Acend Club were the very first champions of VALORANT, but now they’ve announced an exit from the popular esport title.
In esports, a year can seem like forever. Just imagine how it feels for Acend Club, when you look back at their successful 2021 in VALORANT. That was multiple years ago, and the ecosystem of the esport they once dominated has completely changed.
The first VALORANT Champions delivered us some of the brightest stars of the EMEA partnership era, but they've struggled since hoisting that trophy. And now, with an apparent downturn of the Tier 2 VALORANT scene, Acend will not take part in the Riot Games title for 2025.
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Acend Club announces they will not participate in VALORANT in 2025
Acend Club delivered a message via their official X account. A two-image, rather lengthy statement came forth reminiscing about the past, thanking fans for their support, and advising they are backing out of VALORANT for the time being.
For those newer to VALORANT esports, Acend was once at the top. They won Europe Stage 1 Masters in 2021, followed by an end-of-year triumph. The team became the very first ever VALORANT Champions winners, hoisting the trophy in Berlin.
Unfortunately, though, they were not chosen as a partnered organization for the formation of the international leagues. They'd have to fight through Challengers and Ascension, like so many others. In 2023, they ended Ascension in 3rd Place, but did not make it back to the tournament in 2024.
This was the team that gave us our first look at Mehmet "cNed" İpek, and gave opportunities to the likes of Patryk "starxo" Kopczyński, Aleksander "zeek" Zygmunt, Vladyslav "Kiles" Shvets, and Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi.
Since that trophy lift, things just haven't been the same for Acend Club. And they state it is partially due to the Tier 2 ecosystem Riot has forced upon the game. That leads into their decision to exit VALORANT for the foreseeable future:
"With truly heavy hearts we must announce today that Acend Club will not be participating in VALORANT esports in 2025. The increasingly hostile ecosystem has simply made it untenable to responsibly run a team."
They end their farewell by saying they hope to see us all on stage again someday. A storied esports club like Acend, as the first ever VALORANT Champions, deserves much better. So, we hope to see them on stage again, too.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for more esports news and VALORANT coverage.
