There have been two major international LAN tournaments in VALORANT thus far. Neither of them have been on North American soil, with one being in Iceland and the other in Germany. Finally, NA players were prepared to take their skills to a stage, sat next to their teammates, with opponents to trash talk on the other side. The NA LCQ was meant to be the first NA LAN of hopefully many more. Unfortunately, the integrity of the event has been decimated with what many feel are preventable issues.

Here is a timeline of the problems facing the NA LCQ.

No Oceania teams

ORDER and @ChiefsESC Joint Statement – #VCT: NA LCQ pic.twitter.com/bO1ty8AAPJ

— ORDER (@ORDER_army) October 4, 2021

Two teams from the OCE region were scheduled to attend the 10-team event. That number dropped down to eight as the Oceania rosters were unable to participate. Some have blamed a novice Riot Games team assigned to handle the OCE VALORANT travel and accommodations. Regardless of what happened, it is clear there was some oversight that prevented ORDER and Chiefs Esports Club from getting a shot at Champions.

Online servers on LAN

Statement on #VALORANTLCQ: pic.twitter.com/ORWZNimYk6

— VALORANT Champions Tour NA (@valesports_na) October 13, 2021

The format is just a blip on the radar when it comes to the issues at the actual event. After OCE was removed from the Last Chance Qualifier, the players received bittersweet news that it would be an 8-team double elimination format on LAN. That format is what everyone was used to playing through the VALORANT Champions Tour. Well, does it really count as LAN?

Riot Games released a statement on the VALORANT Champions Tour NA Twitter account. They shared their reasoning, which would allow players to participate remotely if a COVID-related incident occurred. Fair enough, but there are some players who aren’t fond of the set up and are giving contradictory information.

Playing LAN using online servers… I’ve never seen this in my life.

Our team was rubber-banding and stuttering the whole game playing on a NorCal server.

First day things 🙃

— 100T Ethan (@ethanarnold) October 12, 2021

Here is a clip of visibly severe lag during XSET vs. Luminosity Gaming.

As well, in our interview with Nolan “Temperature” Pepper he touches on the servers and explains what he was told.

Players unhappy with COVID protocols

These covid tests have an 80/20 chance for false results. In what world is that acceptable?

We want to play on Stage more than any team at this event, but we’re simply not able to now. Regardless, it will all work out. 🙏 #FaZeUp https://t.co/xOuNyH8c2U

— infamous (@infamousbtw) October 13, 2021

Leading up to the Day 2 broadcast, all hell seemingly broke loose. Karim “infamous” Mahmoud tweeted about the situation. Players tested positive for COVID-19 with negative tests following. It appears that FaZe Clan were given the opportunity to play at their hotel or facility with their own equipment.

Rise players did not accept that as they believe the equipment FaZe would be playing on would outmatch the ones they would play with on stage. At that point, it seems Rise brought the issue to Riot Games and either refused to play or were advised they wouldn’t play by Riot. It now appears that Day 2 has been postponed to some extent, if not completely.

Packed our gear and the match is postponed, unfortunate situation but were all doing our best to get things going for a fair game

— POISED (@poisedFPS) October 13, 2021

Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty of FaZe Clan went live and spoke about the situation regarding the COVID tests and county restrictions.

The whole thing is a mess and there is no one to blame. It is just a long series of unfortunate circumstances that have plagued the NA LCQ. Hopefully the issues are resolved and play can resume. We all want to know who is going to Champions, but of course, we want that team to earn it fair and square.

Stay tuned to Run It Back for updates on this situation and more regarding the NA LCQ!