Project Blender has cancelled the LAN Finals in Paris for its Phase 4 due to ‘logistical challenges’ and visa issues.
The inaugural edition of the VALORANT tournament will instead conclude online, with its casting team delivering the live broadcast from Paris.
“We regret to announce a change in the organisation of our final phase,” shared Project Blender today.
“Due to logistical challenges and difficulties securing the necessary visas, the final stages will now be played online instead of at our scheduled in-person event in Paris.
The best-of-three Grand Final, as well as the Third Place Match afterwards, was initially planned to take place offline in Paris, France.
While the tournament has been running since October, the Phase 4 kicked off today. Sixteen organisations, including VCT giants such as Team Vitality and amateur rosters, are competing for a €40,000 prize pool.
The teams begin their journey in the Round of 16, with the top eight squads advancing to the Quarter Final taking place on December 12th. Finals will take place on December 13th and 14th, where the remaining four teams will battle for the title. All stages of the Project Blender Phase 4 will follow single-elimination format.
What is Project Blender?
Project Blender was announced in July as an off-season tournament open to EMEA players across all VALORANT competitive tiers.
In addition to its unique prize pool distribution system, the competition also introduced ‘Blender Draft’. Similar to League of Legends’ ‘Fearless Draft’, this rule forbids a team from selecting the same agents it chose for the previous map within a series.
Project Blender is divided into four phases, each with specific participation requirements and seeding rules. Moreover, Phase 2 saw a dedicated co-ed competition, Blender Spotlight, which awarded the winning team with a direct slot in Phase 3.
