Why Valorant is the next big thing in eSports

The eSports scene has grown significantly in recent years. This is due to the amount of games lending their work to competitive professional gamers, who wish to showcase their skills to an audience of millions across the globe. Over the course of the past decade, we have seen a number of online titles bring their product to the world stage, which has skyrocketed the practice of eSports to a more mainstream audience.

 Whilst there are mainstays already established within the industry, there are new games that are constantly being brought forward to the eSports table. One particular upcoming release could make a huge impact, with Riot Games set to launch Valorant. This begs the question of whether we could see Valorant eSports in the near future, and how much success it is capable of.

With the free-to-play CSGO–Overwatch style hybrid currently making massive strides in the closed beta, we are going to look at:

• What Valorant is all about.
• How competitive the game is.
• How it can make its mark in eSports.

So, without further ado, let’s delve into more about this exciting new title from the renowned Riot Games.

Are preparations being made for Valorant eSports?

Sources have indicated that Riot Games have been holding a set of private meetings with a number of eSports organizations to lay out its plans for a Valorant eSport. Competitive personalities of past and present have already shared their opinions on the game, and it has already showcased just how popular it can be even in these early stages.

Just how many organizations Riot has met with is unknown, with those involved being put under a non-disclosure agreement. Still, it will come as a surprise that the developers are starting proceedings so early on, given that there were rumblings within the gaming industry that there wouldn’t be any advancement on a Valorant eSport for at least a year.

Will we see a Valorant eSport in the future?

The safe money would be on yes. It has all the makings of a successful competitive game already, with the popularity to boot. Even in its closed beta phase, it has managed to attract over one million players, and was one of the most viewed streams of all time when appearing on Twitch, second only to another Riot Games accolade in the form of the League of Legends World Championship 2019.

It isn’t without its issues however, when it comes to considering a Valorant eSport. Whilst it does look like a fun multiplayer game, there are some features that could hinder its progress in some circles. There are a wealth of comparisons being made between Valorant and CSGO, and understandably so. The problem is, by doing this you are comparing a veteran title that demands a high level of skill to succeed in the competitive circuit, whereas Valorant’s preference of using ultimate abilities can see a remarkable drop in the skill-gap.

From a personal standpoint, it seems as if Valorant walks a tightrope between two differing forms of competitive shooters. Whilst it may face some difficulties from doing so, there has to be a level of trust for Riot Games, as they are certainly no strangers to the concept of competitive gaming on a professional level. Only time will tell if it succeeds as an eSport, but if Riot do manage to find some form of balance between the two entities, then you can be sure it will be an eSport in the future.

What is Valorant?

By now, you are probably familiar with Riot Games, the team behind popular online title League of Legends, which has had plentiful success on the eSports scene. This time around, the folks over at Riot have decided to try their hand at a more traditional online shooter, akin to the likes of CSGO and Overwatch.

Valorant sees two teams of five going head-to-head in a first-person online shooter. The premise of each match is for each team of Agents to take turns in attacking and defending objectives, a concept that many fans of multiplayer shooters will be familiar with. The team who are attacking will be tasked with planting a Spike, which serves as the bomb in titles such as Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six Siege. The Spike must be planted in one of the two areas within the location that is being defended by the opposing team. 

Each round is 100 seconds long, with the game being played out in a best-of-25 format. At the start of each round, players will have to opportunity to buy weapons, armour and special abilties for their Agents, then adjust their loadouts before heading into the fight. Overall, there are three ways in which a match can be concluded. For attackers, the match is one by either planting and detonating the Spike, or by eliminating all five members of the defending team. For the defenders, the match can too be won by killing all five members of the enemy team, or by defusing the Spike.

As for the Agents themselves, they possess special individual abilities that can be used to your advantage, and ultimately turn the tide during battle. These abilities range anywhere from molotovs to teleportation, and everything in between. Reading what you have heard so far, you would be more than forgiven for seeing many similarities to the likes of Overwatch, CSGO and Rainbow Six Siege, which will be music to the ears of many. From the three, you have the art style and hero-esque abilities of the insanely popular Blizzard shooter, the gameplay mechanics of CSGO, and some familiar abilities from R6S.

Find out more about Valorant Currency!

How competitive is Valorant?

So far, we have heard that there are seven competitive ranks in Valorant: Mercenary, Soldier, Veteran, Hero, Legend, Mythic and Immortal. Within each tier, there are three ranks. Players will be looking to earn points to reach a certain level in which they rank up to progress to the next tier.

There’s a lot of guess work during this time when it comes to how competitive the game is, since its only in closed beta at the moment. However, its suspected that players will be pitted against players of a similar level of skill, and there is a possibility that we could see a feature where winning consecutive games could earn you additional points.

Conclusion

Everything we have heard and seen points to Valorant being the next big thing in eSports. Whilst it may be a potent mix of titles on the scene already, there is the assurance that Riot Games are behind the game, and they’re confident enough to be putting plans in motion already for a Valorant eSport. Given its sheer popularity and the mass interest shown even before launch, it looks like the placeholders of eSports shooters may have a battle for supremacy on their hands sooner rather than later.