Fragadelphia switches game from ‘ValorCAN’T’ to ‘CS:DO’ to save zero-signup tournament

After reporting a disappointing zero signups to its FRAG/MENT VALORANT LAN, Fragadelphia has confirmed that because “ValorCAN’T,” it will fall back to “CS:DO” and launch a Counter-Strike 2 tournament instead. Fans have praised the decision after expressing enthusiastic support when the change was teased days prior.  

Fragadelphia’s VALORANT tournament was initially announced on Jan. 12, but despite offering an early bird reduced entry cost, it gained zero signups. After the organizer’s call for players to “get off the toilet” and “get on your computer chair” seemingly failed to motivate gamers, it followed through with its tease that “otherwise we need to run a CS2 event and we know you don’t want that, right?”

The community did in fact want that, with immediate responses supporting the change. 

As confirmed on Jan. 29, the now-CS2 tournament will feature 32 teams and a maximum $10,000 scaling prize pool, hosted at Philadelphia’s TAP Esports Center. At the time of publishing, the event has finalized three paid team signups less than 24 hours after the change. 

For any VALORANT fans ready to jump to the game’s defense, there are legitimate reasons why the event did not gain signup traction. In perhaps some oversight from Fragadelphia, its initially proposed tournament landed amid VALORANT’s competitive early season, overlapping with VCT qualifiers. With qualification tournaments spread across 23 regional leagues, many teams will have strict priorities until the 2024 competitors are decided.  

Whether VALORANT really deserves the “ValorCAN’T” title or not, the community is celebrating Fragadelphia’s choice. Freelance caster and host Jacky immediately called the decision “Based, true, & real,” while others expressed appreciation for the organization’s consistent investment in the game. 

Fragadelphia’s “CS:DO” tournament will run from March 15 to 17, wrapping up just as the first 2024 CS2 Major kicks off in Copenhagen. Signups will remain at a reduced $450 signup cost until Feb. 15 and will officially close in Marc.