Riot’s stage desks caused mouse issues at VALORANT Champions 2026

Ahsan Kabir Published September 28, 2026

VALORANT Champions Shanghai 2026 faced an unexpected technical issue during its first few days, with several players reporting problems with their mice and PC controls on stage. The situation quickly became a major topic among teams and fans, prompting event organizers to launch an investigation. Riot Games has since announced the root cause and outlined the steps being taken to prevent future issues.

Here is a closer look at what happened, what caused the problem, and how Riot Games is handling it.

Riot identifies cause and implements fix

Following an investigation into the input and mouse issues reported during the opening days, Riot Games identified the source of the interference. Riot confirms that certain metallic elements included in the making of the podiums for the event were causing conductive problems for the mouse.

Image credit: Riot Games

Leo Faria, the head of esports for Riot and commissioner for the VCT, explained the investigation and stated that a temporary solution had been deployed. The fix was tested as part of pre-game testing, and games could continue as normal after that.

Riot is not only using a temporary solution but is working to build new tournament desks. Faria stated that there are no issues on Day 3, and the company will keep an eye on the equipment throughout the event. It has emphasized that competitive integrity remains the priority and said it will provide further updates if necessary.

Teams speak out after stage gear fails on day 1

After the opening matches of the tournament, a technical issue emerged as one of the main topics of discussion outside the game.

Nongshim RedForce’s Francis, Team Liquid’s trexx and Karmine Corp’s LêwN spoke out on the issues with either their PCs or mouses on the first day of the tournament. In addition, Francis said after his match that the mouse and PC issues had affected his ability to properly showcase his skills at such an important tournament.

LêwN was also able to continue after switching to a spare mouse, highlighting how important backup equipment can be at a major LAN event.

LêwN, Karmine Corp’s duelist experienced severe mouse tracking loss mid-match. He was forced to pause and switch to a wired reserve mouse setup on stage to bypass the signal interference.

At first, the reporters said that the concerned players were on the same side of the stage. Afterward, the assistant coach of Paper Rex, Wendler stated that numerous individuals from both sides of the stage were affected by the issue, which was not limited to one individual or seat only.

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Why the issue matters more at Champions Shanghai

Image credit: Riot Games

At high-level VALORANT, nearly all professional players use high-polling-rate wireless gaming mice (e.g., Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, Razer Viper V4 Pro). Wireless mice send signals over a 2.4 GHz frequency.

When players took the stage, metallic components inside the newly built tournament podiums created conductive and electromagnetic interference. Instead of smooth 1:1 tracking, players experienced:

• Severe Sensor Stutter / Jitter: The mouse cursor or crosshair would freeze for fractions of a second, lag behind physical movement, or jump across the screen.
• FPS Drops and Input Latency: Players also reported PC performance drops, causing delays between clicking and the weapon actually firing.
• Inconsistent Tracking: Subtle wrist micro-adjustments – essential for securing headshots – would completely fail to register.

Community reactions and our take

This reasoning has also become a topic of debate in the VALORANT community. X user Itoshi (@Itoshi_10) appreciated the reaction of the developers but argued that “Champs standards in the future should be held much higher,” hoping that this incident will help raise those standards in future events.

Leo Faria (@lhfaria), Riot’s Head of VALORANT Esports, replied to the post, recognising the issue and stating that “Tech issues are and will always be part of gaming and esports. But known issues re-occurring is not ok.”

From our perspective, determining the root cause is a necessary move, but this incident also demonstrates the importance of thoroughly testing the tournament equipment before a World Championship. The interesting move from Riot is to completely replace the desks instead of sticking to just a temporary solution. With everything running smoothly on Day 3, the goal now is to make sure that this problem doesn’t happen again for the rest of the matches.

Also, for a closer look at the teams, format, schedule and everything to expect from the tournament, check out our VALORANT Champions 2026 preview.

Featured image credit: Riot Games