Valorant Patch 5.0 - Split Indefinitely Removed from Competitive, Unrated Queues

Riot has officially announced Valorant patch 5.0, i.e., Episode 5 Act 1 update, and it will add the much-awaited map, Pearl, to the map pool. However, players will have to say goodbye to the Split map as starting from June 22, Split will be temporarily removed from the competitive and unrated queues.

There is no date on which it will be making a comeback, and you must have various questions in your mind regarding this decision. Riot has addressed all of them and explained the reason to take down Split from the map pool.

Valorant: Why Split getting removed from the competitive and unrated queues

Joe "Pearl Hogbash" Lansford, design lead on the Maps team, has discussed that with seven maps in the pool, two maps used to be banned without any repeat picks in the best of five matches. However, now that Pearl will be added to the game, there will be eight maps to choose from. 

Besides this, learning and then mastering too many maps can be overwhelming for players out there. After working with the esports team, surveying players, and talking to professional organizations, seven came out to be the sweet spot that offers both variety and mastery. 

Riot considered various factors like Player sentiment, time since release, past and future planned updates, what the map brings in terms of strategic variance, as well as where Pearl fits into all of it. They finally came to the conclusion that rotating Split out is the best option to solve this issue.

Pearl map will enter the competitive queue on July 12; until then, there will be only six maps in the competitive map pool. However, Split will be removed from the esports events a bit later, i.e., after the LCQs in August. This means that you won't see it in Valorant Champions in September. 

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For players who love Split, you will still be able to play the map in Spike Rush, custom games, and other game modes. 

If you want to keep up to date with Valorant tier lists, skin collections, and more, check out our dedicated section for more coverage of the ultra-popular title.

Featured image courtesy of Riot Games.