Valorant Champions marks the pinnacle of the 2021 season, Riot's premier global tournament. Teams worldwide that missed direct qualification now vie for spots through four Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQs).
The NA LCQ winner secures a direct invite to Valorant Champions. This event pitted eight top North American teams, those just shy of qualification via circuit points, against each other.
As North America's first Valorant LAN event, the NA LCQ has been marred by significant technical and organizational shortcomings. From day one, players encountered widespread problems.
Players immediately noticed the event used California public servers rather than true local area network (LAN) servers, which deliver 0 ping and zero lag. 100 Thieves' Hiko highlighted this on Twitter: “We play this LAN on online servers and it feels weird not being on LAN servers with 0 ping :(” This raises valid questions: Can it even be called a LAN?
Frequent disconnections plagued nearly every match, disrupting gameplay and series outcomes. Viewers and players alike criticized the event admins for mishandling these issues.
Cloud9's Blue Vanity reported another integrity concern: Gen.G's coach, absent from the venue, was permitted remote access for coaching—a decision that undermined competitive fairness.
Valorant North America Last Chance Qualifier: Results, schedule, scores, and more.
