The other side of the shattered Apeks story is that it is the team that had fought to reach the Valorant Champions Tour EMEA league this year through Ascension, only to have been relegated after an 0-11 disgraceful loss record at Kickoff, Stage 1, and Stage 2. It is really zero wins with 11 losses and consignment. There is no opportunity to fight back for their spot in Ascension anymore. Just… gone.
For window watchers following the squad, this strike must have been quite harsh. One sad fan, bandini17: “I am not even an Apeks fan but it makes me sad. It is so much work to get to VCT through Ascension…” Maybe they have a point. Going through Ascension is like running the gauntlet-the player-four hours after burning his feet on reaching the top-being smacked down to the ground the first chance he gets.
But here is the thing: some players think that format is partly the problem. KC Maxime fired at the excuses: “format doesn’t help, but all the teams know that this is the format and should work accordingly. Stop using this excuse to hide their poor performance every time.” Those words. And, well, those may be true.
Others contemplate the scenario put forth: Why have Gentle Mates, another Ascension team, had two years of VCT while Eagle has had only one? WaterSlicer bluntly asked, “Can anyone tell me why Gentle Mates who also got in through ascension got to play for 2 years, but Apeks got only 1?” Good question. Still, no answer was offered.
Then, there is a whole discourse about roster swaps. Was it the worse-eyed folks thinking that the poor organization entrusted the wrong men? KC Maxime held that bringing in immature talent to save a split was not the right call. “Pour moi c’est pas une bonne idée de prendre des jeunes joueurs pour sauver un split,” (for me, it isn’t a good idea to bring in young players to save a split). A little harsh, but the results are speaking for themselves anyway.
Varied reactions. Others, like dst lapis, see it as a win for the competition: “L for orgs of course, but w for fans to keep the league fresh and competitive.” Jozza feels the opposite, however; Apeks has been seriously wronged in his opinion: “They should’ve been given the opportunity to compete in Ascension even if they didn’t make playoffs. I’d favour Apeks over pretty much every Ascension EMEA team.”
To this traditional esports answer: Go back to CS:GO. AXEL really hit them with: “@apeksgg come back to CS gng.”
This is a hard time for Apeks. Zero wins in a top-tier league is… yeah. Not great. Whatever the format, the roster, or just Federer luck-they are out. And for a team that fought so hard to get here? It stings.
What’s on the horizon? Who knows. Maybe rebuild. Maybe pivot. Or maybe, like AXEL said, go back to CS. But that’s been closed for Apeks. For Valorant fans, it is a reminder-no team in VCT is safe, not even the ones that clawed their way up.
