Pro Valorant players discuss the fatigue caused by the First Strike Qualifiers

The Valorant First Strike North America NSG Closed Qualifiers has progressed to the Playoffs, but it now feels too strenuous for the players.

The group rounds of the Valorant First Strike NSG Closed Qualifiers were jam-packed with action. Nevertheless, some salient features of the tournament were highlighted by the players.

Image Credits - vlr.gg

Professional Valorant players face unrelenting pressure in tournaments, but the First Strike Qualifiers were a bit too much. Michael "dapr" Gulino, from the Sentinels, took to Twitter to express how the tournament has been quite exhausting so far.

im not trying to make excuses for anybody but i will say after playing a bo3 and jumping directly into another bo3 after a team gets to watch your match before playing you is a huge disadvantage

— dapr ✨ (@daprcs) November 7, 2020

The Quarterfinals and the Semifinals are to be hosted on the same day, and this invites a lot of pressure on the teams. Similarly, the lack of options in maps has exposed how teams usually play. This makes them too predictable for their opponents.

Peter "Asuna" Mazuryk from 100 Thieves replied to the Tweet by mentioning how mentally exhausting these matches are. In fact, the tiny three-hour gap between playing two teams can be quite challenging for the players.

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Players express the problems with the Valorant First Strike Qualifiers format

Dapr stated in his Tweet that playing two teams in quick succession is a huge disadvantage. For instance, the second opposing team in the tournament gets to watch the entire game. This effectively exposes the playing style. Naturally, players are concerned that this might make things unfair.

mentally exhausting + way more readable since you just showed your playbook

— dapr ✨ (@daprcs) November 7, 2020

Nathan "leaf" Orf from ChaosEC replied to Dapr's Tweet, by asserting how genuine it is. While this format is built for the sake of competitive integrity, Valorant players are not happy with it at all.

Dapr mentions that he is not trying to make an excuse with this Tweet. Likewise, he responded to Asuna by saying how the teams have become predictable for their opponents.

I agree, bigger map pool will ease this fatigue. Also once the scene grows and tournaments become more frequent you will all start to become familiar with each other. Who executes better being the biggest factor.

— C. Ochoa - Radiant Review (@ChrisOchoaTRR) November 7, 2020

The lack of a bigger map pool, the close-structured format, and the consecutive matches, are all reasons behind players experiencing fatigue.

Another comment highlighted the fact that Dignitas got "all the updated vods they need to beat Envy on Bind."

The question remains whether this format is actually beneficial for competitive integrity. It is expected of professional Valorant teams to come up with a different strategy for each game. However, it is easier said than done, especially in a Valorant First Strike tournament.

All of these issues stand only as a reminder that this exhaustion will intensify when LAN tournaments begin. Valorant has the potential to be the best competitive FPS game in the world. Perhaps this is one aspect tournament organizers can look into to ease up the pressure.

The Valorant First Strike North America - NSG Tournament - Closed Qualifiers begin from 3 PM (EST). Dapr and his team Sentinels are up against T1. Make sure to catch the live action by tuning into nerdstgamers and nerdstgamers2 on Twitch.