Heretics, Giants and BBL round up EMEA as franchising debate heats up

Winners of international Valorant events are failing to get franchised, G2 pay the consequences and T1 Valorant are at a crossroads.

One spot left in EMEA franchising

Just a day after the NA madness unfolded, we got an update on the EMEA franchising list. Spanish organizations like Team Heretics and Giants Gaming are joining the EMEA international league. This combination of Spanish household names and skyrocketing popularity joins the already announced EMEA participants list. Despite mixed results in the Valorant scene, we can understand Riot’s reasoning behind the Heretics’ acceptance. An organization on the rise, that also recently became a part of Riot’s LEC competition, checks all of the marks. BBL Esports are going to be the Turkish representatives in the EMEA international league, after being accepted for franchising. This leaves only one spot up for grabs and rumors are swirling. Reports say, Guild, Excel, and G2 have been notified that they are out, with BIG and Futbolist having the best odds to make it. Valorant Champions 2021 winners, Ascend, are also unlikely to get franchised, being joined by Masters Copenhagen winners FPX. 

G2 Esports fumble the bag

G2 Esports also find themselves in a peculiar position. Our article covering NA franchising discussed how the recent controversy surrounding their CEO Carlos “Ocelote” Rodriguez forced Riot’s hand. Reports are claiming that G2 had initially secured a spot in the Americas league, but when faced with backlash regarding their affiliation with Andrew Tate, G2 dropped the ball. Riot weren’t satisfied with how the entire situation was handled and the PR nightmare it caused, so MIBR got G2’s spot. TSM and FaZe have also suffered in Riot’s eyes due to controversy and fiscal liquidity. XSET and Version1 are two young and promising rosters that will probably lose their best players to the upcoming roster shuffles and be forced to settle for tier two competition. 

FPX,PRX likely out of franchising

In the EMEA. its very unlikely that Valorant Champions 2021 winners, Ascend and Masters Copenhagen winners FPX, will make franchising. Gambit Esports have disbanded after winning the Stage 3 Masters in Berlin, with their players recently hitting free agency. OpTic are failed to qualify for franchising after scoring top three finishes in the last three international events, and having the best Valorant player in the world on their roster. On the other side of the world, rumors are circulating that APAC champions and fan favorite, PaperRex, will also disband if they fail to franchise. With so much pressure being put on teams, the debate about franchising rears its head.

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