SK Gaming refused to join the VALORANT partner league

According to the BLIX.gg portal, the German esports organization SK Gaming has refused to join the VALORANT partner league. Initially, the club wanted to become a full partner of Riot Games, despite the lack of a discipline roster, but later changed its mind due to influence from sponsors.

Apart from the competitive nature of franchising, limited to eight to ten slots per region, the European and especially German market is very reluctant to activate first person shooter (FPS) games. Based on the statements of Alexander Muller, CEO of SK Gaming, such games focus too much on the confrontation of the parties, which is why sponsors refuse to cooperate with the club.

It is for this reason that the club left the CS:GO discipline, although in the past it was one of the most successful on the scene in terms of results and financial performance. Although the specific names of the sponsors that influenced the decision of SK Gaming to leave the shooter from Valve are not named, immediately after leaving CS: GO, the organization signed contracts with Mercedes-Benz and T-Mobile.

More recently, a source close to the situation confirmed that the current board members and directors of SK Gaming, some of whom are shareholders in the club's sponsors including Mercedes-Benz, T-Mobile and REWE, have come to a joint agreement that they will no longer qualify for a slot in a VALORANT partner league. In addition, the organization will not be represented in any video games, especially shooters that are in the 16+ age category. This is all part of SK Gaming's shift towards a “less violent gaming” focus and its goal over the past few years to provide more family-friendly content.

The SK Gaming organization is currently represented in disciplines such as Brawl Stars, Clash Royale, League of Legends, and Rocket League, all of which are eligible for younger children.

SK Gaming is not the first esports organization to face similar challenges and abandon its expansion in order to meet the demands of sponsors. Germany-based Schalke 04 Esports and Splyce Gaming, among others, have faced similar challenges. According to BLIX.gg, there are a number of other organizations that may choose not to partner with Riot Games for similar reasons.

What's next for the VALORANT Partner League?

Earlier it was reported that more than 150 esports organizations submitted offers to Riot Games for the opportunity to join the partner program to participate in VALORANT next year.Just over 200 organizations expressed tentative interest, but some were unable to provide additional information to support their application. However, out of the 150 remaining, only a small number of teams will be able to partner with Riot Games.

However, their numbers are starting to drop sharply as some clubs have already reported being denied entry to the league by the developers. For example, the Shopify Rebellion organization has openly expressed its dissatisfaction with the Riot Games decision, but did not abandon its two discipline rosters.

A maximum of 10 teams will compete in the North America, Brazil and Latin America franchise league starting next year. However, this number is not final and may change. Teams such as Sentinels, Cloud9, 100 Thieves, Version1, TSM, T1, CLG, The Guard, OpTic Gaming, XSET and more have already reported submissions.

Organizations have also been allowed to apply for an additional region if needed, according to multiple sources. For example, G2 Esports has applied to join the European and American leagues.

In any case, the number of organizations that are left out of the league for next season will only increase in the coming weeks. At the same time, Riot Games is unlikely to abandon its original plans and change the number of participants.

List of teams that managed to apply for membership in the affiliate program

Europe: Team Vitality, Karmine Corp, Team BDS, Team KOI, Team Heretics, Giants, MAD Lions, Rebels, Arctic, fnatic, Guild Esports, Excel, BBL Esports, Fenerbahce, SuperMassive Blaze, Alliance, Falcons, FunPlus Phoenix, Acend, Team Liquid and Heroic.

Americas: KRU Esports, Leviatan, Infinity, LOUD, FURIA, Cloud9, TSM, Akrew, 100 Thieves, FaZe Clan, CLG, Sentinels, Guard, OpTic Gaming, XSET, Complexity Gaming, Evil Geniuses and T1.