negative.
“We are all vaccinated and not going out,” infamous said. “We have been together the entire time.
“Everyone tested negative but two players, who tested positive then retested negative. Regardless they must quarantine due to county rules.”
We are all vaxxed and not going out.
We have been together the entire time.Everyone tested negative but two players, who tested positive then retested negative. Regardless they must quarantine due to county rules.
Just a shit situation for all involved.
— infamous (@infamousbtw) October 13, 2021
The LCQ is the last event for 100 Thieves, Version1, FaZe Clan, XSET, Luminosity, Rise, Cloud9 Blue, and Gen.G Esports to qualify for the final Valorant Champions NA seed.
- Discover more: TenZ vs cNed: Who’s Valorant’s best player?!
Before it was suspended, Riot initially came under heavy criticisms for the state of the LCQ given that it was a LAN event played on remote servers. The company recognized this shortcoming but labeled it as the best contingency should a player be quarantined.
Everything from lag, long hours, lackluster PCs, and prolonged technical issues on and off the stage marred the competitive experience for both fans and competitors. The NA LCQ suspension has added to that sentiment