“This is so unfair”: The problem with different VCT regions playing on different patches

The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) is in the midst of its four regional Stage 1 events across EMEA, Americas, Pacific, and China. Each competition offers a qualification to Masters London in June. 

As the second international tournament of the year, Masters London is meant to unite the best VCT teams from each region to clash at the highest level of VALORANT competition. And yet, these four VCT circuits are playing on different game patches right now. 

VCT EMEA and Americas have already adopted the latest major Patch 12.06. Meanwhile, China has yet to make the switch, and Pacific won’t move away from Patch 12.05 until April 24th, four weeks into Stage 1.

“This is so unfair. Every VALORANT region approaching new patches differently is wild to me,” commented Team Liquid Assistant Coach, Daniel “yaotziN” Roczniak, on social media. “Some regions getting the new patch later gives them a way smoother transition into massive changes. 

“On top of that, these patch timing differences can literally decide which playstyles (which teams) make a deep playoff run and qualify for international.”

YaotziN is by no means the only VALORANT esports professional to have pointed out the integrity issues associated with different patch timings across the four VCT regions. So, let’s explore how the VCT ended up in this situation, how it can affect professional play, and the lessons Riot Games should draw from this.

Before the conclusion of VCT 2026’s first global event, Masters Santiago, Riot Games introduced Patch 12.05 to the VALORANT player base. 

While the competition continued to play out on the previous version of the game, VCT teams already knew they had to make adaptations ahead of the regional Stage 1 events. Patch 12.05 heavily nerfed Yoru, the most-played duelist in Tier 1 at the time, meaning that new team compositions were on the horizon.

Implementing significant game changes after an international event, as in Patch 12.05, is generally well accepted within the VALORANT esports scene. It gives coaches a solid time window to adjust and get creative with the new update. What the VCT community did not see coming, however, was that on the same day as the Stage 1 kickoff in China, Riot Games would release yet another game-changing patch.

Patch 12.06 changed Waylay’s Saturate from an instant cast to an ability with an equip animation. In theory, this now makes the popular duelist more vulnerable while using Saturate, therefore, limiting the ability’s usefulness in professional play. Why would Riot Games time a major update so poorly?

According to Leo Faria, Global Head of VALORANT Esports, the Waylay nerf was initially planned to go out together with the Yoru changes in Patch 12.05.

“That change was supposed to be in an earlier patch,” explained Faria on the VALORANT talk show Plat Chat. “There was a delay […] it had to be moved to the next patch, and we had two choices: Not ship it, and keep Waylay the way it was for tens of millions of players, or just ship it, and deal with it on the esports side. We’re always gonna choose the ladder.

“Those things are still gonna happen, unfortunately. It’s the nature of a live game and live development.”

It seems the timing of Patch 12.06 was an outlier, born of internal complications at Riot Games. But what about the patch disparity across the four VCT regions?

The majority of VALORANT esports professionals appear to agree that disruptive mid-season game updates are not the problem. They introduce a new competitive variable to professional play by rewarding adaptable teams.

However, when such changes are rolled out at different times across regions, it undermines competitive integrity. For instance, VCT Pacific has more weeks to prepare for the game theory for Patch 12.06, whilst forced to stick to the old meta until later in Stage 1. On the other hand, VCT EMEA and Americas had little time to make adjustments, but have many more weeks to practice Patch 12.06 in official matches. 

Although neither of these scenarios is ideal, the conditions should at least all be the same across the four regions. The ongoing situation creates regional disparity that might carry over onto the next global event should Masters London be played on Patch 12.06.

“Why on earth would Pacific be waiting until week four to implement a patch?” questioned VALORANT on-air talent Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson on Plat Chat. “’Cause the other regions are now incentivized to get with the change early. Like, if you’re an Americas team, you don’t bother implementing a huge amount of Waylay if you believe that this nerfs Waylay heavily.

“But Pacific has to actually commit to the previous patch.”

Interestingly, last season, the VCT also struggled with regional inconsistencies reminiscent of the current patch debacle. VCT regions would run their events on vastly different dates, giving their teams more or less time to prepare for international competitions compared to teams from other regions. 

One year later, the regional tournament dates have been adjusted to be more consistent. The VCT 2027, however, will follow an open qualifier model with far more regional cups, rather than the three regional events and four closed regional leagues of the current VCT partnership cycle.

How will regional consistency be maintained in the future?

“Imagine next year, post-Masters 1, we have all these open online qualifiers, and every region is a different start point? Not ideal at all,” argued PRX Assistant Coach Ashton “Wendler” Wendler on social media. 

If Riot Games were to introduce major game patches with esports integrity as the priority, it would be best to consolidate several agent changes in bigger updates, as was initially planned for Patch 12.05. These patches would then be announced right after every global Masters or Champions event, ensuring that all regions have time to adjust ahead of the next open qualifier or cup. 

While it is uncertain exactly how the VCT 2027 ecosystem will accommodate such patch timings, Leo Faria has confirmed that there will be gaps in the annual esports schedule.
“The calendar in that image is not showing the number of breaks in between those blocks. And we will have a healthy amount of them. And our hope is to see time changes as we do today,” shared VALORANT’s Global Head of Esports on Plat Chat.  

He added: “We have big patches and smaller patches. Big patches are usually like the launch of a new map or a new agent, or a major balance change. Then we have smaller patches focused on map rotations, along with minor tweaks here and there.

“So if you have a smaller window, a smaller patch. Big window, bigger patch.”

According to Faria, Riot’s rule of thumb is to give teams at least 12 days to respond to a patch. Unfortunately for VALORANT esports, though, the developer will continue to prioritize its overall player base over the VCT when it comes to patch timings.

“The tens of millions of players playing VALORANT every day, if they need a change, we’re gonna make it, and the sport’s gonna deal with it,” clarified Leo.