Valorant Champions Shanghai Mouse Interference: FUT vs 100T, the Rollback Riot Admits It Missed, and the Wired-Mouse Order

TL;DR: At VALORANT Champions 2026 in Shanghai, players had been reporting mouse interference for days. It came to a head in FUT Esports vs 100 Thieves on 30 Sep, when xeus's Spectre would not fire in round 2 on Split and the round was not rolled back. After a post-game evaluation, Riot said a rollback "should have been allowed" and took responsibility, but kept 100T's 2–0 result. Riot traced the interference to metal parts in the custom stage desks and told players to switch to wired mice for the time being. FUT was eliminated by T1 on 4 Oct.

Timeline

• Group stage, before 30 Sep: According to Sheep Esports, several players had already reported mouse problems, including Kim "Francis" Mu-bin and Nikita "trexx" Cherednichenko. Riot's Global Head of VALORANT Esports, Leo Faria, said an investigation had traced the interference to metal components in the desks. Riot applied a temporary fix and began rebuilding the desks.
• 30 Sep (Group A winners' match): In round 2 on Split, after FUT won the pistol round, xeus (Doğan Gözgen) took a duel against 100T's vora with a Spectre that, according to reports, would not fire (Sheep Esports, Hotspawn). Officials denied a rollback (Strafe). FUT lost the round and dropped into an eco, and 100 Thieves won the series 2–0.
• After the match: Sheep Esports reports that yetujey (Eray Budak) declined to discuss the incident at the press conference. Hotspawn describes it as walking out, and EGamersWorld says he refused to attend. Accounts differ, but the reports describe one player, yetujey, not a team-wide boycott. xeus criticized the organization on social media. KROSTALY (Okan Alaçam) described problems with audio, mice, frozen PCs and brightness. EGamersWorld reports that s0pp said he had blocked Leo Faria on X.
• 1 Oct: Riot published a competition update. Players were told to use wired mice for now.
• 2 Oct: According to Faria, replacement desks were installed that morning. Players could test wireless mice again, with an immediate return to wired mice if stuttering continued (Sheep Esports).
• 4 Oct: T1 beat FUT 2–0 (13–10 on Sunset, 13–10 on Ascent) in the Group A decider, which eliminated FUT and gave T1 the last playoff spot (VLR.gg).

Riot's statement

As quoted by Insider Gaming, Riot said:

"During round 2 on Split, xeus experienced an issue that affected his ability to fire his weapon. Following an official post-game evaluation, we concluded that a round rollback should have been allowed. We take responsibility for that error.

After considering the available options, we have decided that the match result will stand, as other options would result in overturning a victory by a team that competed under the same conditions and was not responsible for the error.

Champions represents the highest standard of VALORANT competition. So far, this tournament has not met that standard."

Riot also said it would replace the desks with a different material. According to Hotspawn, Riot admitted that switching to wired mice mid-event was not ideal because of how much players rely on muscle memory. EGamersWorld reports that Faria said there was no perfect solution. He said that if the match had been closer or the round more decisive, as in the XSET vs FPX match in 2022, Riot would have taken more drastic measures, but added that this does not excuse the error.

Both sides

• FUT and its supporters: A broken peripheral decided a key round, Riot admitted the rollback should have happened, and the result stood anyway. Players also say the stage problems went beyond mice.
• Riot's position: 100 Thieves played under the same conditions and did nothing wrong. Overturning or replaying a finished series would punish a team that had no part in the error.

Why it matters

The episode leaves two questions open: whether officials apply the existing technical-pause and rollback rules correctly in real time, and whether Riot should have a remedy for an officiating error that is only identified after a match ends. For players, a mid-tournament switch to wired mice shows that event hardware can affect results at Champions.

Sources: Riot statement as quoted by Insider Gaming, Hotspawn and Strafe; Sheep Esports (2 Oct 2026); EGamersWorld; VLR.gg (4 Oct 2026).

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