It looks like Valorant fans won’t be able to see their favorite pros compete in the game’s latest map ‘Breeze’ at VCT Masters Reykjavík. The official Valorant Champions Tour Twitter account revealed that the new map has been removed from the Masters Reykjavík map rotation in the "interest of competitive integrity." Riot removed the map after discussing the map’s entry into competitive play with pro players and decided to remove it from the event. The studio feels that four weeks of practice is not enough for pro players to get accustomed to the new map. The maps available at the Masters event include Haven, Bind, Ascent, Icebox, and Split.
Why Did Riot Games Remove Breeze From VCT Masters Reykjavík
The upcoming event overlaps with the Challenger Playoffs and players will be traveling to Iceland, which reduces the amount of time they will get to practice on the new map. With just four weeks between the map’s release and Valorant’s first international event, Riot Games decided to not include Breeze in the competitive map rotation for now.
Breeze was introduced to the game on April 27, and players have had very little time to practice on the new map. Some teams are still competing to qualify for the Masters event, which will put them at a disadvantage compared to other teams who already qualified and have more time to practice. Riot Games discussed the inclusion of the map with pro players and after receiving feedback, the studio canned the idea of including the map.
The new map received a lot of positive feedback unlike Icebox, which was met with mixed reviews. Streamer and former pro player Shroud called Breeze the best map Riot Games has released so far. He talked about how “The synergy between all the characters and sh*t is huge. You don’t just have one smoke blocking a hallway, and you’re good to go. You need to work together, use real utility to take a site.”
With Breeze being removed, all competing players at VCT Masters Reykjavík will be playing on Haven, Bind, Ascent, Icebox, and Split. The event kicks off on May 24 and 10 teams will be competing for circuit points for the Valorant Champions event which will take place towards the end of 2021. Currently the teams that have already qualified include:
- Sentinels
- Version1
- Team Liquid
- Fnatic
- NUTURN
- Crazy Raccoon
- X10 Esports
Two teams from Brazil and LATAM are yet to qualify as the qualifiers are still ongoing. It is currently unknown when Breeze will debut in the competitive map rotation in the ongoing Valorant Champions Tour.
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