Anthony ‘vanity’ Malaspina spoke with Dexerto about his Valorant future and the current state of the game at a tier-two level.
The Valorant Champions Tour circuit is set to finish in just a few months with the three Ascension tournaments wrapping up in July and Valorant Champions taking place in August.
The competitive calendar for the final quarter of the year remains unclear, prompting criticism from many Valorant players who are competing at a Challengers League level.
Former Cloud9 and Shopify Rebellion player vanity told Dexerto he is disappointed by the lack of information surrounding the upcoming schedule.
“I wish there was a lot more communication about the circuit and how things will look in the future for players who haven’t been as fortunate as I have so they can make better judgments about what to do for themselves in the future,” vanity said. “It’s very disappointing how little information is known for everyone.”
The IGL himself is not signed to a team at the moment and said he is streaming and taking time off from competition to visit family. vanity competed with Shopify Rebellion in Split 2 of the Challengers League before being released after the team failed to qualify for the Americas Ascension tournament.
vanity wants more information on competitive Valorant schedule
Most of the players in the second tier of competitive Valorant, like vanity, are currently on a break. No third-party Valorant tournaments are planned for the next two months, raising many uncertainties for teams and players across the world.
Some players are still keeping their skills sharp by streaming or competing in smaller monthly or one-off tournaments as part of independent rosters.
Without much to look forward to, some rosters may have trouble sticking together.
Esports organizations might look to drop certain players, or entire rosters, during the offseason due to a lack of meaningful or high-profile tournaments in an effort to cut costs. vanity, who is the president of the Americas Valorant Players Association, said that the makeup of the competitive calendar is a topic frequently brought up in the association’s talks with Riot.
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“We talk to Riot bi-weekly and we are trying our best to work on things and provide more information about the scene in general as we think it’s something that has been severely lacking this year compared to years prior,” he said.
The Global Head of Valorant Esports, Leo Faria, said on Twitter that details on the 2023 offseason are on the horizon, with big changes coming to the tier 2 level in 2024 as Valorant Premier is integrated into the circuit.
“I acknowledge this year is a bit tough, but we’re very committed to making tier 2 thrive,” Faria said.
vanity’s plans for the rest of the year
vanity is currently trying to find his footing again. After two successful years with Version1 and Cloud9, he saw his career take an unexpected turn all of a sudden.
“My year definitely didn’t go anywhere near what I thought it was going to, but I think the year has definitely kept me on my toes. I’ve dealt with a lot of really odd things in esports and you kind of get used to the uncertainty as weird as that is to say,” he said.
During this down period in competition, vanity has dipped his toes back into his previous game, CS:GO, and is keeping his skills sharp in both titles. He told Dexerto that, while he is open to a return to Counter-Strike, “nothing is concrete.”
“I’m just playing both games in the offseason right now to have some fun. It’s been really enjoyable but my future is uncertain and I think I can compete in both games at a high level, given the time,” vanity said.
When asked about his career goals, he said: “I think the biggest thing I’m looking for is finding a group of players and an organization I fully believe in and letting time do its thing while we put in serious effort together to get better.”
