Valorant fans take a new level of admiration for pro players with photocards and “fan cam” video edits similar to K-pop fan culture.
Gone are the days when the stereotypical image of esports fans and Valorant players was that of your usual gamer dude. As the Valorant pro scene reaches new levels of popularity and grows a wider fanbase, it seems like two worlds have merged into one with the recent trends of “VCT K-popification.”
If you’re unaware of the hardcore K-pop fan culture, fans of idol groups often hoard “photocards” from their favorite group’s albums. Other K-pop fan love languages include fan edits, decorating photocard holders, and just “simping” for their beloved idols.
The Valorant fans took a page from the culture of the K-pop world and started the trend of photocards and fan edits for their beloved pros.
Unlike the K-pop counterpart, photocards in the Valorant pro fan community are all fan-produced or self-printed, which suggests an even more hardcore dedication for these fans to have a player photocard.
The photocard trend does not end with players like Paper Rex’s Somethingg or streamers like Tarik alone. One fan showed their decorated card with Paper Rex’s head coach, known for his desk-destroying dedication, Alecks’ photocard.
Beyond the photocards, another page that Valorant fans copied from K-pop fandom’s books is the “fan cam” edits. If you tour #VCT and pro team topics on Tiktok, you’ll find video edits of the top pro players to the most popular (yes, even Taylor Swift) songs.
While this admiration may seem peculiar for the esports scene, this isn’t the first “K-pop” rodeo for Riot Games Esports fans.
The most popular teams in the League of Legends South Korean tournament, LCK, have dedicated “fan sites” that always attend their games and dedicate time to updating social media accounts with their latest pictures.
Only time will tell whether the “K-popification” of Valorant pro play will take off. But the continuously growing audience of VCT matches shows an upward trend in the Valorant Esports community.
Should pro teams emulate K-pop idol groups by making official photocards for their fans? Let us know in the comments!