Total Shorty Kills
This Month in Valorant: October
Naim "EnKay" Rosinski
10/01/2020
Here at Run It Back, we’ve compiled the most important competitive news and Valorant-related changes to be expected in October. Stop by and see what awaits us this month as we’ll be showcasing the biggest Valorant events to watch out for, most important anticipated team news, as well as incoming changes to the video game itself.
Biggest Valorant October Events
First Strike Qualifiers
With the Ignition Series coming to an end in all Valorant regions, Riot has detailed its plans for what’s next. First Strike will be Valorant’s first official tournament that will take place across various regions. The qualifiers for First Strike kick off in the second half of October. Everyone can participate and compete to get the chance to go face-to-face with the top dogs like G2, TSM or JUPITER. This is the premier Valorant event to watch in late October.
A.W Extreme Masters Asia Invitational
Previously held in Japan, this humongous A-tier event this time covers the whole of Asia Valorant region. The top Asian giants will be present at this event, headlined by the previous winners, Absolute JUPITER. We will also get to see the likes of Vision Strikers, T1 Korea, and Cloud9 Korea. With a grand $50,000 prize pool, the event will see the group stage progress into the playoffs with only one team qualifying from one of the four groups. The event runs from October 9 until October 18 and should not coincide with First Strike.
Mildom Masters
Mildom Masters has been going on since August, and has finally reached the playoffs stage. With Absolute JUPITER already in the final, there are still two matches to be played out before we will finally witness the grand final on October 15. Absolute JUPITER have a chance to get their 6th victory at a big event if they grab this one, alongside a ~$9,500 prize, out of the total ~$23,500 prize pool from this big Japanese online event. The other entrants to the playoffs, FAV Gaming, Sengoku Gaming, and REJECT have their chance to prove their worth against JUPITER, whoever reaches the grand finale.
Possible Upcoming Team News
s0m, daps, ImAPet to Headline Valorant NRG
A report by RushB Media claims that Damien “Daps” Steel, Sam “s0m” Oh, and coach Chet “ImAPet” Singh will be forming NRG’s Valorant roster. All three prominent Counter-Strike:Global Offensive figures have fantastic reputation for their achievements, with s0m and Daps finding solid success within Gen.G. Meanwhile, ImAPet and Daps know each other from NRG days, bringing great results to the team. If rumours are true, the new NRG roster will still need three players to be complete, and will most likely be formed just in time for First Strike qualifiers later this month.
100 Thieves Still Have Gaps…
It’s fair to say that Nadeshot’s 100 Thieves Valorant roster was an utter disappointment. Headlined by Spencer “Hiko” Martin, 100 Thieves have gotten rid of the four ex-PUBG players that joined Hiko, and the organisation has opted instead to go huge. Currently waiting for two more players to hop on board is the dynamic trio of Hiko, Joshua “steel” Nissan and Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella, who are all residing on 100 Thieves’ active roster. With such huge names and esports experience, there are still two missing pieces of the puzzle needed in time for First Strike redemption.
…And so does T1
Similarly to 100 Thieves, the hyped T1 roster was very underwhelming. Overshadowed by the Sentinels vs. Team SoloMid rivalry, T1 was mediocre at big events at best. And so, the big NA organization kicked off the rebuilding phase by letting go of Austin “crashies” Roberts and Victor “food” Wong. Both players have joined Team Envy. This has left two holes in the active roster of T1 that are yet to be patched. On top of that, Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham has gone inactive in order to expand his pool of agents. Hopefully, we’ll see T1 back in full power with a modified squad, come the big First Strike qualifier at the end of October.
Game News
Act 2 Battle Pass Comes to an End
The Battle Pass will end on October 13 worldwide. This will mark the end of Act 2 of the first Episode. This leaves less than two weeks to squeeze as much as possible out of your battle pass and perhaps get that sweet knife at the very end. This will be followed by Episode 3, meaning a fresh new Battle Pass, new skins and goodies, and a new playable agent.
New Agent
As with every end of the Act, Valorant receives a brand new agent. This time around it will be no different and we’ve already received some data mining leaks hinting at his or her abilities.
The agent is supposedly able to utilize “stealth”, hinting at possible invisibility abilities. How this agent will work and look like is currently a mystery. However, as it was with Killjoy, we are bound to receive massive leaks before the new Valorant agent is added on the official date in October earlier.
Tune in to Run It Back for all your latest news, extensive guides, and exclusive interviews in the world of Valorant.
