Rex Regum Qeon Upsets Fans After Revealing Valorant Roster Ahead of 2023 VCT Season
Cover-Credits:
Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ) announced its new Valorant roster that will be competing in the upcoming 2023 season of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT). After noticing that the Indonesian team has just one Indonesian player, fans from the country have been visibly upset on social media platforms and have also started an online petition to get the team banned from the upcoming international league.
Indonesian fans want RRQ removed from the APAC league
Eroll Jule "EJAY" Delfin, Nathaniel "Nexi" Cabero, Emmanuel "Emman" Morales, James "2ge" Goopio, and Kelly "kellyS" Sedillo have been signed to the roster and none of them are from Indonesia. David "Tehbotol" Monangin is the only player from the country and the team seems to have finalized the roster which means that we will not be seeing any more Indonesian players signed to the roster.
A Change.org petition has been filed by fans and the fanbase also wants to get Riot Games’ attention. The petition states that RRQ is a well-known Indonesian organization and it promised to represent its home country, but the promises have not been kept with foreign players being signed to the roster.
The petition also claims that the organization pays the bare minimum salary and it “isn't what franchising of Valorant esports scene is supposed to be.” Fans want Riot Games to step in and take action.
As long as RRQ has not broken any terms of the league, there may be no action taken against the team as long as it meets all requirements and adheres to Riot Games’ guidelines. In the Americas league, Sentinels has signed two Brazilian players and one player from the United Kingdom while the Asia-Pacific league’s Global Esports is looking to sign international players and field a 10-player roster.
While RRQ’s actions may be within Riot Games’ guidelines, fan sentiment goes a long way in shaping the future of esports organizations. If the team indeed broke promises to its fans, the pushback from the Indonesian community was to be expected. Indonesian Valorant fans on social media platforms are saying RRQ will not receive support even if it performs well next year.
Team Secret has a Filipino roster representing the Philippines and Thailand has Talon Esports representing Thai fans but the RRQ squad has just one player from Indonesia and fans feel that Tehbotol is being treated like a “token” player just to keep fans from being upset and his skills could be better used in a team that respects him as a player.
