Ever since esports became an international phenomenon, North America and Europe have shared a rivalry that has spanned multiple titles and tournaments around the globe. Competitive VALORANT is no exception, and in a recent press conference, Giants’ Emir “rhyme” Muminovic let loose some spicy takes toward NA that have left the community buzzing.
Rhyme was asked whether we could see more players from the Americas and Pacific Leagues make the switch over to EMEA, and the 24-year-old said there are two defining factors that determine which region a player wants to play in: money vs. achievements.
“It depends on what you like, whether you like money or you like achievements, you have to make a choice,” rhyme said. “If you’re good and you want to get achievements, then probably Europe is the better place. If you like money, I’m gonna tell you to stay in L.A. It just makes more sense.”
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According to rhyme, players in North America make up to five times more than the players in Europe, and really talented teams can be formed for much less money in EMEA. As a result, those who are looking for “the bag” might want to remain in the Americas League. But if they are looking for glory, they might want to take the long trip over the Atlantic, according to rhyme.
After all, Europe has won the last two major international tournaments, the 2023 LOCK//IN and VCT Masters Tokyo. Funnily enough, however, two Americas teams did end up finishing higher in the standings than all of the other EU teams not named Fnatic at Masters this past June.
Although Fnatic will be a major favorite at VCT Champions later this year, Americas also has some strong contenders headed to the event, including NRG, Evil Geniuses, and LOUD. They won’t be a walk in the park for any squad at the tournament, and in a couple of short weeks, we will see whether rhyme’s words will come back to bite him and his region when the event kicks off in Los Angeles on Sunday, Aug. 6.
