The players association for Americas VALORANT professionals has been introduced after months of behind-the-scenes activity with developer Riot Games.
The association was announced today with former TSM coach turned player agent Taylor “tailored” Broomall at the helm of the project. The players association aims to protect the pros involved in VALORANT while establishing a healthy relationship with Riot to further improve the esport and the job security of the players.
Despite the connection with Riot, the players association is not funded by the developer and doesn’t have any financial ties to Riot.
The association, which has been active since its formulation was reported by Dot Esports in August, is made up of around 30 players with external support provided by members of the LCS Players Association.
The association was organized following the announcement of a partnership-style format next year for the VALORANT Champions Tour earlier this year. The major shift from a pseudo-open format to a franchise-like system raised concerns for the players.
But the relationship between Riot and the VALORANT Americas PA was described as “healthy,” according to the report.
Tailored is set to lead the project following his tenure with Prodigy, arguably the most prominent esports agency that represents the likes of Sentinels star Tyson “TenZ” Ngo and KCORP player Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom. Tailored represented several North American pros and assisted with sponsorship activations alongside healthy contract changes.
“Before taking this role, Taylor was already pouring his heart into organizing VALORANT players even before the partner program was announced,” Phil Aram, executive director of the LCSPA, told Dot Esports about the hire. “Now he can dedicate himself to this work full-time, and, with the support of the LCSPA, build transformative programs for player rights in the FPS space that are long overdue.”
