Valorant has been out for almost a year now and the player numbers are growing steadily. Will it be the next big tactical shooter next to CS:GO or will it fail just like Overwatch?

Valorant went into closed beta at the beginning of April 2020. The only way to play the game was to get a drop from a Valorant Twitch stream. Pretty smart marketing move by Riot, if you ask us. It wasn’t until June 2 that you could download and play the game for free.

Valorant in 2020
Absolutely everyone wanted to try Valorant when it came out in 2020. The only thing that was missing was a pro scene. However, that should change over the next few months. Many pro players from other Esports titles like CS:GO, Overwatch, Fortnite, and Apex Legends switched to Valorant.

Large Esports organizations like Cloud 9, G2 Esports, TSM, T1 and many others built up a Valorant team and grabbed good players even before the beta ended. This laid the foundation for a good competitive scene already.

The Ignitions Series and First Strike
In June, Riot Games hosted the Valorant Ignition Series. Just in time for the official release of the tactical shooter, there was also the first, real pro event. The Ignition Series was an opportunity for many teams from different regions to show that they were the best. At least on a regional level.

After the Ignition Series, Riot created the First Strike event. There, only the best of the best were allowed to participate. In NA and Europe, First Strike reached 200k and 100k viewers respectively, but in other regions the interest was rather low.

Valorant in 2021: What has changed?
But what about Valorant in 2021? There are now 15 playable agents and 5 maps. We are currently in Valorant Act II, Episode 2, and the next big patch is coming in April. This year Valorant will be bigger, better and more competitive than ever. Yeah awesome, we’re up for it!

Valorant Champion Tour
The Valorant Champion Tour (VCT) is Riot’s Valorant-Esports-Strategy for 2021. It is made up of regional leagues, open qualifiers, and big events for the best of the best.

The biggest final will be the Valorant Champions tournament. Before that, however, teams can massacre each other in the Valorant Masters. The Valorant Stage 2 Masters finals will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland in June.

Unlike certain other organizations, Riot Games has tried to keep Valorant’s competitive scene as uncluttered as possible. After all, the game is supposed to take off completely as an Esports title.

Is Valorant bigger than CS:GO?
Valorant has grown a lot in the last six months, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Many players have left CS:GO behind to try their hand at Valorant Pro. The other way around is not yet the case, so Riot doesn’t seem to be doing everything wrong already. But when will Valorant knock CS:GO off its throne?

There is no other Esports title that is as dominant and has already destroyed so many competitors as CS:GO. Still, with its growing community, Valorant managed to make it to the top 5 most watched games in March – ahead of CS:GO.

So things are looking good for Riot’s shooter. Valorant still has a few small issues here and there, but the Esports scene is already stable on the way. Unfortunately, the game is mainly popular in America and Europe. Other regions like CIS are much more represented in CS:GO.

Overwatch

Overwatch is a computer game by Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo 3, World of Warcraft) and a first-person shooter with individual fantasy elements. The game was released in May 2016.

In Overwatch, the player must choose between 21 unique characters, which can be freely selected in a loosely held classification system (offensive and defensive class, support unit and tanks).

A character’s three to four different abilities can be controlled and activated through the mouse and keyboard. The game modes already vary from scoring points to cargo hauling. Team play is required in both modes, as each character takes on a specific role in the battlefield (e.g. heal teammates, provide backup, or secure defensive lines).

The name Overwatch derives itself from a fictional elite military unit that came together when robots tried to subjugate humanity in a near future. Individual characters are associated with this unit in the game, while others oppose it. It is not yet known whether the storyline will continue in multiplayer.

Brawl

Brawl is a game mode in which time-limited rule variations of the well-known modes are drawn. Sometimes completely new game modes are used in Brawls.

Rule variations include, for example, the restriction to certain heroes or classes, changes to the cool-down times or certain cards. New game modes that have been playable so far include a soccer game and a PvE mode.

Usually, Brawls are restarted as Brawl of the Week every Tuesday at 22:00 UTC and are then playable for a week. On certain occasions, such as – Season al events, Brawls may also be playable for a longer or shorter period of time.

The game mode is comparable to the card chaos from Hearthstone and was activated for the first time in the beta phase on March 22, 2016 through a patch.

Actions

• Arcade: More health, shorter skill and ultimate cooldowns, and faster resurrection after death.
• Girl Power: Female heroes only.
• Head’s Up!: McCree, Genji, Hanzo, and Widowmaker. Only head hits count.
• High Noon: High Noon on Route 66, only head hits with McCree count.
• Highly Offensive: Only offensive heroes. Limit is two of the same hero per team.
• Junkenstein’s Revenge: Soldier, Hanzo, Ana, Mc Cree only (1 each). The first co-op PVE mode in Overwatch. Part of the – Season al event Halloween Horror.
• Justice rains from Above: Only Mercy and Pharah playable.
• Moba Watch: Only unique heroes per team. No hero switching allowed.
• Mystery Heroes: Upon death, you will be resurrected as a randomly selected Hero.
• Overly Defensive: Only defensive heroes. Limit is two of the same hero per team.
• Show Your Support: Support Heroes only. The limit is two of the same Hero per team.
• Super Shimada Bros: Welcome to Hanamura. Only Hanzo and Genji are playable. Shorter skill cooldowns, longer ultimate cooldowns.
• Tanks A Lot: Tank heroes only. Limit is two of the same hero per team.
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Only McCree, Reaper and Roadhog playable.
• We’re all Soldiers now: Only Soldier: 76 playable on control cards.
• Lucioball: Lucio only: Soccer mode, 3 vs 3.
• Yeti Hunt: Five meis against a yeti that has the characteristics of Winston.

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