Valorant

Firstly, yes, I am female. Yes, I have a masculine name. I love playing FPS games, especially team based ones like Overwatch and Valorant, which often require team communication in order to win. However, I rarely talk. Why? Because I am female. Just look up videos talking about or showing the female gaming experience on YouTube and you’ll know exactly why. Rude remarks, people making a big fuss just because I sound like a girl and people blaming me for doing badly solely because of my gender and not because of my lack of skill. The list goes on.

From gaming’s early, experimental days (think Doom 1993) to gaming becoming a multi billion dollar industry today, first-person shooter (FPS) games have always been a popular staple. The FPS scene consistently graces us with iconic games and franchises (who DOESN'T know Call of Duty?) and has constantly evolved, becoming a hub for game developers to innovate and create new experiences. As we usher in the new year, let’s look back at what FPS games have impacted us the most in 2021.

Arguably Riot Games’ biggest international tournament yet, Valorant Champions had ended off with a bang last Sunday on 12 December after the two strongest teams, Team Gambit and Acend had duked it out in the grand finals. With the latter emerging victorious with a score of 13-8, Team Acend managed to secure the Valorant Champions 2021 title and the much sought after prize pool of $350,000. 

Well folks, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. One year. Two major tournaments. More than 10,000 teams watered down to just 16. It has all come down to this, the top dogs of the Valorant esports scene battling it out to be crowned the first ever Valorant Champion. Here, we find three Southeast Asian (SEA) teams – Thailand’s X10 CRIT and FULL SENSE and the Philippines' Team Secret – amongst the best of the best, and we couldn't be prouder. But...we can’t help but wonder: what ARE their chances in this global tournament, full of hungry, hungry competitors?

With their win at the Valorant Championship Tour 2021: APAC Last Chance Qualifier, Thailand's FULL SENSE qualify for the FIRST ever Valorant Champions. Congratulations all around but rarely do people see the effort and journey to the top. To get a better grasp of their spectacular abilities, let's take a look at the group's CRAZY highlights in s

Hailing from Thailand, FULL SENSE’s Valorant rooster officially debuted in February 2021, over half a year after Valorant’s release. However, this roster wouldn’t stay long. In April, the entire team saw new faces. With the promotion of Nattawat “SuperBusS” Yoosawat to the active roster, the team was finally settled (for now) in June.

The Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Stage 3 Masters in Berlin may be all the rage now in Valorant-verse. But also the talk of the town is the new Valorant content Riot Games recently released. It is something that has all players, pros or not (us, unfortunately), rejoicing. We know, we know... we haven't been posting much about Valorant lately. But with the Zedd collaboration, new battle pass and map, how can we stay silent any longer? As part of the Valorant craze, we are devoting Meme Monday to Valorant’s latest stuff, including the, uh, new agent.

A sea of boom bots, clouds of Jett’s cloudburst, a barrage of Breach’s blinds and a maze of Sage’s wall. Valorant’s newest game mode, Replication has ushered in a new wave of chaotic energy into the fast-paced first-person shooter.

The American-based game developer will hold their tournaments at Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena, Rekjavik, Iceland. With 2 of Riot’s largest games in one premise, could this be the start of Riot Games’ equivalent to Blizzcon? Perhaps a Riotcon?

The Kartini Day Ladies Showdown, held on April 21 and organised by online gaming payment platform UniPin and Riot Games SEA, aimed to increase awareness in sexual violence against women.