A New Curse Hits Competitive VALORANT: The Second Place Curse
In the world of competitive VALORANT, a new curse has emerged that is even stronger than the infamous 9-3 curse. This curse revolves around teams that finish in second place at international events.
This curse has struck once again with Paper Rex’s early elimination from VALORANT Champions Istanbul. It seems that every team that has placed second at an international event has experienced bad luck either during or before the following tournament.
The curse first hit Fnatic, who finished second to Sentinels at Masters: Reykjavík. Unfortunately, they failed to qualify for Masters: Berlin a few months later. Team Envy then suffered the same fate, placing second at Masters: Berlin and then hitting rock bottom at Champions in 2021. To close out the year, Gambit finished as runners-up at VALORANT Champions but couldn’t secure a qualification spot for Masters: Reykjavík in 2022.
The following year, LOUD ended up in second place at Masters: Reykjavík, losing to OpTic Gaming, and then went on to have a winless performance at Masters: Copenhagen. And now, to continue the tradition, Paper Rex finds themselves eliminated from VALORANT Champions Istanbul after finishing second at Masters: Copenhagen, with only one win to their name.
This curse has been present in the competitive VALORANT scene for the past two years and is arguably the strongest curse to date. Previously, there was a curse tied to a 9-3 halftime score, where the team with a six-round lead would go on to lose the game. However, this second place curse has shown more statistical evidence to support its existence.
While the previous 9-3 trend lacked statistical backing, the second place curse definitely does.
VALORANT, esports, competitive gaming, curse, VALORANT Champions, international events