Why does VALORANT keep crashing and kicking players due to Vanguard issues?

Server problems regarding Vanguard, the VALORANT anti-cheat service, have resulted in several instances of players getting disconnected while bring unable to reconnect. Several players have reported that their games have crashed mid-match, with numerous attempts needed to reconnect properly.

Apparently, the Vanguard service is crashing for players, and not re-initizialzing on restart, resulting in players being unable to queue properly. Some users on the VALORANT subreddit have reported that they are even receiving match making restrictions and losing MMR as a result of the crashes. Others can’t even launch the game at all. The issues appear to primarily be an issue in North America, as ongoing matches in the EU VCT qualifiers appear unaffected.

Several North American pro players have been very vocal about their “love” of crashing during scrims because of Vanguard on Twitter. While the players are doing their best to have some fun with the situation, crashing while scrimming the day before VCT NA open qualifiers cannot be considered ideal.

So far there has been no official update regarding the Vanguard crashes from either the official Vanguard Twitter account or from Riot Games Support. We will provide more information regarding how long the Vanguard crashes will last, and what the response regarding lost rating or matchmaking restrictions will be.