Former M80 coach Gunter, whose team finished second in the VCT 2024 Americas Ascension tournament, expressed dissatisfaction with the current competition schedule. His opinion has sparked active discussion within the esports community.
SCHDULIING ISSUES
Gunter pointed out that Ascension concludes two months later than the main VCT tournament, creating difficulties for teams that did not qualify. “Most teams have already formed their rosters, and only our team missed the opportunity. I understand that scheduling for different regions and leagues is no easy task, but the current timeline has created tough conditions for everyone,” Gunter stated.
He also noted that by the time Ascension ends, most Tier 1 teams will have already completed their roster changes, significantly limiting options for players who lost during the Ascension stage. He emphasized that such a schedule creates unfavorable conditions for preparing for the next season.
I understand the difficulty of scheduling multiple regions/leagues but Ascension ending 2 months later than VCT puts everyone that doesn’t qualify in a difficult spot.
— Gunter (@gunterispenguin) September 23, 2024
A majority of teams have already built & finalised rosters and as a result our team alone has missed out on…
PLAYER REACTIONS
MAGiK, a player representing Joblife during the European Ascension stage, joined Gunter's criticism, highlighting that the situation in Europe is similar—by the tournament's conclusion, many teams had already fully assembled their rosters, and players were no longer being invited to qualifiers.
Same thing in Europe by the time ascension was done a lot of VCT & VCL rosters were already finalizing and not taking on any more players for trials :/
— MAGiK (@MAGiKzera) September 23, 2024
CANCELLATION OF LCQ AND IMPACT ON THE TRANSFER MARKET
Last year, after Ascension, there were Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQs) and Champions, which allowed losing teams to acquire players from Tier 2 in advance. However, with the cancellation of LCQ this year and Ascension being delayed for two months after the main league concluded, players lost the chance to qualify for Tier 1 teams.
As Gunter noted, players like Kr1stal, the winner of the Chinese Ascension, declared themselves free agents, but due to the schedule shift, their opportunities to find a new team have significantly decreased.
CONCLUSION
Thus, Gunter's criticism highlights serious issues with the tournament scheduling that limit opportunities for players and teams to reorganize. The esports community continues to discuss how these changes will impact the transfer market and team compositions in the upcoming season.
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