The Valorant Champions tournament in Shanghai has been plagued by significant technical issues, forcing players to switch from wireless to wired mice. Valorant Esports announced on its X page that "repeated mouse interference issues have caused multiple tech pauses and disrupted our most important tournament of the year." Consequently, all participants will use wired mice until the problem is resolved.
During a match between FUT Esports and 100 Thieves, player xeus experienced a critical issue where their mouse became unresponsive, preventing them from firing. FUT Esports ultimately lost the series two to zero.
Riot Games acknowledged an error in handling the situation, stating, "Following an official post-game evaluation, we concluded that a round rollback should have been allowed. We take responsibility for that error." However, the match result will stand, as overriding the outcome was deemed unfair to the team that competed under the same conditions.
The tournament organizers suspect that custom-made metal desks may be the source of the wireless signal interference. While most modern wireless mice can function in wired mode, some older models lacking USB Type-C ports could present a more significant challenge, potentially requiring players to adapt to entirely new peripherals mid-tournament.
Even when using the same mouse in wired mode, the tether can introduce minor resistance during movement, which could subtly affect player performance. This change may necessitate slight adjustments to gameplay for the duration of the tournament.
Wireless mice have become popular among professional players due to their freedom of movement, with modern polling rates offering performance on par with wired alternatives. The unexpected reliance on wired connections represents a notable setback for competitors and might lead players to carry spare USB cables for future events.