"Shopify Rebellion should abandon VALORANT completely" says Ludwig about the team's future

Ludwig Ahgren, co-owner of Shopify Rebellion, has questioned whether the North American organization should continue competing in VALORANT after failing to secure a partnership spot for the 2027-2028 VCT cycle. Speaking during a stream on October 19, the content creator, better known as Ludwig, criticized Riot Games' partnership system and the financial advantages it provides to selected organizations.

“Basically, I think that Shopify Rebellion should abandon VALORANT completely, and I think Riot Games has fucked us long enough,” he said. “I don't know if I want to pursue it anymore because I see no reward for doing so.”

Ludwig's frustration stems from the advantages available to partnered teams. For the 2027-2028 cycle, Riot Games selected eight organizations in each of the four VCT regions, including eight in the Americas. Shopify Rebellion was among the North American organizations that did not make the cut, alongside Cloud9, M80, ENVY, and LYON.

Under Riot's new format, announced in September, all teams will have opportunities to qualify for international competitions through open qualifiers. However, partnered organizations will retain several financial and competitive advantages, including guaranteed annual payments, a share of revenue from team capsules, and direct seeding into later rounds of qualifiers.

Ludwig explained the challenge facing non-partnered organizations: “Here's what we have to do now. We have to compete to make it to any of these international or national events, whatever they are, against partnered teams who all get millions of dollars of upfront capital and skin sales,” he said. “And we have to create a roster competitive enough to compete against these squads, even though we don't have the ability to offer players as competitive of a salary and an opportunity.”

In a follow-up post on X, Ludwig acknowledged that Riot had changed VALORANT's competitive structure to allow any team to qualify for and win an international tournament. However, he argued that the financial gap between partnered and non-partnered organizations remained a major issue. “If an unpartnered org builds a moneyball team that absolutely crushes at an international event, those players will be poached by a partnered org,” he wrote.

Ludwig cited Brock “brawk” Somerhalder and Adam “mada” Pampuch's move to NRG as an example of this situation. He also pointed to Cloud9, which will not be part of the partnership program for 2027-2028 and had already started allowing its players to explore their options. “I just don't know if it is worth competing in the esport long term as compared to investing into an esport with a truly open system,” he concluded.

It’s also worth noting that, in addition to its team that has been active in Challengers Americas for several years—with whom they have competed once in the Ascension—SR is also active in Game Changers. The organization supports the top GC team in North America, a two-time world champion, who will be aiming to claim another title in a few days in São Paulo during the GC Championship 2026.

Neither Ludwig nor Shopify Rebellion has confirmed the organization's departure from VALORANT. However, his comments raise questions about its future after four years in the esport. CEO Jeremy Steeves also reflected on that period in a post on X on October 19, expressing pride in the organization's work and thanking its supporters, players, and staff.

“I'm extremely proud of the work we've done in VALORANT over the last 4 years, and even more grateful for everyone who has cheered for us, played for us, or worked behind the scenes to elevate our teams,” he wrote. “It's easy to say players are everything, but I think we really tried to lead by example.”

Meanwhile, Christopher “MonteCristo” Kjell Mykles criticized Riot's approach to team partnerships in response to Ludwig's clip. “Riot's treatment of teams is predatory, selfish, and apathetic,” he wrote.