Tarik says Riot will not shut down VALORANT Pro City
Tarik “tarik” Çelik, a former CS: GO pro turned prominent VALORANT streamer and content creator, said that Riot Games will not shut down VALORANT Pro City, a 10-man server he has been hosting.
The video game developer even encouraged Tarik and participating players put real money on the line to make Pro City matches much more intense.
During his most recent live stream, Tarik said, “I spoke with Riot and they don’t have a plan of taking us down.” He added, “They’re also open to us potentially introducing prizing.”
The content creator created Pro City, an alternative to VALORANT ranked play for professionals and high-level players, after noticing that ranked matches were flooded with gamblers and cheaters.
In addition to these issues, some ranked system players were irritated by the inability of anonymous accounts to communicate with one another, preventing them from encouraging the same level of effort in winning matches.
That is why many fan-favorite VALORANT players have gathered on this private hub. Instead of waiting in line for ranked matches, they are placed in custom games against one another.
So far, the initiative has received widespread praise. The Pro-City 10-man hub was “very satisfying to watch,” according to a comment in a Reddit thread created by u/Acurrate-Loss-4711.
U/wako944 also said that the increased effort and communication from many players makes for a more enjoyable and informative “viewing and learning experience.”
How to join Pro City
Players need to be invited to join Pro City. As of right now, the invitation process is only through Pro City council members.
For confidentiality reasons, the council comprises established pro players who remain anonymous to the community and each other. This seven-member board decides who gets to join or leave the VALORANT server.
Tarik posted on Twitter that one of the hardest things about Pro City is keeping the level of play high, which requires strict rules and a strong council. He apologized for not being able to include everyone and maintained that that’s the only way it should work.
Tarik also acknowledged that some current players do not meet the criteria. However, he reassured them that this was still a work in progress. He explained that the council has an ultimate say if players fall behind or can’t keep up.
Some players have previously proposed splitting Pro City into two divisions. The first is made up entirely of players from the top teams of VCT Americas, Challengers and Game Changers. Meanwhile, the other division is for players who have previously competed at the highest level in the North American region, regardless of whether or not they are currently under contract.
Tarik dismissed this idea, arguing that even the least-famous players in Pro City have a chance to learn and grow by competing with the best.
Pro City leaderboard
Since Pro City first went live, players have been vying for a position in the server’s ranking system, with 139 North American pros currently playing for and streaming on Pro City.
Fans can follow the Pro City leaderboard live on the NeatQueue website. At the time of writing, Quan “dicey” Tran of the FaZe Clan is the best player with 32 victories, 14 losses and 1,466 MMR.
Jake “Paincakes” Hass is second with 1,458 MMR, 40 wins and 21 losses. The next closest player is Michael “neT” Bernet of the Guard, who has 1,420 MMR, 21 wins and six losses.
Meanwhile, Tarik has the third-worst MMR in Pro City. His final MMR is 802, with 47 defeats and 33 victories.
During one of his streams, the Sentinels streamer joked about his achievement and promised to quit his project if he reached 500 ELO.
There is no regular schedule for games or seasons. Instead, players in Pro City enter queue rooms on the server and get matched up with the most even and fair lineups possible.