Valorant fans poke fun over “petty” coach timeout in VCT China

An unexpected timeout “talk” from a VCT China head coach surprises VCT fans all around the world. 

It’s that time of the year again when Valorant players and pro-scene fans rejoice in the triumph or bite their nails in excitement as Valorant Champions Tour 2024 starts with its inaugural tournament. This year also marks the debut of VCT China’s regional tournament with its Kickoff series. 

Unlike the Valorant 5v5 gameplay most casual players know, elevating the first-person shooter game into pro play requires more than five people working together. In the most dire situations, it’s up to a team’s head coach to call timeouts to break the enemy team’s momentum or call out significant mistakes from their group. 

However, it seems like EDward Gaming’s AfteR has a different approach when calling out his player’s missteps. In a clip from EDG’s game against Wolves Esports, the head coach humorously called the time out and chose to keep mum after his IGL made a rookie mistake. 

AfteR called a timeout after haodong placed a trip too low and then DIDN’T talk for the entire timeout

GIGACHAD BEHAVIOR pic.twitter.com/6sk47fvQEp

The timeout gathered impressions from Valorant fans around the globe, with some poking fun at the “petty” move from the coach. A fan replied that it was AfteR’s way to make his player “sit there in silence and think about his mistakes.” 

While the mistake did not cost EDG their game, as the top-ranked org in China still dominated Wolves Esports in a 2-1 series, the coach may have expected more from the team than a misplaced Cypher trip. 

On the other hand, another fan suggested that AfteR’s intention may have been to let his players talk amongst themselves in the timeout. However, fans still choose to believe the more hilarious possibility among the options.