VALORANT esports fans want ‘performance-based relegation’ to count for all VCT teams

While the new rule changes regarding relegation for professional VALORANT teams announced yesterday were received well by the esports community at large, many want to see Riot go a step further and apply the rules to all teams, not just those who rose from Ascension.

Yesterday, Riot Games instituted new rule changes to VALORANT esports for 2025, providing teams that reach VCT international leagues through Ascension the opportunity to stay up if they perform to a certain level each season. The “promotion window” was reduced from two years to one, but the teams in question may stay in their VCT international league if they qualify for Champions and, at the very least, can guarantee a spot in that year’s Ascension tournament if they finish in the top eight in their league.

But many around the pro scene believe that performing to avoid relegation from the top tier leagues should apply to partnered teams as well, not just the Ascension squads. YouTube streamer Ludwig, who co-owns Moist Moguls, replied directly to the official VCT announcement on X, formerly Twitter, with these exact concerns, saying, “so randomly selected VCT teams could never win a series or even a map and have no risk of relegation, WHY?”

While teams from Challengers will have the ability to extend their time in VCT as long as they perform well, it will also be harder for those teams to break into the competition. If an Ascension team qualifies for Champions, that reduces the number of teams that can be promoted through that season’s Ascension tournament from two to one. Additionally, Challengers teams competing at Ascension may also have to play a team that’s been competing against top-tier competition all year.

Ludwig isn’t the only person in the pro community who wishes the relegation rules applied to everyone. Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, in-game leader for Cloud9 and president of the Americas VALORANT Player Association, also wishes it would be applied to all competitors, but noted that even this rule change was a “step in the right direction.”