Riot to give different award for VCT Pacific Stage 1 winner after viral “cardboard” presented to Gen.G

After VALORANT fans all over the world reacted to how VCT Pacific Kickoff Winner Gen.G only got a cardboard poster following their win, Riot Games says they will give a more meaningful award to the winner of VCT Pacific Stage 1.

Riot Games’ head of VALORANT Esports APAC Jake Sin said, after so many questions came from the final, the team decided to explain their thought process behind the award.

“We wanted to reserve the trophy for our eventual Season Champions because that’s the achievement we want to commemorate with the biggest impact… Winning Kickoff is of course an astonishing achievement in and of itself, but it simply does not compare to winning the Season. It’s literally called “Kickoff” – it’s a start, not the finale,” Jake said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter.)

Sin also went on to explain the rationale behind the lack of a trophy for Kickoff, saying they reserved the honor for the Season Champions.

“Having a trophy for each part of the season would have diluted the effect. Note that we deliberately do not call Kickoff winners “Champions” because we decided that Championship means winning the entire Season,” Sin added.

Days after the ending of VCT Pacific, fans took to social media to express their disdain for the said board, which looks like the size of a mock check usually presented to winners of esports tournaments.

Sin went on to explain, “for anyone who hadn’t noticed, the “cardboard” was actually a not-so-subtle nod to Gen.G’s team capsule (player card), and we were hoping to give our winners some valuable air time and photo opps to help promote their skins. It was never intended as a replacement for a real trophy.”

Sin also committed to having a new reward for the Stage 1 winner but keeping the theme of receiving a trophy being reserved for the Season Champion.

“But we heard you loud and clear, this missed the mark on doing the winning team justice, so we’ll think of a more meaningful way to celebrate the winners for Stage 1. If you have any brilliant ideas (which isn’t a trophy) leave a reply and I’ll consider it! Thank you always for your feedback,” Sin said.

Users quickly pointed out suggestions which support Sin’s claim – with some suggesting medals, a Spike, or even a smaller trophy.

Gen.G’s win marks their first major VCT Pacific title, done in a dominant fashion against 2023 VCT Pacific Champions, Paper Rex. The Korea-based squad defeated PRX, 3-1, last February 25th.

Gen.G and PRX will both represent the APAC region in VALORANT Masters Madrid, which happens from March 14-24, 2024, in Spain.