Valorant Champions 2022 is supposed to be the culmination of a year-long struggle for teams to cement themselves as the best international play has to offer. For the most part, that has been true in practice: dramatic finishes, huge comebacks, the ongoing narrative of LOUD vs. OpTic for international dominance, and more have all been storylines present in İstanbul, Türkiye. Yesterday’s XSET vs. FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) match was supposed to be more of the same, and until round 24 of the third and final map, it was. Then, suddenly, it wasn’t – a Killjoy turret bug threw the match into chaos, and lack of communication on behalf of Riot Games threw its professional players under the bus.
The Killjoy turret bug is a well-known factor in the game, and one that has been around for an extensive period of time. Essentially, the turret doesn’t always function exactly the way it should. When an enemy enters its line of sight and then leaves it before it finishes its three-bullet firing response, it resets to face the direction it was originally placed. This can give false information, like it did during the XSET vs. FPX match, which saw the turret draw attention to a location that neither remaining FPX player was occupying. This happens somewhat frequently and is significantly less game-breaking than many other “accepted” bugs within Valorant competitive play, like the KAY/O knife’s infamous ability to fail to scan agents properly.
The context of this bug within the match, however, was that it occurred during the very last round, one which could have forced overtime if XSET won it but instead saw their tournament hopes end when FPX converted a 2 vs. 3 post-plant situation. Apparently, that was enough for Riot admins to finally deem the bug an issue, and an incredibly long delay followed with absolutely no external communication to viewers about what was going on. XSET, coming off a heated post-match accusation against OpTic that the team later walked back, had already given itself a slightly negative perception among viewers. Now, with rumors of a replayed round coming after FPX had already celebrated its victory and walked off stage, the tension turned vitriolic. Accusations without basis in fact painted XSET as the villains here, a team that was desperate for any edge and was attempting to salvage its tournament by trying to replay a lost round.
The Killjoy Turret Bug Ruling Failed Both Teams
The problem? That simply wasn’t true. FPX was also under that assumption, however, and following a remade round that FPX lost that forced overtime, it was clear on their faces just how frustrated they were. The team rallied and won in the third round of overtime, and, still under the belief that XSET had instigated the investigation, one of its players didn’t even line up for the post-match handshake line while the others were far from friendly. An hour-long delay and an unfair remake will frustrate even the most even-tempered player, and FPX, a team notorious for its banter, weren’t going to miss a chance to let people know how upsetting the Valorant ruling was.
Only when the post-match media interviews began did the truth come to light: that XSET did not ask for the round to be remade or investigated, and that the team had already begun its post-loss debrief when Riot indicated that there was an issue with the Killjoy turret that may necessitate them returning to the stage. This lack of communication negatively affected everyone involved. XSET was confused but understandably interested in a last-second hail mary to save its tournament, while FPX was outraged it would have to essentially win twice to advance. Viewers, under the assumption that XSET was complaining because of its behavior after the OpTic match, began criticizing the team and its players – often in a brutal, unnecessary, and harmful fashion. The dogpiling continued post-match, with several less than sportsmanlike tweets from FPX about XSET and an attempt by the team’s coach to defuse the situation:
Essentially, both teams lost: XSET were portrayed as unethical villains when they were just as confused by the ruling as everyone else, while FPX were criticized as sore winners when they were upset by what they perceived to be detrimental behavior from their opponents due to lack of official communication. Riot’s inability to clarify what was happening in the many, many minutes between the match’s original conclusion and its replayed rounds is both inexcusable and baffling. It underlines a lack of understanding about the scrutiny professional players face in today’s social media environment, and put crosshairs for toxic, aggressive, and upsetting comments on young pros who absolutely didn’t deserve it. Even if XSET had asked for a replay – and to be clear, the team is adamant it did not – this behavior from fans would be unacceptable, but the fact that it occurred for hours without Riot feeling the need to clarify its place in the investigation was absurd.
XSET deserved better. Its run cemented it as a team that was no longer the underdog, but an international threat in competition, with stellar play from stars Cryocells and Zekken supported by long-underrated players AYRIN, BcJ, and dephh. They were happy to embrace the villain role when it was fun, playing to the crowd and creating an interesting sub-narrative at Champions. FPX deserved better. The team that simply will not lose in the lower bracket continued its sublime run of form, and in-game leader ANGE1 rallied his troops from several potentially devastating round losses in the XSET match to snatch an unexpected victory. The XSET vs. FPX match deserves to be remembered as an incredible series that highlights the best kind of chaos Valorant has to offer; instead, it will only be remembered for the Killjoy turret bug and the round replay.
Long-Term Problems With The Killjoy Turret Bug Replay
These are the short-term impacts. It would be irresponsible not to discuss the long-term here, however. Beyond the extreme unfairness for both XSET and FPX because of Riot’s lack of communication, there’s now also a troubling precedent set for future matches. The decision to replay the round because of a long-standing and known bug now opens the door for other replays – and how will Riot justify not doing so when it did on Ascent? Players took to social media to discuss just how awful a precedent this is, suggesting that it would be foolish for coaches not to comb replay videos for potential bug interactions that could have been influential enough to lose them a round.
The fact is, in a game with as many moving parts as Valorant, it’s virtually impossible to account for all of the bugs that will exist, especially as more and more Agents get introduced to the game. And, like any competitive game, some of these bugs end up being “tech” that pro players use to their advantage, creating an additional layer to an already complex game state. The Killjoy 1.07 patch update that Riot was likely referencing as part of the replay ruling was, frustratingly, just as vague about whether the turret was never supposed to behave the way it did on Ascent in map 3: it says that it “more effectively shoots at the enemy’s last known location,” not that it should always behave that way. It’s another clear indicator that, in a game with so much on the line for its professional players, more clear and effective communication is a necessity.
Now Riot has a massive problem on its hands. In the short-term, it owes XSET and FPX an apology for putting both teams in an impossible situation. XSET especially had the unenviable choice between attempting to win an unfairly re-made match and knowing that doing so would make them hated and losing their last chance at an international trophy in 2022 twice in the same night. FPX had to reset their emotions and, against all previous precedent in tournaments, win their match again despite having nothing to do with the Killjoy turret’s behavior patterns. Killjoy also either needs to be patched to the point that this bug is no longer replicable at all or disabled from competitive play in the tournament until its fixed, now that a ruling has emerged that clearly identifies this as something that Riot feels is unfair.
In the long-term, Riot has created an environment where it will no longer be able to shrug off buggy interactions in competitive matches as part of the game. Just because the stakes were higher for XSET and FPX in this instance doesn’t mean Riot can now ignore lesser rounds with similar bugs; that would be against competitive integrity and the precedent its now set for tournaments.
In a Valorant Champions 2022 match that initially had a clear winner after an amazing series on both sides, Riot’s inability to protect its players from unfair scrutiny, lack of foresight, and strange precedent setting has now clearly made it a series where nobody wins. That’s a disaster for an otherwise amazing tournament, and it’s something that needs to be addressed now, clearly and effectively, to start setting the right precedent for Valorant‘s future: a player-first, transparent environment where everyone feels both safe to compete and safe from any obscure administrative decisions that could upend their hard work.
Source: PlayValorant Patch Notes, XSET Syyko, FPX d00mbr0s