Breeze is not going to be featured at VALORANT Champions Tour Masters Iceland, Riot announced on May 4.
In order to uphold competitive integrity, and after coferring with professional players around the world, Riot has decided to take the new map from the rotation. With just three weeks to go and international travel coming up, Riot notes that there is not enough time for teams to practice on Breeze.
After conferring with pro players globally, in the interest of competitive integrity, Breeze has been removed from the map rotation at Masters Reykjavik.
Considering the overlap with Challenger Playoffs and travel to Iceland, 4 weeks is not enough time to practice a new map.
— VALORANT Champions Tour (@ValorantEsports) May 4, 2021
No Breeze in Iceland: the community responds with praise
The community generally supported the map’s removal. However, there had been some excitement to see Breeze debut in the professional rotation. Fans will have to wait a little longer to see the sunny map in competitive action.
Fnatic’s head coach Jacob “mini” Harris jokingly said that he and his team were “looking forward to some new map cheese.” However, he also stated that he agrees with Riot’s decision. Team Liquid’s Connor “Sliggy” Blomfield also voiced his support.
“Solid decision, with the Brazilian teams still playing their qualifiers and the potential randomness of a 6 map veto it was never going to be fair,” the Liquid coach said. “Thank you for caring about the competitive integrity. Down for a Breeze showmatch before the final or something to showcase it.”
Initially, Breeze was to be featured in Iceland with a map veto and selection process. The fans immediately scratched their heads at the decision, while casters and analysts alike worried about the competitive integrity. Whereas new agents are banned shortly before professional events, Riot had taken a risk placing Breeze in the rotation at the first VALORANT LAN event, and so shortly after its in-game debut.
The VALORANT Stage 2 Master will take place May 24 through 30, 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland. The only region yet to decide on a representing team is Latin America. On Sunday, May 9, KRÜ Esports and Infinity Esports will battle for their spot to go to LAN.
