Oceanic teams forced to miss VCT Last Chance Qualifiers despite qualifying

Riot Games has announced that Oceanic teams ORDER and Chiefs Esports Club will not attend the North American Last Chance Qualifier for Valorant Champions. The teams will have to skip the in-person event after failing to secure travel to and from Los Angeles, where the tournament is being hosted.

Further controversy has befallen the North American Last Chance Qualifier for December’s Valorant Champions event.

The tournament’s initial single-elimination bracket format received strong backlash on social media from teams attending the tournament.

Now fans and players are expressing their frustration at the announcement that Oceanic duo ORDER and Chiefs Esports Club will miss the tournament entirely after being unable to secure travel to the host location of Los Angeles.

ESL

Oceanic teams ORDER and Chiefs had qualified for LCQ, but could not secure travel to the United States

ORDER and Chiefs miss Last Chance Qualifiers

The North American Last Chance Qualifier was meant to be an opportunity for Oceanic teams to show what they can do on a major stage. However, ORDER and Chiefs Esports Club will remain in Australia, frustrated and disappointed.

ORDER player Tyler ‘Tucks’ Reilly expressed his feelings on Twitter, saying he had “never been more disappointed and let down”.

He also appeared on the Geographically Challenged podcast, hosted by Jordan “Elfishguy” Mays.

“When you don’t even get to compete, you don’t even lose off your own nut, you just can’t go? Last minute? Literally two days before you’re meant to fly out, it just kills you,” Tucks said.

The news has also reignited debate about the way that tournament organizers, Riot Games especially, treat the Oceanian region. Last year, Riot Games shut down their Oceania office and disbanded the region’s League of Legends league, the OPL. The NA Last Chance Qualifier would be the first time that Oceania would attend an international LAN event in Valorant.

• Read More: Team Envy coach quits over contract dispute

“While this is a very disappointing outcome, to a preventable scenario,” ORDER said in their official statement. “We look forward to the open dialogue we now have with Riot to improve the opportunities for the OCE region and create a structured ecosystem with relevant global pathways.”

The event will now run as an eight-team event, with a format yet to be announced.