The Guard team secured their slot in the VCT Americas League 2024 by winning the VCL Ascension: Americas 2023, but Riot Games officially announced on Twitter that the team will not participate in the top league next season.
An update regarding the teams participating in VCT Americas 2024. pic.twitter.com/YCYoZSPpcL
— VALORANT Esports NA (@valesports_na) August 29, 2023
Riot Games reported that after several months of negotiations with The Guard team, the organization failed to prepare the necessary documents on time for league participation, thus they were deprived of a spot in it.
Who will participate in VCT Americas League 2024?
Riot Games also added that only 10 teams will participate next season, meaning no team will get a slot for the next season. The full list of VCT Americas League 2024 participants:
This decision outraged not only the fans of The Guard organization but the entire Valorant community. Many questions arose regarding this decision, particularly the main question - why wasn't the slot given to the M80 team, which finished second in VCL Ascension: Americas 2023, or why wasn't another organization given the opportunity to sign the current team roster.
Comment from Valorant esports head
Hey everyone. This situation is very unfortunate and none of us wanted this outcome. We designed Ascension hoping to see new teams and players joining our International Leagues every year, and it’s disheartening to see this happening in year one. That said, I want to share some… https://t.co/pdXWDVtP2Z
— Leo Faria (@lhfaria) August 30, 2023
The head of Valorant esports, Leo Faria, expressed a lengthy comment on the community's outrage, the main point of which concerns the fact that The Guard team did not receive a league slot due to high requirements for organizations that should participate in the league, and these requirements do not match this organization. Regarding the question of why the spot wasn't given to the team that finished second, Leo answered that league slots should be given to teams for deserved victories, not participation, to prevent future slot-selling manipulations. Hence, the company has strict rules regarding this issue.
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