Making the best of a difficult situation, Riot awards FPX with prize money and VCT points for VCT Masters Reykjavik.
Last week, FunPlus Phoenix won the Valorant Challengers EMEA after a 3-1 victory over G2 esports. But the fun was short-lived for the players as the very next day, Riot announced Team Liquid would replace FPX at Masters Reykjavik.
It was a tough decision but necessitated due to travel restrictions for some of the FPX players. Ange1, Shao and SUYGETSU were unable to leave their countries for Iceland, FunPlus Phoenix said shortly after Riot's decision.
Riot awards FunPlus Phoenix with VCT points and prize money
In accordance with their original announcement, Riot Games has now unveiled the prize money and Points distribution for FunPlus Phoenix. Their inability to attend the Masters event is on account of circumstances outside their control.
In a tweet today, Riot announced that FunPlus Phoenix would get points and prize money equivalent to the last place finish at the event.
"Following the announcement that FunPlus Phoenix would not be able to attend VCT Masters in Reykjavík, we have made the decision to award FPX the equivalent of an 8th place finish, which is the lowest placement they could have achieved at the event. The team will be awarded 200 circuit points and $25,000 in prize money."
As the topper of the Group stage, FunPlus Phoenix would have started directly in the playoffs.
"Team Liquid who got FPX’s Reykjavik slot will get VCT points and prize money as per their performance at the Masters event. They will, however, not receive any points for their performance in Challengers. Riot had originally awarded them 55 VCT points for their fourth-place finish in the EMEA Challengers 1."
Riot found itself in a difficult situation as FunPlus Phoenix players were unable to travel to Iceland, despite winning EMEA Challengers. With this decision, Riot has made the best of a difficult situation, ensuring FPX secure the minimum VCT points and prize money they would have won if they attended Reykjavik Masters.
G2 esports to start directly in Masters playoffs
The VCT Masters Reykjavik, Iceland is poised to bring together the best teams from across the world. After several competitive Challenger series, there are 12 teams that will compete in a LAN environment.
The Guard won the Challengers event in North America, while FunPlus Phoenix had an exciting finish against G2 in EMEA. FunPlus Phoenix cruised through the upper bracket of the playoffs, with its only map loss coming against G2 in the Grand Finals.
“Going through straight to playoffs and avoiding groups I think is pretty nuts as a reward for being a one-seed”
The VCT Masters Reykjavik kicks off on April 10 with two groups of four teams each. The top-seeded teams from each region, G2 esports, The Guard, Paper Rex and Loud will start their VCT Masters journey in the playoffs.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Valorant news and updates.