On April 25, VALORANT’s Premier Global open beta went live with Episode Six, Act Three, opening the door to a shiny-new, team-focused competitive experience for players around the world. Unfortunately, some players, especially those who are full-time office-goers, haven’t been able to adjust to the weekly match timings and participation windows in their region.
When a VALORANT player called AngryRaccoon44 uploaded a Reddit post on May 8 sharing their frustration regarding Premier’s match timings, many in the community reciprocated, wishing Riot Games would pay heed to their requirements after the open beta ends.
AngryRacoon44 said it’s difficult for their team to attend Premier matches between the 6pm to 7pm bracket on a working day because they work full-time jobs. “The 7-8cst time is much better and what I wish was the default,” they said.
A number of players, including AngryRacoon44, also indicated that the one-hour queue could be too restricting for those who want to play two matches on the same day and that Riot should expand it to two hours at least to allow more flexibility. Others shared issues with having to play Premier on weekdays (Monday, Saturday) and urged Riot to shift it to a Saturday-Sunday combo instead.
Among other popular opinions, it was suggested that Riot should add three days a week for the Premier queue instead of just two. Some players also pointed out the superiority of the format for Rocket League’s Competitive Tournaments, but this suggestion may not be the best for VALORANT due to its per-match length.
The match timings for Premier vary from region to region. According to the official FAQ page, the queue window opens at 8pm local time for most regions, but the window may vary between 6pm to 10pm for some territories.
Related: Full VALORANT Premier match schedule
Once the window is live, players can start queuing for their Premier matches. The queue will be available for one hour, after which players will not be allowed to queue for the day. Teams are allowed to participate in two matches per week, and only the one with the best results is tallied for the scoreboard.
Amid people sharing their issues with the timings, there were others who were completely fine with Premier’s schedule. Some even shared strong opinions, suggesting those with full-time jobs play the Competitive mode instead of Premier, as the latter is only for serious esports aspirers.
The idea that Premier is only for those VALORANT players who want to become esports athletes is a misconception, however. It is for anyone with a well-formed team who wants to take part in a thrilling, competitive VALORANT environment beyond the original ranked ladder and earn rewards. If you do make it to the top of your division, however, you’re more than welcome to take the “path to pro” and seed into VCT.
Some players have had to miss out on participating in the first-ever Premier due to the stubborn schedule. But you can expect Riot to embrace popular suggestions, like the ones for timings and queue windows, for future Premier phases.
The Premier Global open beta will end on May 23, with a playoff tournament. Riot is yet to announce the dates for the next Premier phase.
