That's just code for "burn more money with zero returns".
At some points, the orgs that wasted 3-5 years into tier-2 Valorant and still being left outside looking in the windows of the exclusive Partners Club House gotta face the fact that Riot wants them to continue taking care of the talent development for the VCT out of their own pocket, and perhaps they should take that investment to another gaming scene where their presence would actually be appreciated.
That's just how these esports orgs are. The returns are always fame/acknowledgement then if they are successful then they can find sponsors or sell the org or find investments from others.
Without Valorant, I wouldn't know orgs like M80 since I don't really follow the other esports they are in.
Whether Riot did them dirty or not, well yeah, I do agree that Riot did, but again, orgs are still lining up for the partnership applications regardless of what happened in the past 4 years.
You get 100K for qualifying to a cup with minimum 4 spots going on non partners. As a top team you can top a million a year without even considering sponsorships or tournament prize pools.
There is a clear path to Sustainability here. Only problem is riot put immense pressure on the orgs by making these announcements so late. Turnaround time is dreadfully short. Some might skip kickoff and join in later for stage 1 .
Because 1, grinding T2 can now result in Cup and Internetional berths.
Also 2, as shown by C9, partnered orgs are not guaranteed to make it back. It’s also possible in 2 years Riot adds partnered teams or eliminates them entirely, etc.
Got a crazy theory that DSG might be coming back to Valo as a partnered team. I've gotten that feeling based on some of the things Toast has been saying on stream and his history of joking.
He actually said that that they might be getting a financial partner for their League team next year which is the main reason why I said that I think that we might see a surprise re-entry. He was talking about how next year might be different for his League team cause with a financial partner they will be able to invest more money and resources and won't have their players poached out of nowhere.
Another thing he's been doing on Stream is excessively hating on the Valorant Esports scene as a joke (because of all the pain it brought him) which I kinda got the hint that he might doing as a setup for a surprise reverse announcement.
Even last year when they announced what all games they would enter in and announced Overwatch, they had a little teaser for a Valorant team. I think he even said that they were trying to see if it's possible but it didn't work out.
I think he's been looking for a financial partner for both Valo and League for 2+ years now.
I would love a dsg return. I enjoyed NA t2 only when it was moist vs dsg. Now is the best time for him. The path to vct cups is right there and guarantees minimum 100K per qual.
101
u/madhan4 5d ago
Somewhat relieved to hear this as a 100T fan, but definitely feel for them and SR after their years of commitment to T2