Riot Games has postponed all 2022 VCT EMEA Stage 1 Challengers Week 3 matches due to the ongoing Ukraine conflict with Russia. The games were originally scheduled to be played Friday through Sunday, and Riot said it would release an updated schedule as soon as possible.

“Our community’s welfare is integral to us and at this time, our number one priority is to support the players, casters, staff, and fans affected by the escalating crisis in Ukraine,” according to the official statement on the Valorant Champions Tour EMEA Twitter account.



Riot postpones VCT EMEA Challengers Week 3 games

There are several Russian and Ukrainian players taking part in the VCT EMEA Challengers Group Stage on teams like Gambit Esports, FunPlus Phoenix, Natus Vincere, and Acend.

Most of them play for Valorant Champions 2021 runner-up Gambit, which has an all-Russian roster. FunPlus Phoenix also fields an international roster comprising both Russian and Ukrainian players.

VCT EMEA Challengers Week 3 postponed ANGE1 Ukraine conflict
Screenshot by Koh Wanzi/ONE Esports

FPX’s Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov, who is Ukrainian, tweeted about waking up to the sound of explosions. His Russian teammates Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky and Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin have come out in support of ending the conflict, while Gambit Esports players Nikita “d3ffo” Sudakov and Igor “Redgar” Vlasov have similarly expressed disbelief at the situation.

Matches scheduled today for the Valorant Regional Leagues CIS: Milestone and VRL France: Revolution have also been postponed.

The VCT NA Stage 1 Challengers matches appear unaffected for now.

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