Complexity and Built By Gamers, two organizations that have been competing in North American VALORANT, were both denied partnership in the 2023 VCT Americas League, per statements from both teams released today.
Although Complexity and BBG fell short of the next stage of the partnership application process, the teams are taking different approaches to their VALORANT future. For the time being, Complexity is exiting the men’s VALORANT scene but is open to returning in the future if more opportunities become available for tier-two players and teams. The organization will continue to support the women’s GX3 roster as they compete in VCT Game Changers, however. The remaining men’s players will be made available as free agents.
BBG isn’t as quick to pull out of VALORANT, though. CEO Todd Searle said BBG will be getting more info from Riot soon about what the NA domestic league will look like and will then decide if it’s still viable to support a VALORANT team in that division. Searle reiterated that he wanted BBG to remain in the scene “in some way.”
As part of Riot’s announcement of the 2023 partnership model for VALORANT, the company did say at the time there was a plan to expand regional league competition, an endeavor that’s attracted a lot of competition and prominent organizations across Europe over the past year.
Complexity’s departure and BBG’s potential exit are the latest in a series of organizations pulling the plug, for the time being at least, on competitive VALORANT in North America. DarkZero, SoaR, Akrew, and NYFU (NYXL) have also exited the scene in just the past week. Shopify Rebellion was also denied partnership but is still fielding a roster that’s set to compete in the upcoming NA LCQ.
Some information about tier two or the regional league from Riot could stave off more rosters being dropped, but until that happens, there will likely be more organizations departing.
