Riot Games has revealed that it made a mistake during the live draw for the second Swiss stage matches of VALORANT Masters Santiago that are set to commence today (February 2nd).
During yesterday’s live broadcast, a team was placed in the wrong position, resulting in the incorrect placement of the remaining teams.
Following the incorrect draw, Leo Faria revealed that the tournament organiser had made a mistake and announced that Riot Games would repeat the draw with the teams in the correct positions. As a result of the new draw, the updated second round of matches are as follows:
- Paper Rex vs NRG
- Gentle Mates vs Team Liquid
- Edward Gaming vs T1
- XLG vs G2 Esports
“The mistake shouldn’t have happened, and it took us too long to address it,” wrote Faria on social media. “Ultimately, we had to choose between three to four hours of wasted prep or running the rest of the tournament knowing the draw was incorrect. The answer was clear. Apologies to the teams who have to deal with this curveball in an already tight schedule.”
The opening day of VALORANT’s first international tournament began on February 28th, with Gentle Mates and NRG beginning their campaigns with victories. Elsewhere, G2 Esports and T1 suffered defeats in their first matches, putting the two sides on the brink of elimination.
The Impact Of A Redraw
The decision for Riot Games to redraw the second-round matches will impact the length of time teams have to prepare for their upcoming matches. Before the redraw took place, several hours had already passed, enabling teams to begin preparing strategies as the battle for a playoff place heats up.
While the mistake has hindered team preparation, the decision to ensure correct protocol is followed to maintain the tournament’s integrity is the correct one.
The second round of Masters Santiago matches takes place from March 2nd to 3rd, with teams looking to advance to the next stage and avoid an early exit.
