What to expect from VALORANT Masters Madrid 2024
For the first international tournament of 2024, Valorant visits Madrid. In seven days, the Madrid Arena will host eight VCT International League teams competing for the VALORANT Masters Madrid title.
Let’s look at what the event has to offer.
A Brand New Format
Starting 14th March, the eight representatives from four regions will take on each other in a brand new format. For the first time, VCT 2024 introduces the SWISS stage.
Valorant Masters Madrid SWISS Format and match-ups (credit: Valorant / Riot Games)In the first stage of competition, eight teams will take on each other in a swiss format. You can check out the match-ups and details of the format here.
But, the new format ensures more games, more interesting match-ups with just eight teams. The format is especially comforting for the viewers that will get more Valorant action. The playoffs will still feature a double-elimination format, continuing the traditions.
New Team, New Faces
Along with the new format, the tournament features some new faces. The last two years, while we have had some new teams and players on the big stage, the top four/eight have been the same names.
At Madrid, we have three international debutante teams. Gen.G, Karmine Corp and Team Heretics.
The majority of these teams feature new faces. While these teams have played LOCK//IN, it'd be their first time qualifying.
We will cover some of these interesting debutantes in a separate article. It will be interesting to see how these new teams rise up to the challenge against the old guards of Valorant.
This holds especially true for EMEA, where Fnatic, the former best team, fell to Karmine Corp. Both the EMEA represetatives are debuntante qualifiers.
The tournament will also help to determine the strength of individual regions and how they fare against each other, setting the stage for the rest of the season.
Returning Champions
With the new teams, we will have some amazing returning teams, some with new names, some with returning champions.
One such returning Champion is Tyson “TenZ” Ngo, the prodigal son returns to the center stage after 932 days along with his new Sentinels squad featuring Zachary “Zekken” Patrone, Jordan “Zellsis” Montemurro, Gustova “Sacy” Rossi and Mohamed “johnqt” Amine Ouarid.
Sentinels defeat LOUD to secure VCT Americas Kickoff (credits: Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)
We will also see Zheng “ZmjjKK” Yongkang and EDward Gaming and FunPlus Phoenix return to the big stage, representing the new VCT CN.
The fan-favorites LOUD and Paper Rex will also return to the big stage with a new member and will take on the new challengers.
Agent Reveal
Masters Madrid will also be an exhibition for the upcoming VALORANT agent.
Codenamed FrogRave, the new agent will be showcased at the VCT Masters Madrid Grand Finals day in a showmatch preceding the Grand Finals itself.
Agent 25 will be the sixth controller to join the VALORANT protocol. They are rumored to have some form of self-revival, it will be interesting to see how the new agent shapes the meta. Especially since the last few agent releases have been underwhelming.
Valorant Masters Madrid will not only set the stage for the rest of the competitive year, but also for the new VALORANT agent.
The event features teams endorsed by some of the most passionate and the largest fan bases and will definitely set viewership records for the future events.
With the games increasing popularity and Riot Games’ efforts to promote the esports scene, Madrid will be an event to remember.
Follow the tournament on Strafe.
Featured Image Credits: Riot Games
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