Multiple players at the VCT LOCK//IN VALORANT tournament have reported having their equipment stolen just a week into the event.
The tournament, which began on Feb. 13 in São Paulo, Brazil, has completed its first week of competition with the first of the two initial brackets. The 32-team event employs a ruthless single-elimination format for the group stage, so half of the teams won’t get to enjoy Brazil for long. To make it worse, two players that competed in the Alpha bracket had some equipment stolen.
Gen.G, who was eliminated on the third day of competition after losing their first match against LOUD, spent around a week in Brazil. On Feb. 15, the day of their match, Gen.G player k1ng reported that his earphones were stolen in the practice room, which is typically a restricted area for players and Riot staff.
One fan asked k1ng whether there were security cameras in the practice room, to which k1ng replied that there aren’t any. K1ng, who left Brazil late last week, told Dot Esports today that he has not yet recovered his stolen earphones. K1ng also tweeted that earphones belonging to his Gen.G teammate, Secret, were also stolen while in Brazil.
A third incident occurred two days ago, which affected Indonesian team Rex Regum Qeon. One of the team’s players, tehbotoL, had his earphones and a sound card stolen from the practice room.
It’s unclear as to whether these events were related.
Dot Esports has reached out to Riot Games for a comment regarding the incidents.
