The arrival of the Valorant Champions creates a lot of hype in the community, mainly because fans have the chance to watch the best Valorant teams from around the globe in action.
However, the start of the competition also means the release of new content to the game. For instance, Riot Games will launch a new agent for the game shortly after the tournament's conclusion.
But that's not all: the most awaited bundle of the year, the Valorant Champions Bundle, has been confirmed to be released in the upcoming days. Surprisingly, the first pictures of the skin have annoyed a big part of the community.
The first picture of the skin was revealed during the updates included in Valorant Esports' YouTube video, most precisely on a frame included in the video's minute 1:45. As the frame is difficult to spot, we have added the picture above.
The popular Valorant leaker @ValorLeaks posted another picture of the Valorant Champions 2024 Phantom skin on X (formerly Twitter). At the time of writing, the post's most-liked reply, with over 200 likes in 30 minutes, is a negative reaction towards the cosmetic.
That's not the only negative comment made by the fans, as most of the messages that follow aren't positive at all. Some players even named this cosmetic as a "reskin" of the Ion bundle.
The Valorant Ion Bundle is one of the game's most popular skins. It would make sense for Riot Games to make a cosmetic similar to previous skins that have been successful in the past. However, some players see such a move as lazy, saying that Riot Games has "ran out of ideas."
It's also worth mentioning that the Valorant Champions 2024 Phantom has some similarities to the ChronoVoid skin released to the game in September 2022.
Despite the harsh criticism from the community towards Riot Games and the leaks, Valorant Esports' video regarding the updates coming with Valorant Champions Seoul defines the cosmetic as "one of the best esports skins we've ever made" and the "finisher in particular is wild and introduces a new level of interactivity to your post-round celebrations."
We believe it's a bit too soon to criticize Riot Games' efforts. Let's wait and hope for the bundle to celebrate Valorant Champions Seoul is one to remember rather than one to forget!