Valorant LAN Event Shifts to Counter-Strike 2 as No Teams Register

In a surprising turn of events, Fragadelphia, a well-known North American Counter-Strike tournament organizer, had to switch their planned Valorant LAN event to a Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament. This change came after not a single team signed up for the Valorant competition.

Fragadelphia is famous for being a platform where many great North American esports talents started their careers. They had scheduled the Valorant LAN, named Frag/ment, from March 15 to 17 at the TAP Esports Center in Philadelphia. However, two weeks after the announcement, they faced the unexpected situation of having zero teams registered for the event.

The organizers initially hoped to attract 32 teams for a three-day competition. But due to the lack of interest, they decided to pivot to CS2. Fragadelphia made this decision public through a tweet on January 29, 2024, confirming the switch to a CS2 event.

The timing of the original Valorant tournament might have contributed to the lack of sign-ups. The dates clashed with the start of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Challengers and Game Changers seasons. Additionally, many partnered VCT teams would have been unable to participate due to the Masters Madrid event happening simultaneously.

Despite this setback for their Valorant plans, Fragadelphia has a history of successfully organizing Valorant tournaments, especially during the game's early days in 2020. Teams that later became famous, like Together We Are Terrific (later EnvyUs and OpTic) and mouseSpaz (the original TSM squad), have won their tournaments in the past.

The switch to CS2 marks a significant shift for Fragadelphia but reflects the dynamic nature of esports events and the importance of aligning with the community's interests.