CHAMPION: LOUD! VALORANT CHAMPIONS ISTANBUL

VALORANT Champions Istanbul, anticipated eagerly from its announcement, concluded in a way that will be remembered with its unwavering excitement, incredibly enjoyable matches, and moments that drove the audience wild. As ESA Esports, we are proud and thrilled to have organized and been the first local team to work with Riot Games in such a large-scale tournament, representing our country in this manner. Taking place in the world's most beautiful city and considered one of the most important events in the esports world, VALORANT's second world championship rewarded all the years of dreaming about such an event being held in Turkey. Teams from all around the world fought relentlessly throughout the year to qualify for the second VALORANT world championship and vie for the title of VALORANT World Champion, striving to take home the dazzling trophy. Out of hundreds of teams fiercely contending for the title, only 16 teams earned the opportunity to compete in Istanbul for the championship. These teams included 100 Thieves, BOOM Esports, DRX, Edward Gaming, Fnatic, FunPlus Phoenix, FURIA Esports, KRÜ Esports, Leviatán, LOUD, OpTic Gaming, Paper Rex, Team Liquid, XERXIA, XSET, and ZETA DIVISION. Throughout the tournament, we witnessed both heartbreaks and incredible comebacks. The Group Stage matches, which began with the Edward Gaming - Paper Rex match on August 31st, continued until September 8th. With only one day off during this period, teams not only fought psychologically but also physically in an incredible battle. The teams that advanced from the Group Stage, including Leviatán, Team Liquid, LOUD, OpTic Gaming, XSET, FunPlus Phoenix, DRX, and Fnatic, clashed in the Playoffs from September 9th to September 13th. The excitement never waned during the Playoffs, which determined the best four teams. With the arrival of the audience, both physically and virtually, the tournament atmosphere became even more impressive. Thousands of spectators, showing support in every way possible, contributed to the magical atmosphere, alongside millions watching from their screens. In VALORANT Champions Istanbul, where no team from Turkey was present, there was significant support for Fnatic, whose roster included our young pride, Emir Ali "Alfajer" Beder. The Turkish audience supported Fnatic with great excitement and hope until the last moment. Although Fnatic did not advance from the Playoffs, they provided us with some truly impressive moments. Similarly, Team Liquid, which has a considerable number of viewers in our region, also failed to advance from the Playoffs, making FunPlus Phoenix the only team from the EMEA region to advance. The Upper Bracket Final and Lower Bracket Semi-Final matches, which began on September 16th, continued the tournament, attracting a massive audience across all platforms. Eventually, LOUD and OpTic Gaming earned their spots in the Grand Final, watched by an incredible audience of 1,505,804 people on all platforms. Thus, the previous year's record was broken with a significant increase. VALORANT Champions Istanbul, with 60,780,370 hours of viewing throughout the event, achieved tremendous success. In the Grand Final, where only one team would become the VALORANT World Champion, LOUD emerged victorious. With a remarkable performance against OpTic Gaming, LOUD won the match and celebrated their first international success with tremendous enthusiasm. The team players, astonished by the chants from the Turkish audience, expressed their gratitude while receiving their awards. The event ended perfectly with the breathtaking Galata Tower show, which everyone watched with admiration. VALORANT Champions Istanbul was the largest esports event ever held in Turkey to date. Throughout this process, we are proud to have successfully worked with the Riot Games broadcast and production teams who came from abroad to organize this event. Although the VALORANT World Championship in Turkey has ended, as ESA Esports, we will use all the knowledge and experience gained from such an event, which no other team in Turkey had the chance to be a part of, to provide you with even better experiences. We are excited to continue working passionately to offer you the very best.