Ludwig criticizes Valorant’s treatment of Challengers teams

Popular streamer and co-owner of Most X Shopify, Ludwig responded strongly to Riot Games’ modifications to the Valorant Challengers system.

On June 21, Valorant announced its plans for the upcoming changes to the Valorant Champions Tour Challengers route. The changes stated that the auto-relegation process would be eliminated and replaced with a performance-based system.

This alteration only impacts teams that have qualified for the VCT via Ascension and does not include organizations that were chosen to participate in franchising. Nevertheless, this revision prompted Moist x Shopify owner Ludwig to speak out about the matter.

G2 Esports walkout at VCT Americas

Despite being a part of Moist X Shopify, Ludwig has formed his own team to compete in Challengers with the ultimate goal of ascending. He has been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the new ruleset, as he believes it gives an advantage to franchise teams rather than his own organization.

“According to Ludwig’s response on X, the promotion period for ascension teams was reduced from 2 years to 1 year. Additionally, performance-based relegation was implemented, but only for ascension teams. This means that VCT teams chosen at random would not have to worry about potential relegation even if they were unable to win a series or map.”

Despite some commenters agreeing with Ludwig, others noted that the teams selected for franchising are financially compensated for their participation. Nevertheless, this did not deter Ludwig from retaliating against the decision.

“In response to another user, Ludwig stated that the stipend and payouts from exclusive skins are intended to cover facility expenses and player contracts. Additionally, Ludwig expressed the belief that taking risks is a common occurrence in esports.”

Ludwig is alluding to teams like FURIA or MIBR, who were included in the franchise system but were not penalized for their lackluster performances, as seen in their winless record during the initial phase of VCT Americas.

Despite their underwhelming VCT performance, both organizations will remain in the league as they were included in the franchising system at the beginning of 2023.