M80’s CEO Marco Mereu has written a public letter on social media to Riot Games’ head of Valorant esports Leo Faria to meet and discuss replacing The Guard in VCT Americas.
Riot Games announced on August 29 that The Guard would not be joining VCT Americas for the 2024 and 2025 seasons because the organization failed to submit paperwork ahead of agreed deadlines. Community uproar has since followed with players, pundits and community members brainstorming ideas to either get The Guard’s players into the league or add another team into the mix.
In Riot’s statement, the Valorant developer said that the league was not going to expand due to the situation, and would continue 2024 as a 10-team competition.
Many in the community have wondered if M80, the second-place team from Americas Ascension, could be eligible to join the league as the next-best option. Riot has yet to release any new information about the situation, but that hasn’t stopped M80’s CEO from throwing his hat in the ring.
M80 CEO calls on Riot for a meeting about joining VCT Americas
The esports executive penned a social media post, tagging the Global Head of Valorant Esports at Riot Games, asking for a meeting with Riot in Los Angeles to possibly replace The Guard in the league and how to do it.
Dear @lhfaria ,We have never met but by way of introductions I am the founder and CEO of M80.Congratulations on the successful VCT Championship event this past weekend. The success of this event only emboldens what I have believed and worked towards for the last four years -…
— M80 Marco (@mfmereu) August 29, 2023
Mereu said that he recognized that this is probably a no-win scenario for Riot, but he thinks they can come up with an innovative solution.
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“I am offering to fly to LA this week to meet with you and Riot leadership to present our position on why I believe ascending M80 to VCT Americas is the best option given the situation. More competition, amazing players and providing jobs and opportunity to people who live and breathe to support the Valorant esports ecosystem. Doing nothing damages the esports and the infrastructure that will support the growth of VCT for years to come,” he said.
Mereu also pledged to work the The Guard, its players and coaches to give them opportunities to play under M80, or whatever team they want to eventually sign with. He also said he is willing to have his team play in a “one match playoff” against any Americas team Riot deems deserving of being in the league if needed.
“We have so many talented and unique players here in the Americas that deserve an opportunity to play Valorant as professional esports athletes,” he said.
M80 finished the first split of the North American Challengers League with a 4-1 record and won the Mid-Season Face Off. In Split 2, they finished 4-1 again and won the playoff stage to make Americas Ascension as the No. 1 seed from the region. M80 lost to the Guard 3-1 in the Grand Final of Ascension and missed promotion into VCT Americas.
The M80 squad has since been allowed to explore other opportunities to potentially sign with VCT Americas squads for the 2024 season.
