VCT Last Chance Qualifier postponed due to Covid restrictions

ByDexter LeRuez Hours
VCT Last Chance Qualifier NA promo image

Last Updated on: 15th October 2021, 01:44 am

On Thursday, Riot Games announced that the VCT Last Chance Qualifier would be postponed until further notice. The LCQ was set to determine the final North American team that would book a ticket to VALORANT Champions this upcoming December.

In a post on Twitter, Riot cited “the health and safety of all involved” as the driving motive behind the decision.

The problems started when Rise player Ryan “Shanks” Ngo received a positive covid test and was forced to self-isolate by LA County. Soon after several players from FaZe Clan also reportedly tested positive for Covid.

But despite the positive tests, the event was intended to go on with FaZe playing their first-round matchup against Rise at home while four of the five Rise members would play on stage.

FaZe Clan at the VCT Last Chance Qualifier
Image Credit: Riot Games

This idea was quickly scrapped after complaints regarding competitive integrity were raised given that FaZe would be playing on “NASA PCs” at least according to Rise’s Derreck “Derreck” Ha.

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As a result Riot officially postponed matches on Wednesday and Thursday while they looked to find a safe way to continue the event while abiding by LA County’s Covid guidelines.

It soon became clear that LA County’s Covid guidelines were too strict to continue the tournament in person. Despite the fact that several pros who originally tested positive for Covid-19 received consecutive negative Covid tests, LA County would still stop the players from stepping on stage.

https://twitter.com/Shanks_TTV/status/1448317125089587200?s=20

And as a result, Riot decided the only available option was to postpone the event for a later point.

When will the VCT Last Chance Qualifier start up again?

Riot was wary to give out any specific time or date as to when the VCT Last Chance Qualifier will restart. However, one would assume that it shouldn’t be too long before the event gets back underway.

In their Twitter post, Riot stated that “we are working diligently to transition LCQ to an online event similar to VCT matches earlier this year and resume play as soon as possible to send our final team to VALORANT Champions.

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With this statement, one can speculate that matches should get underway as soon as teams are able to head back home to play from the comfort and safety of their own training facilities.

More updates can be seen on VALORANT’s North American Esports Twitter account.