Ludwig admits Squirtle Squad is “interesting” but has concerns with Valorant esports

Popular content creator and Moist Esports co-owner Ludwig Ahgren has admitted that the Squirtle Squad is “interesting” but noted that he is still on the fence about entering Valorant esports.

In his most recent live stream, Ludwig revealed that he has been flooded with messages asking him to sign Squirtle Squad, one of the six Valorant teams that reached NA Challengers via the qualifiers.

Headlined by former XSET and NRG player Matthew ‘Wedid’ Suchan, Squirtle Squad remains on the lookout for an organization to represent in the league. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the team would have to play under a different name due to a Nintendo trademark, and asked the Valorant community to propose alternatives.

Anthony ‘Okeanos’ Nguyen, another Squirtle Squad player, suggested that the team should join Moist Esports, the organization founded by streamer and YouTuber Charles ‘MoistCr1TiKal’ White and that recently brought in Ludwig as a new co-owner.

“I’ve been tagged a lot in them,” Ludwig said of Squirtle Squad. “Apparently it’s a cracked group of teenagers that formed a Valorant squad because no tier 1 or tier 2 teams signed them. They were just good enough by their raw talent as cracked Valorant teenagers that they got into the Challengers League, which is a pretty difficult thing to do in NA. Only 12 teams did that and they’re one of them.

“Anyone in the world could have done it and they’re one of those who did it. I do think it’s kind of interesting, but Valorant is tough.”

(Topic starts at 52:04 in the video)

Ludwig shares his concerns about Valorant esports

Ludwig went on to discuss the lack of assurances that would come from signing a Challengers squad, with only the top two teams in the league progressing to Americas Ascension, the qualifying event that will offer a two-year stay in the international Valorant league.

Teams that aren’t partnered with Riot Games for the Challengers League will most likely have to re-qualify next year. That’s an investment that Ludwig believes requires an accurate assessment of risk.

“What I would feel is, let’s say I sign a Valorant team and they get knocked out here [Challengers League], which wouldn’t be shocking. It could happen. Then I think they have to wait until next year and they have to do it all over again.

“That is what could happen to Disguised Toast’s team. In that event, what is Toast planning on doing? Do you cut the team? Is it like, ‘Hey, we tried our best, it’s GG, let’s pack things up.’ I don’t know, maybe it’s worth it. That’s what I’ve been thinking about, what I’ve been mulling over.”

Ludwig added that he still needs to do some more research on the Valorant ecosystem before making a final decision. Previously, he said that he could tap into certain esports games that MoistCr1TiKal “is maybe not as big a fan of” and give these teams a name of his choosing.