How Important Is It To Do Well In VALORANT Kick Off?

VALORANT Champions Tour has a few different tournaments of different names based on the region they’re played in, and the aptly named Kick Off, is important for a lot of teams. How important is it to take home those wins at this point in the VALORANT season though?

How much does Kick Off matter for VALORANT teams?

Rather unhelpfully, the answer does vary depending on who you ask. For the teams that are in it for a brisk 2-0, a round of handshakes and a trip back to the team hotel, they’ll tell you it’s not as impactful as you might think. But for a lot of fans, who are getting often their first look at new rosters and existing cores for the year, Kick Off can be a great indicator for future performances.

That’s not to say that the team that wins Kick Off is going to do well in the regular season, or if it’ll be an indicator on their strength going into internationals. We’ve seen teams have pretty middling Kick Off runs while the team was in flux but go on a legendary run to get the job done when it matters most.

Some teams, like Evil Geniuses and Apeks, will be using these tournaments to try out and warm up their new rosters in time for the first Masters event of the year.

But, calling Kick Off unimportant is cope, plain and simple. For big teams, it’s a chance to get your big fanbases to make big noise if you go on a run. The deeper you make it through the double elimination bracket, the more chances you and your fans get to make some noise and highlights.

Kick off is a fan experience

For fans getting in at the start of the season, early results from kick offs can give them a chance to see how they’re teams are looking early on in the season. Teams can capture the attention of new viewers and solidify your place as one of the more popular orgs.

How else is Zellsis going to shill the SEN Bundle if Sentinels get eliminated 0-2? Winning head to heads against other popular teams gives you a great chance to make a name for your teams. 100 Thieves vs Sentinels in the Americas Kick Off had some of the loudest yappers facing off, printing plenty of highlights in the process. And its a matchup that might not have happened until they’re forced to play each other in the regular season if either of them stumbled in Kick Off.

What if your team is bad in Kick Off?

As always, consistency matters. Teams like NRG that found themselves in the lower bracket round 1 after a close loss aren’t in as much of dire straights like Global Esports for example. Both teams have massive fanbases, and have had some shakey results as an org that has fans keeping eagle eyes on their performance.

But NRG did brilliantly in the off season thanks to the SOOP League, coming out in first place and showing that the team’s new look was drilled and polished. Global, on the other hand, despite VISA issues are more under pressure to make something happen in Kick Off so fans aren’t breathing down their necks as early in the season, especially without the previous selling point of Indian talent.

Most teams are realistic. Not everyone can win kick off, with expected favorites like EDG not expected to have any trouble on route to a freebie win. But putting up a fight is important for fostering goodwill for your team. Even losing 2-0 can spell good things for the team if new blood puts up some monster stats as we’ve seen with players like Florescent.

If you’re not a fan of one of the big teams, the goal is to look “good enough” that there’s some hope and momentum behind your team. And if you’re at the top, its hoping that your team isn’t getting caught up to by the middle of the pack and their roster shuffles. On the one hand, if you get knocked into the elimination bracket, just means you’ll get even more screen time when you go on a run.