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Team Falcons Wins IEM Cologne 2026 Major

Sarjyo Mukherjee
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Team Falcons Wins IEM Cologne 2026 Major

Team Falcons is the winners of the IEM Cologne Major 2026, beating FURIA with a 3-0 scoreline in a historic Grand Finals clash, earning NiKo his highly elusive Major trophy. After 10 years, 17 attempts later, the 3rd time proved to be the lucky charm, as Counter Strike‘s greatest rifler finally bags the one trophy that every Counter Strike player dreams of. With a historic run, beating 3 former Major champions in NAVI, Vitality and Spirit on their way, Falcons secure the trophy that their team has very dearly chased.

VETO

  • FURIA removed Ancient
  • Falcons removed Overpass
  • FURIA picked Mirage
  • Falcons picked Anubis
  • FURIA picked Inferno
  • Falcons picked Dust2
  • Nuke was left over

Map 1: Mirage; Pick: FURIA; Winner: Falcons

Falcons hit the board, stopping a mid to B attempt from FURIA, which they built on to get a 5-0 start with the big names all getting on the board early on. As Falcons continued to dominate with correct gambles, FURIA hit the board with a slow take of mid, which saw them close out the half with an 8-4 scoreline. Trading rounds to kick off the second map, Falcons managed to hit double digits before FURIA started mounting a comeback. Winning 3 rounds in a row put FURIA within touching distance of OT before a clever mid-round adjustment saw Falcons find a gap in the defence, which let them break the streak and close out the map with a 13-8 scoreline. 19 kills from m0NESY saw him top the charts, with Kyousuke dropping impact when called for, giving Falcons the much-needed headstart in the B05.

Map 2: Anubis; Pick: Falcons; Winner: Falcons

Winning the pistol with a m0NESY 4K, Falcons raced to a 4-0 start before FURIA hit the board. With their first round, FURIA’s offence methodically dismantled Falcons for 6 rounds straight, before Falcons pulled one more round with a 7-5 scoreline before switching sides. Winning a convincing pistol, Falcons went on to put up a 5-0 streak before FURIA managed to bag their 8th with a solid hold of the B site. As the game progressed, FalleN’s perfect read of the situation had FURIA in a superior position in most of the rounds, only for Falcons to outclass them with pure firepower. Little by little, Falcons edged closer with m0NESY and Kyousuke topping the charts, and finally, with a B-site execute, they called the curtains on FURIA in Anubis with a 13-8 scoreline. m0NESY with 22-10 and Kyousuke right behind with 19-15 put NiKo closest he has ever been to a Major.

Map 3: Inferno; Pick: FURIA; Winner: Falcons

Starting with a pistol loss, the Falcons hit the board with the first force buy and maintained their momentum before FURIA hit back, exploiting a weakness on the B site. Karrigan pulled a rabbit out of the hat with 3 USP kills against a full buy that put them back on the board as they raced to an 8-4 finish of the half with the Brazilians winning the final round. Converting the pistol, Falcons opened the door to a comeback, losing to FURIA’s force. As FURIA started to make a comeback, the individuals of Falcons stepped up to break through the FURIA defence for 3 rounds in a row to close out the map with a 13-8 scoreline.

At long last, destiny kept its date. Through fallen kings and conquered champions, Falcons soared where years of longing had failed. Guided by Karriganโ€™s wisdom, strengthened by TeSeSโ€™ silent toil, and illuminated by m0NESY and Kyousuke, NiKo illustrated that a trophy-laden crown had finally received the ultimate jewel that eluded him for over a decade. The undisputed kings in Cologne, Counter-Strike’s cathedral, gave NiKo and Falcons the deepest desire of their hearts.

Overcoming the tragedy of Boston, outlasting the hauntings of Stockholm, NiKo’s finally got the day he had chased ever since he touched the mouse, and he is forever a Major champion!

IEM Cologne Major 2026 Sets CS Viewership Record: 100M Hours

Divyesh Moghe
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IEM Cologne Major 2026 Sets CS Viewership Record: 100M Hours

Counter-Strike’s oldest viewership record fell by 1,602 viewers. Its watch-time record fell by roughly 24 million hours. Only one of those is worth talking about.

IEM Cologne Major 2026 Viewership Record: 100 Million Hours Rewrites Counter-Strike

When Team Falcons swept FURIA 3-0 at the LANXESS Arena on Sunday, Esports Charts logged a peak of 2,750,036 concurrent viewers. That edged past PGL Major Stockholm 2021, which had stood at 2,748,434 since NAVI beat G2 five years ago. The margin is 0.06%. Read pessimistically, Counter-Strike’s ceiling has not moved in half a decade, and plenty of HLTV’s comment section read it exactly that way.

Look one row down the table and the picture inverts. Cologne generated 100,301,009 hours watched, the first CS event ever to reach nine digits. The previous best, BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, managed a little over 76 million. Average viewership hit 627,863, another all-time high. Peak viewership measures a single moment. Average viewership and hours watched measure whether anyone stayed. Cologne swept all three, and it won the last two by a landslide.

Some of that is structural. ESL ran every Stage 3 match as a best-of-three rather than reserving Bo3s for advancement and elimination games, which simply put more Counter-Strike on screen. Some of it is distribution: regional-language broadcasts and co-streamers carried enormous load, with Ivan “StRoGo” Shurpatov alone pulling 11.7 million hours watched and a career-best 315,000 peak.

But the rest is narrative gravity. Nikola “NiKo” Kovaฤ had spent a decade as the best player never to win a Major. Ilya “m0NESY” had inherited the same label. Finn “karrigan” Andersen joined Falcons roughly two months before the event and won the thing. Nobody tunes in for 100 million hours to watch a scoreline.

Two asterisks. The final landed on Father’s Day, and Chinese viewership remains largely untracked, so the ceiling was probably higher than the ceiling we measured. Esports Charts is still revising the figures upward.

Across nine days, 67,000 fans from more than 75 countries filled Cologne for a $1,250,000 prize pool. The number that matters is the one nobody put on a graphic.

Read next: karrigan Was the Architect of Modern FaZe, and He Took the Blueprint With Him

Valorant Retake Game Mode Revealed: Everything You Need to Know

Sonu Banerjee
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Valorant Retake Game Mode Revealed: Everything You Need to Know

Riot Games has officially unveiled Retake, a brand-new game mode coming to Valorant with the upcoming Season 2026 Act 4 update.

Aimed to help players sharpen their post-plant skills, Retake focuses on the crucial moments after the Spike is planted. This new game mode offers a focused environment to practice high-pressure post-plant scenarios like defending the site, coordinating utility with teammates, and retaking the site before the Spike can detonate.

Instead of a full match buildup, Retake drops players straight into high-stakes 3v3 action where the Spike has already been planted. Attackers have to defend the Spike till it explodes, while the Defenders have to retake the site and defuse the Spike before it’s too late.

In this article, weโ€™ll take a look at everything you need to know about the Retake game mode in Valorant.

Valorant Retake Release Date

As already confirmed by Riot Games, the new Retake game mode goes live alongside the release of Valorant 13.0 on June 24, 2026.

Valorant Retake Mode Explained

Each round begins with the Spike auto-planting a few seconds in, at a clearly visible spot on site.

The Attackers spawn on site and must defend the Spike, winning by eliminating the opposing team or running out the bomb timer. The Defenders spawn outside the bombsite and have to fight their way in to defuse the Spike or wipe out the Planters first.

Sides swap every round, giving both teams equal time for attacking and defending. The first team to grab five rounds is declared the winner.

Retake ditches the traditional buy phase for a card-based loadout system, similar to the one we have seen in CS2.

Each round, players have to pick two cards: one for weapons and shields, and one for ability charges. Every card offers two randomized options, and both pools escalate as the match progresses.

Retake uses single bombsites pulled from existing Valorant maps. The mode launches with a curated selection of sites suited to its fast pace, and Riot plans to expand the map pool incrementally throughout the Act.

With its condensed format and constant high-stakes battles, Retake is certain to deliver the adrenaline of Valorant’s biggest moments without the time commitment of a full competitive match.

Other than introducing Retake to the game, the Valorant 13.0 patch is also set to introduce a plethora of new content, including a new Battle Pass, the new map Summit, Agent changes, and more.

New Valorant Map Summit Revealed: First Looks and All You Need to Know

New Valorant Map Summit Revealed: First Looks and All You Need to Know

Sonu Banerjee
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New Valorant Map Summit Revealed: First Looks and All You Need to Know

Riot Games has officially revealed Summit, the newest addition to the Valorant map pool thatโ€™s all set to be introduced alongside the Season 2026 Act 4 Update.

Set in a Radiant training academy nestled in the mountains of China, the new Valorant map features a layout reminiscent of Corrode or Sunset but with a new twist: droppable walls that can reshape the battlefield mid-round.

Summit features the standard 2-site, 3-lane layout, but its unique gimmick is what sets it apart from the other maps in the roster.

These droppable walls are located on the A-site, B-site, and the Mid area. They can be dropped at any point during a round, and doing so cuts off key sightlines in the map alongside rotation paths for the remainder of the round.

Valorant Summit Release Date

Summit will be added to Valorant on June 24, 2026, alongside the release of Valorant Season 2026 Act 4.

Once added, Summit will be immediately available to play in the Competitive queues.

Players shouldnโ€™t worry about losing too much elo, though: during the first two weeks, players will lose 50% less RR for losses on Summit, but can still gain 100% RR upon winning.

If you want to get some practice games in before hopping on ranked, youโ€™ll be able to find a Summit-only queue for seven days after the update. This queue will use the Swiftplay mode format.

Alongside the new map, the Valorant 13.0 patch is also expected to bring a ton of new content to the competitive shooter, including a fresh Battle Pass, a brand-new game mode, cosmetics, Agent changes, and more.

Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass: Rewards, Release Date, and More

Sonu Banerjee
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Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass: Rewards, Release Date, and More

Riot Games has officially revealed the Battle Pass for the upcoming Valorant Season 2026 Act 4, and it includes some amazing cosmetics for players to collect.

As usual, the Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass includes a free track and a paid track, with both boasting a series of Player Cards, Gun Buddies, Sprays, and other cosmetics themed on the new Act. The Paid Track will also net you a Flex, a number of weapon skins, and a new melee, while the Free Track includes a Pistol skin similar to previous passes weโ€™ve seen in the game.

In this article, weโ€™ll take a look at what you need to know about the Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass, including its highlights and release date.

Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass Release Date

The Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass will hit the live servers alongside the release of the 13.0 patch on June 24, 2026.

The update will also bring with it the new map Summit, Agent changes, the Retake mode, and a whole lot more.

Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass Rewards: All Highlights

Below, weโ€™ve included the highlights from the Valorant Season 2026 Act 4 Battle Pass:

Free Track

  • Sky Reaper Ghost
  • Heal Up Squad Card (Lore)
  • Binding Thread Buddy
  • On Your Feet Spray

Paid Track

  • Sky Reaper Sword (Melee)
  • Tacti-Guild Phantom
  • Intertwine Guardian
  • Boom Ball Flex
  • Unstoppable // Iso Card
  • Soft and Deadly Card
  • Blep Spray
  • Unimpressed Spray
  • Prooooowler Buddy
Valorant Masters London New Map Showmatch: Date, Time, and How to Watch

Leviatรกn Win VALORANT Masters London 2026, Beat Paper Rex 3-2

Divyesh Moghe
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Leviatรกn Win VALORANT Masters London 2026, Beat Paper Rex 3-2

Nobody gave them a chance. Paper Rex had already beaten them once, swept them clean, and sent them tumbling into the lower bracket on day one of playoffs. Five elimination series later, a group of teenagers stood on stage at the Copper Box Arena holding the trophy.

Leviatรกn Win VALORANT Masters London 2026, Beating Paper Rex 3-2 After Historic Lower Bracket Run

The Grand Final looked over before it began. Paper Rex opened on Fracture with six straight defensive rounds and never eased off, taking the map 13-2 in the kind of beating that ends teams. Leviatรกn answered on Split, 13-6, and suddenly the series had a pulse.

Breeze went the other way. Leviatรกn led 8-4 at the half, then watched Paper Rex tear the second half apart to win 13-11. Down 2-1, facing the most decorated roster in the game, the Americas side simply refused to fold. Ascent fell 13-10 on the strength of their retakes. Lotus was never a contest: an 11-1 attack half, the pistol won, 12-1, and then the round that ended Pacific’s grip on the Masters trophy after five straight titles.

Bruno “Neon” Rodrรญguez was named MVP. He is 18. He came up through Leviatรกn’s academy alongside blowz, promoted this year by coach Rodrigo “Onur” Dalmagro, who has been the through line for both. With an average age of 19.6, Leviatรกn are the youngest team ever to win an international VALORANT event, the first LATAM side to lift a Masters trophy, and only the third Americas organisation to do it after Sentinels and OpTic Gaming.

For IGL Francisco “kiNgg” Aravena, the win carried something more personal. The Chilean veteran called it the second happiest day of his life, behind the birth of his daughter.

The final drew over 1.06 million peak concurrent viewers, making London the most-watched Masters of 2026, comfortably clear of Santiago’s 883,064. Leviatรกn take home $350,000 and eight VCT points. Paper Rex leave with $200,000, six points, and a confirmed slot at Champions.

Riot did not let the moment pass quietly. Minutes after the confetti, the broadcast cut to a reveal of Summit, a new map, alongside a 3v3 Retake mode. Both land before the next stop on the calendar.

NiKo Wins First Major as Falcons Sweep FURIA 3-0

Divyesh Moghe
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NiKo Wins First Major as Falcons Sweep FURIA 3-0

Three maps. Three identical 13-8 scorelines. Not one of them close enough to make anybody in the LANXESS Arena nervous. For a man who had waited 3,067 days to touch this trophy, the last hour of Nikola “NiKo” Kovac’s Major curse was almost anticlimactic.

NiKo Wins His First Major as Falcons Sweep FURIA 3-0 at IEM Cologne 2026

Falcons beat FURIA 3-0 in the IEM Cologne Major 2026 grand final, winning Mirage, Anubis and Inferno by the same 13-8 score. It is the organisation’s first Major, and NiKo’s first in 17 attempts, the longest wait for a debut Major title in Counter-Strike history.

FURIA never led

The Brazilians picked Mirage and were down 0-8 before they planted a single bomb. They clawed back the final four rounds of the half. It did not matter. Anubis followed the same script with FURIA finding pockets of control and Falcons taking them away. On Inferno, with m0NESY unusually quiet, NiKo and kyousuke combined for 33 frags to finish it.

NiKo closed the series at 52 kills, an 85.5 ADR and a 1.43 rating, the best player on the server when the spotlight finally pointed at him. “It definitely was worth the wait,” he said, the crowd chanting his name over him.

The MVP went to m0NESY

The medal, awkwardly, did not go to the story. m0NESY, NiKo and kyousuke each finished with seven map awards; the Russian AWPer’s 1.25 tournament rating and 1.10 KPRW broke the tie. He posted a 1.80 rating across Mirage and Anubis and had lost eight straight grand finals coming in.

The route was the point

Falcons went through Natus Vincere, then Vitality, then Spirit, then FURIA. Four of the world’s top five, consecutively. Spirit had beaten them in finals at IEM Rio and PGL Astana within the previous month.

Finn “karrigan” Andersen, signed in April after failing to qualify with FaZe, captained the roster two months later to his second Major. zonic collected his sixth as a coach. The grand final drew more than 2.76 million peak viewers, the most-watched match in Counter-Strike history.

For FalleN and FURIA, a first Major final and a silver medal. For NiKo, the end of the only argument anyone ever had against him.

Falcons to Face FURIA in IEM Cologne 2026 Grand Finals

Sarjyo Mukherjee
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Falcons to Face FURIA in IEM Cologne 2026 Grand Finals

The semi-finals of the IEM Cologne conclude, setting up a historic Counter-Strike clash in the Grand Finals as Falcons, who outlasted Spirit, gear up to face FURIA, who knocked out Aurora. FURIA cruising past Aurora started the day in style, and a quick close to it took us to a nail-biter of a game where Falcons eliminated Spirit in what will now be called a Counter-Strike Major classic.

FURIA cruise past Aurora

Starting the game on Aurora’s pick of Dust2, FURIA managed to spoil Aurora’s solid start to the game by securing rounds late into the first half to close out the game with a narrow lead of 7-5 before switching sides. FURIA pushed ahead with a pistol round conversion, which saw them remain largely dominant and take away the first map with a rather shaky close to the game with a 13-9 scoreline.

Starting on the defense of Nuke with a pistol conversion, Aurora delivered one of the worst performances in the Major, with FURIA walking all over them on the less-favored side to secure a dominant lead at the half. With the solid close of the first half, FURIA called the curtains on Aurora, winning 5 rounds in a row on their defense as we saw one of the most dominant performances in a Major semi-final with FalleN booking his Grand Finals spot on the last Major of his career.

Falcons pull off historic win over Spirit

Falcons starting Anubis on a solid note gave them the much-needed confidence to carry into late rounds as Spirit managed to recover and level the first half before switching sides. As they looked to run away with the defense, Spirit stopped the Falcons’ offense right in the tracks to force the game into overtime, where the Falcons stood out as the better team, winning all the 3 rounds in their offense, which served as a buffer when they lost two rounds before closing out the final round of OT to win the game with a 16-14 scoreline.

Building on the momentum, the Falcons started strong on Mirage on the CT side, only for Spirit to recover and take the lead by winning 5 rounds in a row. Trading the remaining rounds evenly, the first half closed with a level scoreline before Spirit got their dominant side. As the Falcons pulled ahead with a pistol round conversion, Spirit hit the board with the first gun round, and the game decidedly went the way of the CIS side from this point onwards. Winning 7 rounds in a row, Spirit did not even let the Falcons make a case for themselves and levelled the series with a 13-8 win.

Falcons’ poor start to the game saw Spirit edge out the first half with a 7-5 scoreline. Spirit, playing like the better team, set themselves up for success, which they built on in the second half before the Falcons’ defense stabilised to secure a lead, only for Spirit to win the final round to push the game to OT. The Falcons’ defense had their foundations built off the back of unwinnable rounds with m0NESY and NiKo holding strong on the defense, TeSeS coming up with a 2v1 clutch, and a crazy karrigan push through the smoke to secure a round that should have been written off. With the Falcons pushing the game to OT, the Falcons remained flawless with a perfect defense and a clean close to secure a Grand Finals clash against FURIA.

With all the stories heading into the Grand Finals, NiKo has his day with destiny for the 3rd time in his career, and as we have come to say, maybe the 3rd time is the charm. FalleN will be waiting with his band of outfits, who are prepared to do everything to give him a Major for his farewell present. Only time will tell how the finals unfold, but we are bound to one of the most exciting Major Grand Finals in the history of Counter-Strike.

Divine Gaming holds firm at the Top while Godlike Esportsโ€™ delivers a dramatic comeback as the BMPS 2026 Day 2 concludes

Aditya Parsutkar
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Divine Gaming holds firm at the Top while Godlike Esportsโ€™ delivers a dramatic comeback as the BMPS 2026 Day 2 concludes

If Day 1 of the BMPS 2026 Grand Finals belonged to Divine Gaming, Day 2 belonged to its competitors, especially Godlike. The standings flipped, favourites surged, and the leaderboard heading into the final day is almost unrecognisable from where it stood 24 hours ago – except at the very top, where Divine Gaming sit with 130 points and a 37-point lead that will take something extraordinary to overcome on Day 3. Twelve matches are done at the Jaipur Exhibition & Convention Centre (JECC). Six remain.

The story of Day 2 was Godlike Esportsโ€™ extraordinary comeback. Closing the Day 1 on 16th /last place with just 20 points – a result that looked like it might signal the end of their title ambitions. They responded with one of the most impressive single-day turnarounds in BMPS history, adding 70 points on Day 2 alone to rocket from dead last to fourth place overall on 90 points. Manyaโ€™s squad claimed one Chicken Dinner, 58 finish points and 32 placement points across the day, reminding the entire lobby that this is a team that cannot be written off regardless of the scoreboard.

Divine Gaming added 45 more points on Day 2 to extend their overall total to 130, maintaining their two Chicken Dinners and piling on 83 finish points and 47 placement points across 12 matches. Team Divine, featuring native esports player form Rajasthan:SLUG: Sonigra Raghuraj Singh performed outstandingly throughout the Grand Finals, and have now built what looks like a commanding lead heading into the decider. But with six matches still to play and the chasing pack tightening, nothing is settled.

Read More: BGMI M416 Glacier Redeem Codes July 2026: Latest Free Rewards, Skins & Collectibles

Two other teams rewrote their own narratives on Day 2. Vasista Esports, who sat 15th after Day 1 with just 22 points, exploded into the top three on Day 2 with two Chicken Dinners and a stunning 69-point day, vaulting to third overall on 91 points. Gods Reign, who were 10th at the end of Day 1, climbed to second place overall on 93 points, adding one Chicken Dinner and 64 points across the six matches. Both teams are now firmly in title contention with one day to go. Meanwhile, Nebula Esports – who had been second after Day 1 – slipped to seventh overall on 77 points as the field caught up around them.

BMPS 2026 Grand Finals – Overall Standings after Day 2

  • Divine Gaming โ€“ 130 Points
  • Gods Reign โ€“ 93 Points
  • Victores Sumus โ€“ 91 Points
  • GodLike Esports โ€“ 91 Points
  • Genesis Esports โ€“ 90 Points
  • iQOO Reckoning Esports โ€“ 78 Points
  • Nebula Esports โ€“ 77 Points
  • Vasista Esports โ€“ 76 Points
  • iQOO SouL โ€“ 69 Points
  • iQOO 8Bit โ€“ 69 Points
  • iQOO Team Tamilas โ€“ 68 Points
  • iQOO Revenant XSpark โ€“ 62 Points
  • 7Gods Esports โ€“ 55 Points
  • iQOO Orangutan โ€“ 54 Points
  • Team Apex Gaming โ€“ 47 Points
  • Myth Official โ€“ 40 Points

The final day sets up as one of the most compelling Day 3s in BMPS history. Divine Gaming lead on 130 points, but Gods Reign (93), Vasista (91), Godlike (90) and Genesis (90) are all within striking distance of each other and the summit, with six matches to decide everything. The winner takes home INR 1 crore, the BMPS 2026 trophy. Day 3 gets underway at 2:45 PM IST on June 21 at JECC, Jaipur.

The final day of the BMPS 2026 Grand Finals is live on KRAFTON India Esportsโ€™ official YouTube channel at 2:45 PM IST, streamed in nine languages, including Hindi and English.

Valorant Masters London New Map Showmatch: Date, Time, and How to Watch

Sonu Banerjee
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Valorant Masters London New Map Showmatch: Date, Time, and How to Watch

Valorant fans are all set to get their first look at the game’s newest map during a special showmatch at the Masters London Grand Finals, and the community couldnโ€™t be more excited.

The new Valorant map, which is expected to take players into a location deeply connected to Sageโ€™s past, hits the live servers only a few days after the conclusion of the event. Early teasers have shown a temple-inspired environment with Chinese architectural influences, and it will likely feature a Radiant training academy hidden within a mountain valley.

Valorant Masters London Showmatch: Date and Time

Riot Games has confirmed that the highly anticipated reveal will take place on June 21, just ahead of the Masters London Grand Finals, giving viewers an early preview before the map officially arrives in the game on June 24. The Showmatch will kick off at around 2:00 PM BST/ 6:00 AM PST.

The showmatch will feature two creator-led teams captained by Megsoundslikeegg and Ailincia. Players from both teams will battle it out on the new map, allowing fans to see its full layout for the first time.

Valorant Masters London Showmatch: How to Watch

Fans looking to catch the action live can watch the new map reveal through Valorant Esports’ official Twitch and YouTube channels.

The showmatch continues Riot Games’ tradition of unveiling major content during international Valorant events. Previously, weโ€™ve seen the Valorant devs unveil several new Agents, maps, and even game modes through similar all-star showmatches.

The community interest regarding the upcoming Valorant map seems to be particularly high, as Riot has revealed very few details ahead of the event. As a result, fans and pros alike are eager to see how the map turns out and how it could influence the competitive meta for the next season.

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