Typically, Valorant fans are used to receiving two agents and a new map per episode, with each of them arriving alongside an act. However, it won’t be the case with Episode 4 as Riot Games has confirmed in a recent announcement that the devs won’t be shipping any new maps or agents in Act 2.
In a Riot dev diary released today, Valorant’s executive producer Anna ‘SuperCakes‘ Donlon mentioned that the developers will be focusing on other aspects of the game instead of introducing a new agent or map.
“Every product team has a roadmap full of amazing content and features that will really push Valorant for years to come,” she said. “Dreams like ours should be built on a super-strong foundation, and that is going to be the overall theme of Act 2. Strengthening that foundation.
“We’ll be dedicating that act to the overall health of our game. There will be no new Agent or new map in Act 2.”
Donlon also explained further about what players can expect from the upcoming update. “There will be lots and lots of updates that target agent balancing, existing maps promoting good player behavior and an even better-ranked experience. Sometimes you need to just take a minute. You need to take a look around and make sure things are the way they should be. “
The highly anticipated Valorant Episode 4 Act 2 is set to arrive around March 1, 2022. Alongside these changes, the Act 2 update will also bring with it a new community Battle Pass featuring sprays, player cards and other stuff submitted by the Valorant community.
Riot Games has recently revealed the regional slot distributions for VCT 2022 Masters and Champions, and Valorant fans across the globe are eager to know the number of slots their respective regions have in the tournaments.
VCT 2022 Masters and Champions will see 12 and 16 teams respectively across the globe battling it out for the winners’ spot. If you’re looking to find out how many of those teams are from which regions, we have you covered.
VCT Masters 2022 Slot Distribution
Here are the slot distributions for VCT Masters 2022 as confirmed by Riot Games:
NA – 2 slots
BR – 1 slot
LATAM – 1 slot
SA – 1 slots
Korea – 1 slot
EMEA – 3 slots
SEA – 2 slots
Japan – 1 slot
Valorant Champions 2022 Slot Distribution
Here are the slot distributions for Valorant Champions 2022:
Asmongold is one of the most popular World of Warcraft streamers out there who boasts a follower count of nearly 2.5 million on the platform. He is also the founder of One True King (OTK), a gaming organization based in Austin, Texas.
During one of his recent livestreams, Asmongold’s viewers were left quite shocked when the Twitch star revealed that he had stolen an entire bag of masks from a Hospital because he “didn’t wanna buy” them.
“So, I get there and my dad’s sitting on the side of the bed and he takes a bag of masks,” he said in the stream. “He sweeps it behind himself and he looks at me and I put it in the bag and then we steal the whole bag of masks from the hospital on the way out.”
When one of his viewers asked about why he would steal a bag of masks, he replied, “‘Cause we needed some more, but we didn’t wanna buy.”
Many of his fans across social media are considering this move to be morally wrong.
“I like Asmon’s degen stories but bro, stealing?” a Reddit user said. “I’d understand if you were poor and needed some masks but you’re literally a millionaire.”
North American coach Parker “Waltz” Walters has accused Fear Legends of not paying his fee in due time after Gamers Galaxy Pakistan. However, the organization is telling a different story.
Valorant coach Waltz is leveling some serious accusations against the Pakistani esports organization Fear Legends—the coach claims the organization has been stringing him along after Gamers Galaxy Pakistan 2021. Waltz has stated that his upfront and final payments have been continuously delayed, and Fear Legends has now stopped responding to his messages.
According to Waltz, Fear Legends hired him for one of Pakistan’s biggest esports tournaments, Gamers Galaxy. The organization had allegedly divided his bills into two parts but didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. He claims that the upfront payment was made in small chunks, whereas the entire amount hasn’t been transferred weeks after the event wrapped up.
“I was coaching their Valorant team going into Gamers Galaxy. I was paid a fraction of an upfront fee after they canceled the payment on me. Then since have been ghosted by them, and it’s now been 3 weeks since my final payment was due, and 7 weeks since my initial payment was due,” Waltz told TalkEsport.
Fear Legends’ performance at Gamer’s Galaxy was nothing to write home about, but it was one of the few teams to give Team Exploit a tough time during the event. In the LAN semi-finals, the Pakistani quintet had brought the scoreline to 10-13 and 8-13 on the two maps. The team finished 3rd-4th at the event, taking their share of PKR 500,000 home.
According to Waltz, the payment issues had been there since the beginning. He claims to have threatened to sit out practice just to get a portion of his upfront fee, but he still stuck around for players’ sake. The coach alleges that the organization has only paid 10% of the total fee so far and 12.5% of the payment that he had “revised down” as he felt bad about the team losing and being absent for a duration of time before the event.
The coach revealed that he was absent for a “few days,” but sources have said that he didn’t show up for the job once Gamers Galaxy was over. The oral contract was allegedly made for one month, but the coach had stopped showing up after the semi-finals. Still, Waltz is accusing the organization for failing to maintain a proper line of communication.
“I have been dming them even contacted the Co-Owner as well to no response. I had messaged the players who have made attempts to assist me in getting paid and told management on many accounts at this point to respond to me and to pay me just to be ignored as well,” He said.
Fear Legends responds to the accusations
In response to the accusations, Fear Legends told Talkesport that the coach was paid for the “time he gave.” According to the co-owner Tabi, the total amount after the sick days’ deduction was paid in full, and the coach was made aware of the updated amount. However, Waltz said he was told to “not worry about the sick days and payment regarding them.”
“He was informed that he won’t be paid for his absence, & [was paid in a] mutually decided amount,” Tabi said.
According to the co-owner, all payment issues have been resolved, but he’s willing to listen and sort out matters. It remains to be seen how both parties tackle this issue as there clearly seems to be a lack of agreement.
Esports’ numbers speak for themselves, with more and more people not only taking part in this new sporting pastime but also becoming fans of teams and individuals who play everything from League of Legends to DOTA 2.
However, away from all the well-established new Esports games that are blazing a trail online, there is a special subsection of Esports which goes about its business, building a greater and greater following by the day.
That subsection is classic games, some of which include chess, casino table games, and arcade button bashers. All these games have been around for years and in the cases of the ones whose players can use special sign-up deals found via comparison websites and apps, have been entertaining gamers for centuries.
It had been thought that the dawning of the internet age and all that has followed would be the death knell of such games of the past, which were deemed too slow and visually unappealing to compete against high-tech modern titles.
How wrong the people were who made those predictions because as you are about to read, classic games of the past are now thriving right across the world wide web; becoming bona fide Esports in their own right.
Chess has been made incredibly popular online by a new generation of star players and grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen, the Botez sisters, and Hikaru Nakamura
Board Games Go Large
Let’s be honest, hardcore board game fanatics have never really waned in number, as the passion for such games is passed down from generation to generation. But it had been thought that board games could become surplus to requirements once people bought consoles and gaming PCs.
That couldn’t be further from the truth of what has occurred, with games like chess becoming some of the most-watched games on streaming platforms like Twitch, and a whole new raft of Esports stars emerging as a result.
Part of what has made this possible is the numerous chess sites and apps which provide playing platforms for gamers to flock to, most of which are completely free of charge.
Retro arcade games are making a comeback in a big way, as those players who like to reminisce about the good old days invest in retro consoles and online retro game databases
Classic Casino Games Thrive
Some casino games such as baccarat have been around almost as long as the likes of chess, and in a similar fashion, they have risen from the ashes to become big hits online.
While roulette, blackjack, and baccarat continue to draw a huge base of players on a daily basis, it is poker that is considered to be a true Esport, seeing as the results of tournaments depend more on the skill displayed by the players themselves rather than how the house approaches each hand or reel spin.
As the regulation landscape begins to clear up in the United States, it is thought that a huge influx of new players is about to bolster this burgeoning Esport.
Arcade Classics Still Going Strong
When Esports was first put forward as a concept it was roundly derided as traditional sports fans and media dismissed it as nothing more than video games dressed up as something more socially acceptable.
Fast forward to the present, though, and many of the arcade games that gave birth to the notion that online games could be Esports are still being played competitively, both online and at live Esports events held in stadiums and arenas.
Some of the gaming series that continue to beguile large swathes of the Esports community include The Street Fighter series, Mortal Kombat series, and Tekken series.
Traditional Sports Now Also Have Their Esports Versions
Many of the sports that were in an uproar about Esports stealing their fanbases are now joining in the action themselves. Classic sports like football and F1 now have their very own official Esports series and competitions, further showing that Esports are anything but a passing fad.
Sweden has always been a country that supports esports and excels at it. During the days of CS 1.6 Fnatic with ‘cArn’ ‘f0rest’ and ‘GeT_RiGhT’ was the team to beat.
The trend continued when we moved to CSGO in 2012, only this time there were 2 Swedish Powerhouses in the form of Ninjas in Pyjamas and Fnatic. They dominated CSGO until 2015, before the days of the Brazilians of Luminosity and SK Gaming. Despite that, they produced many players that were the absolute best and went on to become competitors for the title of Best of all time.
Top 5 CSGO Pros from Sweden:
Christopher ‘Get_RiGhT’ Alesund
Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg
Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer
Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell
Robin ‘flusha’ Rönnquist
Christopher ‘Get_RiGhT’ Alesund
‘Get_RiGhT’ was arguably the first player ever in CSGO to be termed as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time). He won a plethora of trophies with Ninjas in Pyjamas, and was the fan favourite throughout his career. He was part of 5 CSGO Major Grand Finals, but could only win 1 – ESL One: Cologne 2014. That was when CSGO Majors still had a prize pool of $250,000.
GeT_RiGhT was also the best player in the world as per HLTV in 2013 and 2014 and is regarded as the ‘King of Spray’.
Patrik ‘f0rest’ Lindberg
‘f0rest’ was also part of the Ninjas in Pyjamas lineup that won so much in the early days of CSGO. f0rest was regarded for his crisp aim and also took on the role of the AWPer if need be. He spent majority of his playing days on Ninjas in Pyjamas but eventually left in late 2019, after ‘GeT_RiGhT’ left as well. Both of them joined Dignitas’ CSGO roster and f0rest is still going strong at the age of 33, and is arguably the most consistent performer from this list. He was the second best in 2013 and #7 in both 2014 and 2016.
Olof ‘olofmeister’ Kajbjer
‘olofmeister’ was part of fnatic’s lineup in two of their Major winning runs, alongside JW and flusha as they conquered the CSGO world. He won ESL One: Katowice 2015 and ESL One: Cologne 2015 and also has a Major MVP medal to his name. He was regarded as the #1 player in HLTV’s top 20 rankings. He continued his success after moving to FaZe Clan and won a number of trophies with them as well, and participated in another Major Final at Eleague Boston 2018 but lost to Cloud9 in 2018.
Jesper ‘JW’ Wecksell
JW was one of those legendary players that other players were scared to peek. Along With Kenneth ‘Kennys’ Shcrub, JW changed the AWP meta altogether. His relentless aggression and the ability to demand control by re-peeking angles struck fears in teams. He won 3 Majors with fnatic and was a top 10 player as per HLTV in 2013, 2014 and 2015 as well. He played for fnatic till late 2021, after which he was benched as they went International.
Robin ‘flusha’ Rönnquist
‘flusha’ is regarded as one of the smartest players ever to grace the game of CSGO. he was part of the original fnatic lineup and won 3 Majors with them and was a Major MVP as well. He is often called ‘Senor VAC’ for plays that he made that made it look like he was cheating. Most notably smoke spams that were often right on the money. He left Fnatic in July 2016 but rejoined twice, once in February 2017 and again in September 2019, and won trophies both times. He was benched in early 2021 from Fnatic.
On a different note, there have been various instances where CSGO pros or streamers have supported and even promoted gambling. CSGOwild and CSGOlotto, are the most notable examples.
In most cases, they have a stake in the betting website, and the odds are rigged in their favor so they always get the desired result. Viewers look at these and are often baited into betting/gambling that is rigged.
In Sweden, betting and gambling are heavily regulated and it is very difficult to acquire a license that lets you bet responsibly. But there are ways around it, one can partake in the above through Gaming companies without a license. To find out more about these responsible practices, visit spelbolagutansvensklicens.co.
Despite their longevity and consistency, all these players have always been safe from any accusations of their character or integrity out of the game.
JW started his own Gaming store as well back in 2016, to make more people aware of esports but his integrity was never questioned. CSGO has seen various scandals in its time, be it the KQLY VAC ban, iBuypower match-fixing, the coaching bug, gambling or betting, and most notably forsaken cheating on LAN.
With a new year comes many exciting new developments in the Valorant space, not least the pending launch of Episode 4, Act 1, which players around the world are keenly anticipating. Episode 3 has officially come to a close, and the first act of Episode 4 officially launched worldwide on January 11, 2022.
While there are many new details that players will love, one of the most significant developments has been the launch of a brand-new agent, named Neon, who may well be the most consequential release we have seen so far in the series. Read on to find out everything we know so far about the Agent Neon Update.
Agent Neon: The Background
Details of the new agent were initially “leaked” at the tail-end of 2021 via an Amazon Prime listing for the game (although it is entirely possible that this was intentional).
On Amazon Prime Gaming, Valorant fans quickly noticed images of a brand new agent in the promotional banners for the new episode, and speculation rant rampant on Twitter and Reddit After this, Riot Games moved quickly to capitalize on the buzz that this generated, pushing out a statement on Twitter confirming that there would be a new agent and that the name of that agent is Neon.
The previous agents released in the game have been Astra, a Controller, KAY-O, an initiator, and Chamber, a Sentinel. Therefore, it came as a surprise to exactly no one that Neon was a Duelist agent. It is also becoming clear that speculation over whether or not Neon would serve as a counterweight agent to Jett, the most powerful agent in Valorant with a pro pick rate of close to 100%, has proven to be correct. Neon is a force to be reckoned with, to say the least.
The Key Details
As the name suggests, Agent Neon is a technicolor explosion of glowing colors. Her character is something of a femme fatale, who uses her immense speed and charge abilities to leave a blaze of destruction in her wake. The key stats and abilities for Neon are as follows:
Relay Bolt: throw a bouncing energy bolt that electrifies the ground and all those standing in the area.
Fast Lane: fire two energy bolts on the ground that will rise up and create walls of electricity that damage enemies and obscure their vision.
High Gear: “charge up” Neon’s power to vastly increase speeds and unlock hugely damaging electric charges.
Overdrive: Use a full power meter to instantly shoot a massive lightning bolt, killing anyone who takes a direct hit instantly.
A New Era in Valorant’s Global Success Story
The hype over Neon is a reflection of the roaring international success of Riot Games’ most popular release. Valorant is now played all over the world and is a mainstay of the global eSports circuit.
In fact, the game is so popular in the professional realm that fans as far afield as Australia now regularly make wagers on their favorite players and leagues as esports betting in Australia is now commonplace due to it being a large market at the major bookmakers. The fact that Valorant’s newest agent has caused such a storm is reflective of this growing global interest in the game itself, which we can expect to see a lot more of in the future.
So, what do you think of Neon? Whether she becomes a top pro pick remains to be seen, but her chances are looking good right now.
Recently, Krafton the developers of Battlegrounds Mobile India released the 1.8 updates. Being the first update of the year, players were excited to get their hands on the new features, events, items, and more updates in the game. The main update of the game was the introduction of voice packs of popular streamers and professional players from India.
Now, the players could get the voice packs of their favorite streamers at a minimal cost. Although, Krafton is giving you the opportunity to win Jonathan’s voice pack for free. The voice pack is available in two variants, the basic voice pack, and the mythic voice pack. The basic pack will consist only of the English audio messages whereas the mythic voice pack will include the famous dialogs of Jonathan in both Hindi and English.
How to win BGMI Jonathan’s voice pack for free
Krafton has announced a giveaway where players can win Jonathan’s voice pack for free. 30 lucky winners will get his basic voice pack for free, while 30 other lucky winners will receive the mythic voice pack in BGMI. Read the rules mentioned below to win the voice pack:
Step 1: You need to follow the official Instagram handle of Battlegrounds Mobile India.
Step 2: You must use the hashtag “#PLAYASYOURHERO” and share the post with your respective squads on the social media profiles.
Step 3: Then, you must tap on the link provided in the bio of Battlegrounds Mobile India’s Instagram page and fill up the form describing why you love Jonathan.
Step 4: You need to make sure that your answers are better than the others, which will increase your chance of winning the giveaway.
Epic Games released the Fortnite 19.10 update last week. Apart from tilted towers and the dinosaurs named Klombos, Fortnite added Pizza Party Boxes. You can take out sliced Pizzas from the box and it will restore both your health and shield together. However, your shield can restore upto 50 while your health can restore upto 100.
Keep reading to know the locations of Fortnite Pizza Party boxes and how to use them.
Where to find Fortnite Pizza Party Boxes?
Finding Fortnite Pizza Party boxes isn’t that hard as the boxes are part of a normal loot pool. Therefore, you can find out Fortnite Pizza Party boxes from chests, supply drops, loot llamas, and floor loot. You can get those loots by playing the game normally, however, it’s kind of rare. So you have to dig a bit more to find it.
Apart from the loots, you can buy Fortnite Pizza Party boxes from Tomato Head. Tomato Head is an NPC situated inside the Pizza Pit on Tilted Towers’ southeast corner. You can buy upto four boxes by paying 50 gold bars per box.
How to use Fortnite Pizza Party boxes?
Once you find out a Fortnite Pizza Party box, you have to use them correctly. Follow the steps mentioned below to use it properly:
At first, you have to select a Pizza Party box from your inventory and toss it.
The Pizza Party box will open on the ground and you will get two options.
You can eat a slice at that moment to increase your health along with your shield.
However, you can also store a slice for future use.
Note: A Fortnite Pizza Party box contains eight slices. Each of the slices provides 25 health and 25 shields.
Vietnamese Valorant pro Tất Cẩm “Nomsenpai” Khôn has received a year-long suspension from Valorant after being caught cheating in an official VCT game. As a result, his team Ice Cee Jay Too has been disqualified from further participation in stage one of VCT APAC 2022.
“Cheating in any VALORANT queue is against the rules of competitive play and violates the rules of fair play,” Riot stated in a blog post. “Maintaining the competitive integrity of our tournaments is a top priority and VALORANT Esports takes such matters very seriously.”
Vietnamese player NomSenpai has been banned for 12 months for cheating in an official VCT match.
Additionally his team "Ice Cee Jay Too" has been disqualified from VCT APAC 2022 Stage 1.
Nomsenpai was caught cheating red-handed during a match in the VCT 2022 Stage One: Vietnam Open Qualifiers on Haven when the scoreline was 12-9 in favour of his team. As he, playing Chamber, entered garage while trying to gun down a fleeing Jett, his crosshair suspiciously locked onto the enemy Astra through the wall, who was not visible in his screen at all.
Players can take a look at the clip here, and upon taking a closer look it’s obvious that his crosshair locked onto the unseeable Astra.
The ban on Nomsenpai is set to start from January 26th and will end the following year. His team will be allowed to participate from Stage Two of VCT APAC 2022.
