The Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) will give teams one last-ditch effort to make it to VALORANT’s end-of-year world championship.
Initially scheduled for Oct. 12 to 17, a total of eight teams from North America were expected to compete on LAN for the last spot at Champions. But after two players from FaZe Clan tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 13, the event had to be postponed and pushed back to a later date.
“Given the events of the past few days, and out of an abundance of caution and with the health and safety of all involved being top of mind, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the event until further notice,” VCT NA said in a statement on social media on Oct. 15.
Riot is now working to transition the Last Chance Qualifer to an online event, similar to how VCT matches were played throughout the year. The event will resume on Oct. 27.
Participating teams
- 100 Thieves: 375
- Version1: 200
- FaZe Clan: 120
- XSET: 90
- Luminosity: 60
- Cloud9 Blue: 50
- Gen.G: 50
- Rise: 50
TSM, NRG, Andbox, and Immortals—the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th placed teams in the NA circuit point standings—are all out of the running for the LCQ. If an NA team had won VCT Masters Berlin in September, TSM would have been in contention for the LCQ. But that wasn’t meant to be: Team Envy lost 3-0 to Gambit Esports in the finals.
Format
The event will follow a double-elimination bracket, culminating in a best-of-five final.
Schedule
Related: VCT NA LCQ: Scores, schedule, bracket
Day one [COMPLETED]: Tuesday, Oct. 12
- Round one
- 100 Thieves vs. Gen.G
- XSET vs. Luminosity Gaming
- Round two
- 100 Thieves vs. SET
Day two: Wednesday, Oct. 27
- Round one
- [2pm CT] FaZe Clan vs. Rise
- [5pm CT] Version1 vs. Cloud9 Blue
- Round two
- [8pm CT]
Cloud9 Blue vs. Rise
Day three: Thursday, Oct. 28
- Round two
- [2pm CT] Cloud9 Blue vs. Rise
- [5pm CT] Gen.G vs. Luminosity Gaming
- [8pm CT] V1 vs. FaZe Clan
Day four: Friday, Oct. 29
- Round three
- [2pm CT] XSET vs. V1
- [5pm CT] Cloud9 Blue vs. Gen.G
- Upper bracket finals
- [8pm CT] 100 Thieves vs. Rise
Day five: Saturday, Oct. 30
- Lower bracket semifinals
- [2pm CT] Cloud9 Blue vs. XSET
- Lower bracket finals
- [5pm CT] 100 Thieves vs. Cloud9 Blue
Day six: Sunday, Oct. 31
- Grand final – best-of-five
- [2pm CT] Rise vs. Cloud9 Blue
Oceania
ORDER and Chiefs Esports Club, the top teams from the Oceania Tour Championship, qualified for the event but were ruled out due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“Due to COVID-19 regulations, travel documentation issues, and additional complex factors, we could not ensure these teams could travel, compete in the event, and return home in a reasonable timeframe,” Riot said in a statement on Oct. 4.
Theaters
Riot had planned to broadcast the event in “select movie theaters” in cities including Austin, Los Angeles, and more. It remains to be seen if this plan will come to fruition. “Iconic Events Releasing is thrilled to bring the VALORANT LCQ to movie theaters through our partnership with Cinemark,” Iconic CEO Steve Bunnell said.
What happened to FaZe Clan?
On Oct. 13, the LCQ was put to a standstill after several players reported on Twitter that Rise would be forced to play the event on LAN, while FaZe Clan played remotely from their L.A. facility.
FaZe’s Corey Nigra and Andrej “babybay” Francisty had tested positive for COVID-19 but after taking a second test, claimed the results came back negative.
“I’m fully vaccinated,” babybay said on social media. “I tested negative multiple days in a row. I tested positive and then negative 10 minutes after. Can’t play on stage and have to quarantine? LA covid rules are different bro sheeeeeesh.”
Postponement timeline
- Oct. 13 at 3:39pm CT: “The health and safety of all involved with LCQ is our greatest priority. All players and staff participating in LCQ have been—and continue to be—tested for COVID-19 per Riot Games and LA County health guidelines for in-person events,” VCT NA said. “After receiving several conflicting test results, in an abundance of caution, we have decided to pause the competitive for today while we evaluate how to safely resume the LCQ.”
- Oct. 13 at 8:22pm CT: “We have decided to postpone Thursday’s matches as we continue working to implement solutions that will allow the LCQ to continue safely and without comprising competitive integrity,” VCT NA said. “We will update the community as additional information becomes available.”
- Oct. 14 at 4:15pm CT: “Given the events of the past few days, out of an abundance of caution with the health and safety of all involved being top of mind, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the event until further notice,” VCT NA said. “Player and staff safety remain our top concern as we navigate the current situation. We share the community’s disappointment and 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.”
- Oct. 27 at 10:28pm CT: “Due to a severe storm-related power outage, tonight’s match between Cloud9 Blue and Rise will be paused until 12:00pm PT on Thursday, October 28,” VCT NA said. “Tomorrow’s originally scheduled matches will still be played following the conclusion of the match between Cloud9 Blue and Rise.”
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