Missouri’s first Valorant tournament of the semester took place Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Mizzou Gaming Lounge. Ten teams participated — including all nine club teams — with last semester’s champions Club Black maintaining the crown after a win over their biggest rivals, Club Gold.

The Mizzou Gaming Lounge was crowded with players, staff members and production members. A live audience was also present, with over a dozen spectators at its peak. The event started at noon and lasted until 7 p.m. 

Club Black’s prize was a set of official College Valorant clothing, mousepads and flags, as well as the experience of competing for in-person gaming events, known as LAN. . For some of the participating teams, it was their first time competing in a proper venue. 

“LAN events have lots of energy, you feel connected as a community,” captain of Blub Black  Scott Roselli said. “That’s very different from playing online.”

This was Roselli’s second LAN and also his second win. He was especially happy to defeat his team’s biggest rivals, Club Gold, in the finals.

“We trained hard for this,” Roselli said. “We have a lot of synergy, and that’s what won us the game.” 

Connor Yantis, vice president of Mizzou Club Valorant spoke about the club and how to get involved. 

“Besides playing and competing, we have a media team that manages our broadcasts and social media,” Yantis said.

Mizzou Club Valorant’s main communication channel is their Discord server. Yantis recommended that everybody interested in the club should join it, even those who never played Valorant before.

“It’s always better to learn with your friends,” Yantis said. He also recommended watching Mizzou Premier Valorant matches “to learn about the game from the very best.”

Mizzou Club Valorant has two more LAN events planned for the Fall Semester. A 2v2 championship will take place in October and the next full team LAN is scheduled for Thanksgiving break. Both will be held at the Mizzou Gaming Lounge as well. To learn more about Mizzou Club Valorant visit their Instagram, @mizzouclubvalorant.

Edited by Chase Gemes | cgemes@themaneater.com 

Copy Edited by Briana Iordan and Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com 

Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com