In a recent video by Thinking Man’s Valorant titled “Kick Off Brackets Revealed & It’s Gonna Have Problems!”, he discusses the kick off brackets for Valorant and raises concerns about potential problems the tournament may face.
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Key Takeaways:
- Seeding based on last year’s performance may not accurately reflect the current strength of teams.
- The play-in format could result in tiebreakers based on map and round differentials, which may not determine the best teams.
- The single elimination format for qualifying may lead to potential upsets and the exclusion of top teams from international events.
- Proposed solution: Have stages before the Masters tournaments and a separate LCQ tournament before Champs for better seeding and qualification process.
Seeding and Group Composition
Thinking Man’s Valorant points out that the seeding for the kickoff tournament is based on last year’s performance, which may not accurately reflect the current strength of the teams. He highlights the potential for an unfairly difficult group (Group B in Americas) and an easier group (Group A in Americas) due to inaccurate seeding.
The Play-In Format
The play-in format raises concerns for tiebreakers. Thinking Man’s Valorant suggests that it is likely that at least one league will have multiple teams with a 1-1 record, leading to tiebreakers based on map and round differentials. He argues that this may not be the best way to determine the best teams and could result in potentially unfair eliminations.
Single Elimination Format
While Thinking Man’s Valorant expresses personal enjoyment of single elimination formats, he questions its suitability for qualifying tournaments. He argues that for international events, it is important to have the best teams represented, and single elimination may lead to potential upsets and the exclusion of top teams.
Proposed Solution
Thinking Man’s Valorant suggests an alternative approach to the kickoff tournament. He proposes having separate stages before the Masters tournaments and a final LCQ tournament before Champs. This would allow for better seeding based on current performance and a fairer qualification process.
These are just some of the concerns and suggestions raised by Thinking Man’s Valorant regarding the kickoff tournament format. It will be interesting to see how Riot addresses these potential issues and if any changes are made in the future.
