More transphobia in Game Changers, AI graphics, and criticism of Masters London: VALORANT’s tumultuous week

Masters London It officially started last Saturday, but there has been a lot THE VALORANT esports is moving even beyond the second VCT world event of the year.

From game-changing throwbacks to the highlights (and lowlights) of Masters London, here’s everything you need to know about last week’s VALORANT shenanigans!

In the past week, Team Liquid fans have been hit by several sources that say Wayne “wayne” Chang it will be taken to the association bench before VCT EMEA Stage 2 in July.

However, following the initial wave of disappointment from the VALORANT community, Team Liquid’s official announcement painted a clearer picture. The decision to withdraw from active competition was not made by the management of the organization but by Wayne himself, as the player confirmed later in his statement.

“The last few months have not been easy for me. Being away from home has been difficult, and I have struggled mentally throughout the first stage,” Wayne said on social media.

“It shows that there are many opportunities for me to grow, and I will have to work hard. That being said, I will take an indefinite break to rest and recover mentally so that I can be in the best possible shape when I return to the competitive game. I would like to thank the fans who have supported me throughout the year, and I apologize for not delivering the results you expected.”

Wayne joined Team Liquid ahead of the 2026 VCT season as a rookie from Singaporean esports organization Motiv Esports. Although the rebuilt roster finished third at the EMEA Kickoff, Team Liquid failed to advance to the Swiss Stage at Masters Santiago, VCT’s first global event of the year.

A disappointing international result was followed by an early exit from the Playoffs at VCT EMEA Stage 1.

To fill the roster gap left by Wayne’s departure, Team Liquid has reportedly signed their former player. Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko. Although these rumors have yet to be confirmed, one thing is certain: Wayne is not the only international signing who will struggle in the new region. Rookie players, in particular, reported mental health-related challenges after moving to another state.

Getting used to a different country, a new place for the band, and performing on the VCT stage for the first time is a huge task. Being away from friends and family can also be a big factor. It may be a difficult decision, but one’s well-being should always come first.

Not long after Wayne’s benching, Team Liquid found themselves under the scrutiny of the VALORANT community again – this time, for their use of AI on social media. The organization sent out a call to participants to “Guess The Rank.” But users of X (formerly Twitter) quickly noticed that some parts of the posted image appeared to have been created by AI.

“Good, but why do you need to use AI for this ehhhh?” comment the user on the site. Interestingly, Team Liquid’s Executive Producer, Andrew “Cav” C.responded to the user’s comment, confirming that AI was used. Cav also explained that he is on vacation and will downgrade once he gets the necessary participants.

Indeed, Team Liquid removed the post not long ago. However, this phenomenon raises an interesting question: whether factors such as labor shortages or limited access to content production tools can “justify” the use of AI. In my opinion, AI will always be much easier than relying on real artists. That is its only major selling point as of now. But given the ethical and environmental implications AI generates, I don’t see any way to use it.

In this regard, and it is not the first time that we come across AI images on social media accounts of high-level sports organizations VALORANT. A recent example is “The Last Ride for Team Rebels.” post, which was met with much praise and criticism.

In the case of Team Liquid, we can only hope that the organization will stand by its words and avoid AI in most of its social media images.

Another incident occurred after the incident VCT Game Changers (GC) North America Stage 1 Grand Final last weekend. SwimTrek Blue defeated GC icon Shopify Rebellion Gold decisively, but was met with a wave of angry comments targeting its players’ gender and presentation.

What was supposed to be a celebration of the high level of competition in the North American GC scene was quickly overshadowed by online hate that tried to differentiate between cis-women and other marginalized genders. Something that has plagued the VALORANT community lately.

As demonstrated by many GC supporters and participants, cis- and trans-women and non-binary athletes all face barriers linked to their gender when competing in sports. Therefore, they are all part of a movement that aims to reduce this gender inequality.

In turn, the only reasons to direct hatred towards trans and non-binary GC athletes is if you do not recognize the existence of these gender characteristics or if you believe there is a biological advantage to sports competition. (The latter belief also invalidates past and non-binary gender identities.) So, if you look at the winning photo above, and your first thought is “How could this be a thing in GC?”, then I suggest you look inside first and foremost.

“These players put a lot of their lives into competing, winning, just to get scrutinized by people who don’t have a f**k about what the field stands for,” highlighted the GIANTX GC athlete. Nadia “adora” Sasnauskaite. “At some point, it just gets tiring because how can anyone else find inspiration in this amazing time when everything seems to be eliminating all the idiots in society?”

Others argue that it will be people from outside the GC or outside the sports arena as a whole who are spreading hate because of the success of trans folks. Either way, it’s become clear once again that we still have a long way to go in gender mainstreaming in esports and beyond.

Masters London started last weekend, and its Swiss Stage did not go down without public criticism. The draw of the Round 2 Swiss Stage, in particular, caused a lot of disappointment among fans and competitors, as all four games were regional games.

“The regional draw is attractive. The regional draw for the underdogs is even more attractive,” noted Paper Rex Assistant Coach Ashton “Wendler” Wendler on social media.

In a high-level international tournament, regional games feel stressful, especially if VCT fans watched many of these teams face each other not long ago in their regional stages. Other participating groups were disappointed, too. After all, they fought hard to get one of the rare opportunities every year to compete against rivals from other regions.

As a result, some members of the public have asked whether regional games should be allowed during the Swiss Stage’s worldwide draw to begin. This may present problems in the third Swiss Round, where duplicates are prohibited, but I think it would be a good change especially in Round 2.

Fortunately for VCT viewers, the Swiss Stage of Masters London was competitive despite the draw of Round 2. Team Vitality vs FUT Esports was one of the most exciting series of the event so far. And with the Playoffs just around the corner, we can now look forward to the first four seeded games of the first region!

The draw of all regions for Round 2 is not the only hiccup during the Masters London’s Swiss Stage.

Following a close victory over FUT Esports, Team Vitality’s Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev raised the concern of integrity on social media: “There have been several times this year, even before, when a player during a 1v1 post-plant clutch starts looking at the keyboard and mouse of his opponent to learn their movements if they confuse or not, for example.

The post appeared to be caused by a post-plant 1v1 situation between Derke and FUT Esports’ Eray “yetujey” Budak. The FUT Esports player defended the attack cycle by gambling multiple times on Derke cheating his Spike defuse instead of sticking it. What is important, however, is that Derke emphasized in his statement that no hatred should be directed at certain players.

When asked for his opinion on the matter, VALORANT co-streamer and former coach of Team Liquid, Connor “Sliggy” Blomfieldagreed with Derke’s sentiment to some extent: “It’s just LAN stuff, man. That’s right. You can’t hate the player is all I’m saying. You gotta hate the game.”

Sliggy added that he personally taught his players early on to watch the green light on opponents’ faces during LAN events to determine which of them is standing inside the Viper’s final. Both Sliggy and Derke also highlighted that such stories are unique to VALORANT games as Riot Games places opposing teams against each other to encourage conflict and cooperation between rivals.

It is interesting that Global Head of VALORANT Esports, Leo Fariaspecifically addressed this concern under Derke’s post. According to Faria, Riot Games will add a lip to the Masters London desk that covers players’ hands and wrists. This solution was previously implemented in VCT Americas and is set to become the standard for all VCT leagues worldwide beginning in Phase 2.