VALORANT Esports Head Addresses Pro Burnout Concerns

Since the end of Champions 2023, there have been numerous discussions about the packed 2023 and 2024 pro VALORANT schedule, with many expressing concern about the increased risk of player burnout. While these concerns have been heard at Riot Games, changes won’t be made until 2025.

The head of VALORANT esports, Leo Faria, confirmed that the current competitive calendar “is a bit too tight from February to August and sparse from September to January.” Starting in 2025, the VCT competition will be more spaced out, with the season starting earlier and ending later while the number of events stays the same. This will allow for more time off between events, which is something that players have been asking for.

VALORANT Esports boss says the solution won’t come before 2025

The packed VCT 2023 schedule was a major concern amongst some of the players on the teams that made multiple deep runs at international events. At Champions 2023, players on Fnatic and Evil Geniuses expressed how tired they were after deep playoff runs at Masters Tokyo and Champions, with little time off between.

Pro players have also shared greatly in that success. From the $33 million in digital items shared this year, teams distributed close to $12 million to players and coaches (35% on average). Riot also paid a total of $4.5 million in prize pools, of which over $3 million were… pic.twitter.com/HzjaagnbMt

— Leo Faria (@lhfaria) December 11, 2023

The 2024 schedule has also raised concerns about potential player burnout, especially with a kickoff series, a regular season split, and two Masters events before the middle of the calendar year. Former Team Liquid coach turned content creator Connor “Sliggy” Blomfield remarked that he expected fans to hear about player burnout “maybe 10 times the amount” it was heard about in 2023.

Another goal for 2024 is to design a season with better progression, where the stakes and scale of competitions increase as we go deeper into the calendar. We loved starting 2023 with a tournament and want to make that an evergreen part of the sport moving forward. Starting on… pic.twitter.com/YweZPPkonT

— Leo Faria (@lhfaria) December 11, 2023

More details on the 2025 schedule will be shared next year, but this news comes as a relief to players preparing for a busy 2024. In the meantime, players will have to continue to manage their schedules and take care of their physical and mental health to avoid burnout.

Hopefully the pro players can hold out for another year on the verge of burnout until an improvement is finally in sight.