Author: Kaavya Karthikeyan

VALORANT ranked gameplay, particularly in North America, has recently been afflicted with an epidemic that has caused plenty of constraints amidst professional players. The problem: crypto throwers. But what exactly are crypto throwers, and why are they such a menace to the VALORANT ecosystem?Crypto throwers: who and what are they?There are websites where people can bet on the outcome of competitive matches, usually of professional players who are streaming ranked matches using cryptocurrency. The ability to make almost ludicrous sums of money has caused some players in the lobbies of these professionals to throw matches to ensure the bets they’ve…

With the VCT Game Changers APAC 2023 season starting in just about a week, a new challenger with some pretty well-known names is about to take the stage. This is Global Esports’ Game Changers roster: GE Phoenix. GE Phoenix is a project that has been in the works for several months now, with Global Esports hosting open tryouts that the entire country could participate in and watch. After months of tryouts, the roster has finally been decided. FPS veterans Meow16K, Muffinloop, and Rose, who have played together on different teams in the past, will be joined by KiRi and Hyphae.…

Additional reporting and translation: Pedro RomeroAn ex-player from E-XOLOS LAZER spoke out publicly about his experience with the organization and how they’d broken promises, delayed payments, and exploited players. BandiCoot had been part of the organization for a year between Jan 2022-2023. The organization was a part of the VCT LATAM circuit last year. Here’s what Bandicoot had to say.Issues with the contract:BandiCoot reached an agreement with E-XOLOS LAZER that he regrets having signed. He spoke about the pressure he faced to sign it and the extreme aspects of the contract. One night, before the team returned home from competing,…

When it comes to playing Valorant, you can choose between several agents- 20 of them to be precise. They’re further grouped into four major classes: Duelists, Initiators, Sentinels, and Controllers. Duelists tend to try and get ‘entry frags’ and open up sites for the team. Initiators have flashes and information-gathering utility to help their team push forward and clear angles. Sentinels have kits that help lock down a site and watch for enemy flanks. Controllers come with utility that helps block off key angles from enemy vision. So who was the most picked Valorant agent in 2022, and why? Let’s…

Skyblivion is a project run by volunteers working under the TESRenewal modding group. It aims to bring Oblivion to a new generation of gamers and bring it to long-time fans of Skyrim and the series. Remaking Oblivion in the Skyrim Engine was the goal of the project and after more than a decade, the game has a 2025 release date at the latest. Considering that the project is the size of a AAA game and is made by a team that’s fully run by volunteers, it’s a magnificent achievement. The original Oblivion and Skyrim both took several years to develop…

The first-ever winner of VCT Champions was Acend Club. In 2021, the roster, then comprising of legends like zeek, Cned, starxo, bonecold, and Kiles. After a protracted battle in the Bo5 grand finals, the team triumphed over Gambit Esports with a 3:2 victory that went down to the wire. They were the first-ever champions of the apex of competitive Valorant. A team that stood together, under a golden rain, celebrating. Surely there was more to come from them. Right?Well, when the 2022 season started, unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan. In the VCT EMEA Stage 1 qualifiers, Acend bombed out…