Fan feedback is shaping Valorant Masters Berlin into an esports experience the players want to see. The latest change concerns the Knockout Stage.
Riot is by no means a newbie when it comes to esports but intimate knowledge on how to organise a MOBA tournament might have proven non-transferable when it comes to putting together an esports event centred around an online competitive shooter like Valorant.
Valorant Masters Berlin was going to take on a format culminating in a four-team single elimination bracket due to some concerns that an eight-team Knockout Stage would have to kick off on the same day the Group Stage would come to a close, giving some of the teams little to no time to prepare.
A recent announcement by Alex Francois, head of Competitive Operations for Valorant Esports brought the news of a change.
This is a case of the community chiming in and helping the organisers produce an event everyone can enjoy. After hearing the feedback, Riot decided to move the Knockout Stage draw closer to the start of the tournament, which means the teams will have a clearer and earlier idea of who they'd be facing off against, giving them time to get ready for their first Knockout Stage match.
This has posed one additional requirement which is that the Knockout Stage schedule will need to be set after the draw. Doing things this way will see the final match in each group done away with in favour of a switch to an eight-team single-elimination bracket Knockout Stage.
More information about Valorant's esports scene will be available next week.
