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Valorant and VCT, like several other competitive games, have been directly and indirectly affected by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Following the conflict, Riot Games has actively participated in humanitarian missions to help those in need.
However, the game's competitive side has also seen several restrictions regarding the display of support related to the two nations. This has reportedly stopped a player from carrying the Ukrainian flag onto the stage despite their best intentions.
Valorant has evolved massively since its release, and Riot Games has successfully established an active competitive community. There have been several events all year round, with VCT being the pinnacle of it all.
While players are free to express themselves, there is some code of behavior they have to follow. This has been implemented by Riot itself, and one of them seems to have to do with carrying a national flag.
Professional player states VCT rules and requests the Valorant community not to forget about the difficulties of Ukraine
ANGE1 is a Valorant professional currently on the FunPlus Phoenix books. Earlier on July 17, he posted a couple of tweets from his Twitter account stating his difficulties. ANGE1 informed fans that he wanted to carry the Ukrainian flag onto the stage, or so it seems from his tweet.
However, Riot's rules regarding VCT Masters seem to forbid players from carrying any national flag on stage. ANGE1 had to resort to Twitter to remind everyone that he is from Ukraine and bring up all the challenging conditions the country has faced.
He then asked all his followers not to forget about the conflict and Russia's behavior. He mentioned the need for external support as his nation has found it challenging to manage the situation. What would have been asked on stage by ANGE1 had to be done on Twitter instead. Naturally, it has got the Valorant community to discuss the rules and regulations laid down by Riot.
One user commented that this recent change might have been made to protect the Russian players. Allowing a Ukrainian flag would then allow Russian players participating in VCT to carry their flags, which might result in unwanted scenes on the grand stage.
Another fan feels that VCT might be missing a trick by banning flags as they can form an integral part of walkouts in the championships.
Another Reddit user also mentioned that the policy was different earlier as members of VKS carried the Brazilian flag along with them on stage.
Physical sports events like the UFC have also recently decided to do away with flags to not increase the tensions and geopolitical hostilities that exist in the world.
Some feel that Riot is correct in having its own set of rules for VCT because they should have that freedom as organizers.
In the meantime, fans worldwide will hope that the hostilities happening over the last four months will cease and normal times between the two warring nations will return again.
