Disguised Toast calls out orgs dropping Valorant Challengers rosters: “Are you really supporting the scene?”

Popular content creator Disguised Toast has questioned the commitment of the esports organizations that have dropped their NA Valorant Challengers rosters since the season came to an end.

The lack of stability is permeating tier-two Valorant across the globe as Riot Games remains tight-lipped about the tournaments that will be played during the off-season despite pleas from players for the developer to support the ecosystem.

With no events on the horizon, TSM, G2 Esports and FaZe Clan have all dropped their Valorant rosters since the end of the Challengers season. Many believe this to be a cost-cutting measure that allows organizations to save several months’ worth of salary before returning with new teams for the 2024 season.

While co-streaming his Game Changers’ team on July 26, Jeremy ‘Disguised Toast’ Wang questioned whether those organizations are truly committed to supporting Valorant’s ecosystem.

“I’m going to come out and say it: it’s weird that all these orgs that are in Challengers can drop their entire roster and get back into the scene next year,” he said.

“Are you really supporting the scene if you just drop your whole roster? FaZe did it, G2 did it, TSM did it… Give the spot to an org that actually wants to be there! The players worked for that.”

Toast would not have dropped a Challengers roster

Disguised Toast entered Valorant esports at the beginning of the year by signing a North American roster that went on to qualify for the Challengers league on its first attempt.

Before Split 2 started, Toast signed Valorant star Jaccob ‘yay’ Whiteaker to his team, drawing even more eyeballs to Challengers. However, the team was unable to win a single match with yay and was relegated from the league after an 11-match losing streak.

Asked by a viewer about his own decision to release the team after relegation, Toast said: “We’re not in Challengers next year, that’s the thing. If we were in Challengers, we wouldn’t have dropped our team. We just don’t have a spot.”

Disguised and MAD Lions, the two relegated teams from NA Challengers, have released their rosters and given no indication that they plan to return next year. In 2024, getting into Challengers will be even harder as the league will have only two qualifying spots, down from six this year.

Leo Faria, Riot Games’ Global Head of Valorant Esports, has vowed to overhaul the esport’s tier-two ecosystem with “year-round competitions and a strong connection with Premier,” but he noted that the biggest changes will not happen until 2024.