Potential and passion made VALORANT massive in Turkey

Acend’s Santeri “BONECOLD” Sassi has built a fantastic career in VALORANT so far, most notably by being a part of the underdog squad that defied the odds and triumphed at VCT Masters 1.

However, he’s done something else that can be considered an even better and certainly more difficult achievement. On March 19, after taking down Ninjas in Pyjamas, BONECOLD beat his Turkish teammate in a Twitter poll for Player of the Match.

Now that may not sound like much, but here’s the thing: Nobody beats Turkish players in Twitter polls. BONECOLD’s feat was unheard of, especially since he beat Mehmet Yağız “cNed” İpek, one of the most popular VALORANT players in EMEA.

Understanding why BONECOLD’s Twitter triumph is such a big deal requires understanding the impact and popularity of VALORANT in Turkey. Esports and gaming are a culture, a way of life, in the country, and VALORANT is far more to the community than just a game. Turkey as a region produces some the highest VALORANT viewership numbers in the world, and it arguably has some of the most passionate and hardcore fans.

But why are esports so big in Turkey? What do the Turkish fans and players really think about VALORANT? With the help of more than 40 different figures from the Turkish scene — ranging from players, broadcast talent, social media managers for Turkish orgs and even those diehard fans — Upcomer has finally managed to get to the bottom of this phenomenon.

The popularity of First-Person Shooters

VALORANT isn’t the first esport that’s managed to captivate the Turkish community. Many other games, especially first-person shooter titles, have earned a dedicated Turkish fan base for decades.

“There is a PC culture in Turkey, where everyone plays on PCs and FPS is very popular,” said Oxygen Esports’ Göktuğ “XiSTOU” Canciğer.  “Even when you come to Turkey now, you will find people in their 30s still playing Counter-Strike 1.5 with their friends on a regular basis. A lot of young people are playing League of Legends, but the love of FPS is huge in Turkey.”

You don’t have to look very far to see the Turkish support in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, either. Space Soldiers had a huge fan base, and current players like İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş and Özgür “woxic” Eker are treated as national heroes. Turkey already had an appetite for FPS games, so it was a natural progression for fans and players to migrate to VALORANT, especially given the volatile state of CS:GO.

Moreover, many Turkish fans also cited financial and socioeconomic issues as a reason for gravitating towards VALORANT.

“A lot of Turkish players do not have enough financial resources to buy gaming computers nor to have a strong internet connection,” Tolgahan Şahin, a VALORANT fan from Turkey, said.  “Because of this case, most Turkish players prefer playing online free games.”

Beyond that, VALORANT is much more affordable for most in Turkey simple because it’s free.

“Also VALORANT is a free game and Turkish players hate paying for video games,” another fan from the Upcomer survey added. “We are known for playing cracked pirated games, and since VALORANT is free, it’s a massive reason why it’s popular.”

Turkey has struggled with the pandemic economically and with the inflation rate hitting an all time high in July 2021, it’s no surprise that the financial crisis has affected a lot of gamers too. With many still wanting to enjoy the FPS experience, it seems like a no-brainer that VALORANT is a popular game in Turkey.