{
  "id": 11434317,
  "title": "Metal desks nearly destroyed a Valorant tournament",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/metal-desks-nearly-destroyed-a-valorant-tournament",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-02T11:51:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PC Gamer",
    "slug": "pc-gamer",
    "url": "https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/gaming-mice/metal-desks-nearly-destroyed-a-valorant-tournament/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During the Valorant Champions tournament in Shanghai, custom metal desks caused significant interference with wireless gaming mice, leading to multiple technical pauses and disrupting the competition. Riot Games, the tournament organizer, revealed that they had fabricated these desks, believing the metal material to be the root cause of the issue. As a result, they requested all players to switch to wired mice for the remainder of the event. In a match between FUT Esports and 100 Thieves, player xeus experienced difficulties with their wireless mouse, causing them to lose the game two to zero. Riot Games acknowledged the error and stated that the match result would stand, as the winning team had not caused the issue. The esports organization suggested that players could use their wireless mice in wired mode, but those without USB Type-C ports, such as the SteelSeries Rival Pro, would face significant challenges. This forced many competitors to adjust their playing style or risk a disadvantage until the issue was resolved. Despite the popularity of wireless mice among competitive gamers due to their mobility and high polling rates, the tournament's metal desks posed a notable setback for professional players, possibly requiring them to bring spare USB cables in the future.",
  "summary": "And players have been urged to switch to wired mice.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}